WRITER'S NOTE

well, here's the complete first part of Street Fighter: Chasing a Legend
starring Sakura from Street Fighter Alpha 2.  For those not too familiar
with the street fighter series after SF2, I tried to make it not too
confusiong.  Basically, this fic is kinda modeled after the 'canterbury
tales' motif... there's travelers, and they share their stories, except
in this case it's Sakura chasing after Ryu, and the people she meets tells
her about parts of her hero's life.

First up is Ken, after which is Dan Hibiki (from Street Fighter Alpha &
Alpha 2), then Chun Li, Sagat (yes, Sagat, Ryu's nemesis), one other, then
finally the Man himself.

here's part one...
-rpm
-----------------------------------------------------------------

note: ** marks denote use of the English Language.

Street Fighter:  Chasing a Legend

part 1: Ryu's Sidekick

	It was one of those mornings where the land of the rising son
earned its name, with a spectacular sunrise on the horizon and waves
crashing dramatically by the rocky shore.  On a particularly high cliff
overlooking the sea was a traditional Japanese resort that had, if you
could afford it, a ridiculously beautiful view of it all.
	At the moment, the two Americans staying in one of the better
rooms were enjoying it over breakfast and conversation.  They both were
dressed in kimonos and looking out their large window into the ocean. 
They both had long blond hair, but that's where the similarities ended. 
The lady had a certain air about her that said 'rich', and was blessed
with the looks of a supermodel as well.  The man had a more rugged look,
with a very muscular build and a slight hint of stubble on his face. 
	*"Japan was a nice place after all, right hon?" asked Ken.
	*"Okay, I'll admit, I love this place,"* said Eliza, *"But I still
say you'll never get me to eat that sushi stuff."*  She grinned while
sipping her coffee as Ken mock-frowned.
	*"Tsk, closed-minded."*
	*"Shush, you.  I'm gonna go try out the hot springs.  Join me?"*
wondered Eliza, giving a wink.
	*"Oh-ho, how can I resist?"* said Ken.  *"Lemme clean up a bit,
then I'll join you, okay?"*
	*"See you downstairs, honey."*  With a seductive wink Eliza left
the room, leaving Ken there with a goofy grin on his face.
	After she left, Ken went about humming a merry tune, combing his
hair from the semi-tangled mess that it was, brushed his teeth (with a
nifty automated toothbrush Eliza had bought him as a gift), then started
mowing his face with an electric shaver.
	It was while he was clearing out the space under his left nostril
that he heard a gentle knocking at the door.  He frowned, holding the
shaver in place as he wondered who would be knocking at this time of
morning.  He wasn't expecting company, so that couldn't be it.  He started
on the right side of his face and yelled, "Eliza?"
	No response, aside from more knocking.
	This could be bad, he thought, while clearing out that last bit of
sideburn on the right of his face.  He was cleaned up, all shaved, and
ready to fight.  What better time to answer the door?
	*"I'm coming already!"* he irritably yelled, cautiously moving to
the door.  He sounded impatient, but then again, that's what he wanted
whoever was behind the door to think.  Stepping to one side so that the
attacker would get nothing but empty space if they tried to charge in, he
slowly slid the door open.
	There was an almost blinding flash of light.
	Ken dove forward, rolled, and took aim at....
	"EEEEEK! Don't hit me!  Don't hit me!"
	He blinked.
	Inches away from his fist was the face of a very young Japanese
girl, clad in a white and blue sailor outfit of some sort (a school
uniform, he guessed), blue handguards similar to those he wore when
fighting, tomboyishly short black hair, and sporting a white headband in a
very familiar fashon.  She also had her eyes closed, one hand with a
camera, and both arms raised up in an attempt to block his fist.
	"Ah," he said in a most confused manner.  He knew he'd found some
fame after doing so well in the last Street Fighter tournament, but he
wasn't expecting Martial Artist Groupies.  Maybe some fans, but nobody so
fanatical as to knock on his hotel door.  "Who are you?  If you want an
autograph, you coulda just asked..." 
	The girl slowly opened her eyes, realizing that she wasn't going
to get punched, and looked at Ken with some dissapointment.
	"Hey," she said, "you're not Ryu."
	The sound of an ego deflating could almost be heard.
	"What?"
	"I heard he was staying here.  Where is he?  RYU!  WHERE ARE
YOU?!"  She strolled into his hotel room, looking under the bed, in the
closets, and in the bathroom.
	"Hey!  Wait a minute!  You just can't stroll in here!  Hey!"  He
reached for her, grabbing her by the shoulder, and found himself flat on
his back as she somehow flung him over her shoulder.  He landed
semi-roughly, and his hair was once again a blond tangled mess.
	Damn.
	It was too early in the morning for crap like this.
	"Who the heck are you anyways, and where's Ryu?" asked the girl
irritably, still keeping a grip on his arm.  He frowned, not liking this
at all, and flung her away (but into the futon.  He wasn't about to start
beating up on schoolgirls). 
	"I am Ken Masters, and YOU..."
	"Ken Masters?  THE Ken Masters?" asked the girl as she got up, her
attitude suddenly becoming much more positive.
	"Well, yes..."
	"THE Street Fighter Ken Masters?"
	"That's me," he said, smiling a bit.
	"The Shotokan Master Ken Masters?"
	"You got it, kid."  He grinned and scratched the back of his head,
feeling a bit better about things.  Now THIS was more like how things
shoudl be.
	"Ken Masters, Ryu's best friend and sidekick?  ALRIGHT!"  The girl
jumped up and down excitedly while Ken's ego suffered yet another abrupt
deflation. 

	Ryu.

	It was ALWAYS Ryu.  Getting the sensei's approval, mastering the
new technique, winning the Street Fighter Tournament, it was always RYU
doing it first and doing it better.

	If they weren't on such friendly terms, he'd hate the guy.

	"Yeah, that's me," sighed Ken, "Ryu's pal, Ken Masters."
	"Oh I'm SO honored to meet you (ohmygosh I'm takling to Ryu's best
friend!) here lemme take a picture of you."
	Click.
	*FLASH*
	This time, Ken WAS blinded by the flash.
	"Hey, waitaminute," he said, blinking and rubbing his eyes.
	Meanwhile, Sakura continued to rant.  "Sorry I didn't recognize
you before but I mean I'm not used to seeing you with your hair all strung
out like that I mean it's normally tied back isn't it?  Can you tell me
where Ryu is?" 
	Ow, my eyes, damn flashbulb.  Just great, it's seven in the
morning I'm half-awake and there's a Ryu fanatic bugging me, thought Ken.
	I need more coffee.
	"Huh, mister?"
	"Hm?  Hrm?  Wha?"
	"Can you tell me where Ryu is?"
	"Oh," he said, sighing.  "Look, I really can't say..."
	Suddenly, Sakura dropped to her knees right in front of him.
"PLEEEASE!  Please please please!"
	*"Well, I can see what's been keeping you,"* said a voice,
definitely NOT the little girl's.
	Uh oh.
	Ken grinned nervously, sweating a bit.  *"Eliza, honey, this IS
NOT what it looks like... really..."*
	*"Luckily for you, I'm not the jealous type,"* she said, giggling.
*"I came back to tell you they've closed the hot springs today for some
weird reason, and I overheard you two talking."*
	*"Er... how much did you hear?"* wondered Ken.
	*"Enough, sidekick Ken,"* teased Eliza.  *"Let's see if we can
help our little visitor get to where she's going?"*
	"Hey, who's the pretty lady?" asked the girl.
	"I am Eliza," said the girl in American accented Japanese.
"Sorry, speak Japanese not too good."
	"Oh, you sound pretty good to me," said the girl.
	"Thank you," said the girl with a smile.  "Your name?"
	"I'm Sakura.  Nice t'meet you, Miss Eliza.  Ken's your boyfriend?"
asked Sakura.
	"Yes, he is actually my fiancee."
	"Oh?  Cool.  Why didn't ya get Ryu instead?"
	"Hey!" protested Ken.  His ego was feeling bruised enough for one
day, and wasn't in the mood to take any more abuse.
	Eliza giggled again, and it seemed to turn Ken's anger into even
more embarrasment.  He sighed and sat down while she continued talking
with the girl.
	"I prefer blonds," said Eliza.
	"Oh.  That's okay, that leaves Ryu-sama to me!"
	Oh boy, thought Ken, ol'Ryu has got one obsessed fan.
	He thought about it a bit, then grinned.  Ryu had NEVER really
handled interaction with the opposite sex very well, living 'only for the
fight' and all that nonsense.  Seeing this girl lavish her affection on
him might just be too funny.
	"Tell ya what, kid," said Ken.  "I'll tell you about Ryu over some
breakfast, okay?"
	"You will?  Really?!"
	"Sure, sure, but... could you leave the room and let me change
clothes?"

				* * *

	"You own this boat?" asked Sakura as she looked around, very
clearly impressed with it all.  The American breakfast wasn't too bad
either.  The three of them were sitting at the topmost deck of a three
level yaht, starting the day with eggs, bacon, and toast. 
	"My family is rich," replied Eliza.  "Coffee?  Tea?"
	"More tea please?  Thanks."
	"So, you look for Ryu?" asked Eliza, filling the girl's glass.
"Why you chase after him?"
	"Because... well... he's perfect.  Ever since I saw him beat Sagat
and win the Street Fighter title, I knew he was the one.  He's strong,
he's hansome, and he's unbeatable!"
	Meanwhile, Ken was quietly grumbling about how a certain Shotokan
Martial Artist seemed to hog the spotlight.  Sakura didn't notice as she
went on about how much she admired Ryu, and Eliza merely gave Ken a light
kick on the shin to let him know he really should be more polite.
	"Hey, Masters-san," asked Sakura (with a mouth half-full of bacon
& toast), "I thought you were gonna tell me more about Ryu?"
	"Hm?  Oh.  Oh yeah.  Let's see... what would be a good tale to
tell... hrm..."
	"How about when he first learned the Hadouken technique?" asked
Sakura.  "Did it take him long to master it?"
	"Well, counting from the day Master Gouken instructed us how to do
it... he took a month and I..."
	"It took me two months to do it, and I think I can improve on it,"
quickly said Sakura.
	"... took three mon... er, what?"
	"Hm?"
	"It took you HOW long?" asked Ken, frowning.
	"Two months.  Although it still isn't kinda right yet... I don't
think it's supposed to dissapear."	
	"No... waaaait, you're not saying you KNOW how to do the Hadouken,
are you?"
	Sakura nodded seriously.  "I practiced every day, early in the
morning, and every night when I got home from school!"
	Ken blinked.
	Eliza said, "Um..."
	Ken finally stopped blinking and shook his head.  "No.  Nonono,
this I gotta see.  C'mon, kid, show me your stuff."
	"Um... are you sure?" asked Sakura.
	"C'mon, c'mon, don't worry about hurting me!  Just show me your
best stuff, ne?"
	"Well... okay."
	*"Hon, if she sinks the boat, you're paying for it."*
	*"Hey, don't worry Eliza, she can't be THAT powerful."*

	A moment later, Ken and Sakura were standing on the top deck,
with about ten yards between them.
	"Right at me, go ahead.  Don't worry about it, I'm used to
blocking Ryu's fireballs all the time."
	"Well, okay..." replied Sakura hesitantly.  She stood in a
somewhat awkward but almost correct Shotokan stance and began focusing her
ki, drawing her hands back as if holding a ball.  In the empty space
between her hands, a ball WAS forming, an energy ball.  The Hadouken. 
	It was to Ken's utter surprise that she was ABLE to focus her ki
to begin with.  His surprise turned to a nagging, almost sinking feeling
as the power between her hands grew from the size of her fists, to that of
a basketball, to something bright enough to obscure her hands.
	"Hoooly shi-"
	"HADOUKEN!"  Sakura pushed her arms forward, sending a fireball of
an alarming size, more than six feet tall, towards Ken.  His expression
was exactly that of a deer caught in the headlights.
	"-it."
	Ken involutarily shut his eyes, waiting for the impact.  He WANTED
to dodge, to get out of the way, but the boat would get trashed, and
Eliza's dad would get really, really upset.
	This just might hurt.
	Oh boy.
	"Darn!" shouted Sakura.
	Ken raised an eyelid slowly.
	No fireball.
	"See what I mean?" said Sakura, clearly frustrated.  "I get a
REALLY big one going and it dissapears after goin' only a few feet."
	Oh my God, thought Ken, if Master Gouken could have gotten his
hands on this kid she'd be one hell of a fighter.
	"And you leared this... ah... by watching video footage of Ryu?"
asked Ken.
	Sakura nodded.
	Damn.  This was ridiculous.
	"Kid, if Ryu DOES take you on as a student, I have _got_ to see
how good you get for myself."
	"You mean... I didn't do bad?"
	"Well, considering all you've done so far is watch tapes of Ryu
and get this far... not too bad at all."
	"Gee, thanks!"  Sakura's mood was swung back into happiness.
After all, Ryu's sidekick just said she was good.  That was an
achievement, yes?
	*"Interesting kid,"* said Eliza.  *"You socialize with the
strangest people."*
	*"Hey, your boat doesn't have any major holes, does it?  Right
then, everything's cool."*
	"So, how hard was it for you to learn the Hadouken?" wondered
Sakura.
	"Well... for the first month, I couldn't get so much as a spark
going.  Y'see, the first time Sensei Gouken showed us, I was surprised
such a thing was possible at all.  And then, I just couldn't believe that
_I_ was capable of doing it.  C'mon, shooting blasts of energy from my
hands?  Sounded ridiculous."
	"How'd you finally master it?" asked Sakura.
	"Well, I just kept trying and..."  He sighed as Sakura looked at
him expectantly.  He really, really didn't want to admit this.  Not now,
and not to a Ryu fanatic.  "Okay, okay, Ryu helped me."
	"Oh?"
	"Yeah, after throwing a brief flash of light for a month, he took
some time to help me out with my technique.  Pretty soon, we were both
tossing'em out like there was no tomorrow."
	"So... how is his compared to, say, yours?" said Sakura, resting
her chin on her palm.
	"Well... over the years," said Ken, sighing again simply because
this was yet another topic that would point out how much Ryu is better
than him, "I'd say he's quicker in executing it, and can even throw a huge
one if he's got his ki revved up."
	"Really?  Wooow... "  Sakura looked out into the ocean for a
moment, then asked, "is it really true what they say about the Shoryuken?"
	"Hm?" wondered Ken.  "What are they saying?"
	"That Ryu's totally invincible when he does it?"
	Ken grinned.  The Shoryuken, now THERE was a move that he always
did better than Ryu.
	"Well, when you do it right, nothing can knock out out of that
move.  Well, actually, I haven't tried my luck with a bullet yet, but
otherwise, there hasn't been a move that's knocked me out of my Shoryuken
yet."
	Sakura sensed an ego swelling.  She was right.
	"Hey," she said, "you saying that you do the Shoryuken better than
Ryu?"
	"Well..." pondered Ken, "ayup."
	"Hrm.  Yeah, right."
	"Oh?"  Ken suddenly shot across and up into the air, yelling
"SHOOOORYUKEN!", his fist blazing with power on the way up.  As he landed,
the flames on his hand quietly died out.  "If y'want tips on your
Hadouken, Ryu's the man.  But if you need some advice on your Shoryuken,
_I'm_ the guy."
	"Well... maybe," she conceeded.  She had to admit, Ryu didn't have
the range that Ken seemed to have on his, or the bit with the flaming
fist.  Ryu's Shoryuken was more... well... basic.  Just a jumping uppercut
with very little horizontal movement at all.  "Could ya tell me how to
improve mine?"
	"Hrm..."  One one hand, she was just a kid, on the other, that
fireball was damn monsterous.  But, that fireball also died real fast.
How bad could her uppercut really be?  "Sure."
	A moment later, he watched as she ran forward with a battle cry,
then sprang somewhat awkwardly into the air.  As she landed, she looked at
him anxiously.  "Well?  How'd it go?"
	"Ah... not bad, kid.  Not bad."  It wasn't, really, especially
considering she was a novice, but he wondered why on earth she ran five
meters across the ground before launching into the air.  "Not bad at
all... I think you just need the right teacher, and you'll be damn good." 
	"You really think so?" she asked, smiling.
	"Definitely.  I'm sure there's some Shotokan dojos out there... 
although at the moment I don't personally know any other sensei." 
	"Oh, if only Ryu would be my sensei," sighed Sakura.
	"Him?  Probbably not," said Ken.  "Last time we talked, he still
didn't feel ready to take that responsibility."
	"Aw."  She seemed distinctly dissapointed, hearing that, then
seemed to brighten a bit.  "Hey, how about the sensei that trained Ryu?" 
	*"You never told me about him either, honey,"* said Eliza.  *"So
who was the man that kept me away from you for so many years, hm?"
	"Ah, you mean Sensei Gouken."  Ken's face turned into a slight
frown as he looked away into the ocean.  "Well, he was a good man.  Very
strict. I think I lost count of the times he hit me with that stick of his
for not doing my techniques right."  He laughed a little at that, then
continued, "But, he was one heck of a guy.  Big, muscular, had that stern
look that all sensei are required to have, y'know?" 
	"So, where is sensei Gouken now?  Maybe he could teach me?"
	"He... won't be teaching anyone, not anymore."
	"What do you mean?"
	"He was killed."

				[several years ago]

	It was cold, very cold, but despite this there were two young men
out in the mountain forest with not much more than shoes and a gi on them. 
One was in a white gi, a Japanese man of a serious demeanor, with short
hair held back by a headband.  His companion wore a red gi, with long
blond hair tied into a ponytail, and a slight scowl on his face.  At the
moment they were both carrying large piles of wood. 
	"We go out into the world, prove we're amongst the best, and the
Master still gives us the 'foolish boy' treatment!" said Ken, shifting his
load of firewood a bit.  "What do we have to do to get his approval, beat
the devil himself?" 
	"Sensei Gouken will always be that way, and he is right to be," 
said Ryu.  "A martial artist's training never ends, we still have much to
learn." 
	Ken sighed.  "Yeah, that's true I guess.  That, and I guess I've
gotten used to sensei being like that.  I can deal with it, I like the
guy, but I just wish he would lighten up a little, y'know?" 
	"Not really." 
	Ken grumbled about Shotokan practicioners witih no sense of humor
as they trudged through the snow-filled forest.  Ryu remained mostly
silent, except for a few matters of debate, serious... 

	"Chow Yun Fat, I tell ya, he's the man," said Ken. 
	"Feh.  Uses ropes.  Jackie Chan does it honestly, with no tricks." 

	... and not so serious. 
	Soon they were approaching the dojo, a modestly sized one in a
clearing in the middle of the forest.  It was normally a welcome sight,
but this night both Shotokan students felt disturbed as they approached
the dojo in the distance. 
	"Hey, Ryu," said Ken, "do you get the feeling that..." 
	"Something is wrong?  Yes, I do." 
	From the dojo a man emerged.  A very large man, with a dark tan,
intimidating muscles, with his face an angry sneer and his flaming red
hair tied up in a small ponytail of sorts, and clad in an ebony gi.  He
was as old as their master, and radiated as much power as Gouken, maybe
more. 
	"Who are you?  What is your business here?" yelled Ryu. 
	"I am merely... visiting my brother," answered the figure
enigmatically. 
	Ken and Ryu traded a brief worried glance.  Gouken had told them
of his brother, Gouki.  A man not to be trusted, and very deadly.  The two
took another step forward, and that's when Ken noticed it.  Blood on
Gouki's arms. 
	He couldn't have... 
	No... 
	"DAMN YOU!"  Ken dropped his wood and charged across the clearing
to Gouken, anger clouding up his judgement.  He couldn't hear his friend
Ryu calling his name.  He couldn't feel the cold around him.  He had one
focus, the monster in front of him.  Ken sprang into the air, intending to
cave his head in with a jump kick, when Gouki suddenly turned into shadows
and dissapeared.  Ken landed in empty space, confused and angry.  From
somewhere in the forest, a mocking laughter echoed. 
	"You will meet me again," said Gouki's distant voice, "when you
are stronger."
	"GET BACK HERE YOU COWARD!!!" roared Ken. 
	"Ken!  Get in here!"  shouted Ryu from within the dojo.  Ken
entered to find Ryu kneeling next to their master, who was now a bloody
mess on the floor.  Ken immediately knelt to Gouken's other side. 
	"Master, what happened?" asked Ryu. 
	"He... has used the forbidden *cough* techniques... wished to
prove *cough*cough* his was the true way of Shotokan."  He grabbed Ryu by
his shirt.  "DON'T... don't follow his path." 
	"Hold still Master, we'll get help." 
	"No use... my time has come.  I am only glad... to have... such
fine students..."
	Ryu held on to his sensei's hand, his face a scowl, with a single
tear escaping his eye.  "Ken... we cannot let this go unpunished."

				* * *

	"So, me and Ryu swore to avenge him some day.  We trained harder,
we're still training, I guess, and waiting for the day that Gouki shows up
again." 
	*"Ken, you're NOT still going to try to fight this man, are you?"*
asked Eliza with some concern. 
	*"It's a matter of honor, hon.  I have to."*
	"So you chased after Gouki afterwards?" asked Sakura. 
	"Yeah, we did, but it's no use.  He's more like a myth than
anything else.  The guys that are familiar with him would rather die than
talk.  All we know is, he's known for confronting fighters with a strong
reputation just before they're about to fight someone else.  That, and
he's also known as Akuma." 
	"He couldn't be better than Ryu, could he?" asked a worried
Sakura. 
	"I... don't know.  Anyways, the last time I saw Ryu was a couple
of days back, over in our old dojo at Suzakujo.  We were keeping the place
tidy for the day when one of us decides we're ready to become sensei."
	"Well, if you could drop me off at the nearest train station, I'd
appreciate it," said Sakura. 
	"Train station?" asked Eliza. 
	"Yes, you said that Ryu was in Suzakujo, right?  Well, that's
where I'm going."  Sakura gazed inland, to the mountains, burning with
determination.  She _would_ find Ryu, no matter how long it may take or
how far she would have to travel.
	*"Somehow, I don't think I could change that kid's mind,"*
muttered Ken to Eliza.
	*"Can't argue with that,"* said Eliza. *"Oh my... honey, how do
you think Ryu'll react if she actually finds him?"*
	*"Heh, I have no idea, but it'll be interesting.  The poor
guy'll probbably just mutter something about how the fight is all and
try to sneak off."*
	Eliza thought about it.  *"Yeah, you're probbably right."*

				-end part 1-

NEXT: Sakura meets the one, the only... Dan Hibiki.