Chapter Three
Weariness
Sakura collapsed on the huge bed with ivory sheets, sighing with content. Ryu looked down at her. "Now what?" he asked.
She smiled angelically up at him and pushed herself up. She didn't say anything, but swept into the bathroom, humming a tune to herself. Ryu stared after her, scratching his head. Ah well, he thought, girls.
Chun Li lounged on the sofa with her legs propped up on the coffee table. "We're in Group C. What does that mean?" She asked the suite in general.
Guile looked up from his inspection of the fridge. "We fight other teams in Group C?"
Cammy rolled her eyes and whacked him on the head with the information booklet. "Chun Li, it means we're up against the better teams. Group A has the lousier teams, and Group D has the best, with B and C in between. It's like a scale, in that sense," Cammy answered.
Vega rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He had been remarkably civil so far. "So is our first fight tomorrow?"
Chun Li nodded.
"Who are we up against?"
Chun Li threw the listings to him. Vega looked at the notes and whistled. "Team Ku?"
They came back from the Dome, drained from the exhausting fight against Ku. Cammy collapsed into the soft armchair. Waving a hand in the air, she gasped, "Tell me again, exactly what are we here for?"
Ryu wiped away his sweat, saying "For the spirit of the fight." Then he threw himself onto the bed, murmuring "excuse me".
Sakura glanced around at the tired fighters. Cammy was in the armchair with her eyes closed, Chun Li was in the bathroom and Ryu was on the bed. Vega was sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands, while Guile... Sakura sweatdropped. Guile had passed out on the floor.
Sakura understood their behaviour. It hadn't been an easy match today. Cammy had held her ground against Fujimaru, even though his remarks had been very insulting to her ego. (Upstairs, Bison was making a mental note to visit Fujimaru in the dead of the night) Later, she finished him off with a Cannon Drill.
Daikoku had been very hard to defeat, but Vega managed it after his mask was broken and Daikoku had been distracted by Vega throwing the bits of it in his face. Nan had won his match against Guile, whose throws and Sonic Booms were useless against Nan.
Saicho had used his Fuyo Sword effectively against Chun Li, and she was unfortunately defeated. This left Ryu against Kukai. Kukai had turned into an Oni again, but with Ryu's superbly instantaneous healing ability and incredible stamina, the latter managed to separate Kukai and his madougu and finally won.
After resting for the greater part of the day, the team decided to stagger down to the common room for a buffet-style meal. Sakura trailed worriedly after them, and hesitated for a while before deciding to leave Guile where he was. (He had collapsed in the corridor passageway.) He was too heavy.
Vega pushed open the door to the common room, to see Team Ku sitting there with Team Hokage and a few other teams. "So! Here come the victors now!" Kukai rumbled.
Chun Li gave a weak smile before her legs gave way and she had to sit down. Kukai grinned. Saicho smiled guiltily. "I'm sorry," he started, but Chun Li cut him short. "Don't be. It's my own fault."
"It takes a while before one is used to the type of fighting in Urabatou. Our madogou have worn you out," Kukai told Ryu, who was holding onto a chair for support. "But it was a good match. And congratulations."
Team Street Fighter smiled. Sakura was about to say something to Kukai and Saicho, but she caught sight of Mikagami first. Mikagami was indulging in a video game again, with Recca. Yanagi was standing on the sidelines cheering her ninja on, while Kaoru was bobbing and yelling at Mikagami to "beat Recca up". Sakura smiled. It was interesting to see Mikagami with glasses on. It makes him look so learned, she thought, and contemplated having a game of Street Fighter Zero II with him later.
Sakura was half-way through her soup when Yanagi plopped herself down in front of her. "Hello, my name is Sakoshita Yanagi," she said, "Are you part of the Team that beat Ku?"
Sakura nodded cheerfully. "But I don't fight," Sakura told her, "That's why I'm not dying of muscle ache or deflated ego or whatever now."
Yanagi nodded knowingly. "I'm part of Team Hokage's entourage. See that boy there?"
Yanagi pointed to Recca, who was now beating the ground in frustration and wrecking the game console because he had lost to Mikagami yet again. Sakura raised an eyebrow. "That's the team leader of Hokage?" Recca sort of reminded her of her pet sea-monkey.
"Sadly, yes." A deep, clear voice came from behind her.
She turned to see Mikagami taking his glasses off and putting them back in their case. He acknowledged her presence by nodding and asked Yanagi if she would like dinner. Yanagi shook her head and told him that she had already eaten. Sakura went back into her dream-like state. Mikagami Tokiya knew she existed! (the reader might ask here HOW Sakura knew Mikagami Tokiya's full name and such. Well, she checked the listings of teams. Okay, does that answer your questions? back to the story.)
She was rudely interrupted in her fantasy of Mikagami and herself having a long chat (fantasies of chatting? *sweatdrop* well, this is a clean action fic, so YOU fantasise.) when Domon plopped his plate down beside Yanagi. "Yanagi, this is...?" he trailed off, obviously expecting to be introduced to the rather disgusted Sakura.
Yanagi sweatdropped. "Ah... this is Sakura." Domon smiled and started showing off his Superman-cum-bodybuilder poses.
Mikagami nodded to the schoolgirl who looked too young to be here. Then again, are WE old enough to be here? He smiled wryly to himself. In terms of experience? Definitely. He filled his plate before going to a corner to finish his dinner. He contemplated Team Street Fighter. Sakura didn't fight, which meant the other 5 were the team proper. He frowned a little. It had been but the first round, yet they already felt so worn out. It didn't bode well for their other matches. He observed them to gauge their abilities.
The man in army fatigues is Guile. Doesn't seem like much, Mikagami thought, besides he seems only interested in stuffing his face. The woman with great legs and the braids was quick enough to defeat Fujimaru today, which means that she is as good as Fuuko. Unless she was straining herself. He thought for a while before arriving at her name.Cammy. And the other girl is Chun Li, who lost to Saicho. Not surprising. The man with the mask is Vega. Quite quick, though Kukai says that he won by luck against Daikoku today. His eyes rested on Ryu, who was calmly eating. Mikagami frowned some more. That man might be a problem. Ryu... he's quite famous.
Mikagami turned to Kagerou who was sitting beside him. "Kagerou-san, have you ever heard of the name Ryu before?" he asked quietly.
Kagerou nodded and said that Ryu's sensei had been very well-known. Mikagami thanked her, and his eyes narrowed. Able to beat Team Ku on their first try, and without madougu too!
The next day wasn't any better for Team SF. Cammy was worn out. "Just how are we going to make it to the Dome tomorrow?" She asked the rest of her team members.
Nobody answered her. They had no strength to. Today, they fought against Uruha Sound. This team had only three members, so Chun Li and Vega sat this match out. Guile had by the slimmest of chances lost Miki who was too quick for him, with Ryu finishing Aki and Cammy spent at least half an hour trying to defeat Neon. Cammy mentally reminded herself to personally scream at Bison later. If he hadn't persuaded me to come, I could be lounging around in my jacuzzi right now. She staggered to the bathroom and told Sakura not to wake her up till dinner time.
Chun Li sat in the armchair, thinking about Bison. She HAD, at all costs, to get to him. He was here, her gut instinct told her. She looked at the shut bathroom door. Why else should SHE be here? She sighed and prepared to go to the common room. Perhaps she could find some clues there.
She pushed open the door to find Mikagami alone, pushing buttons on his Playstation. Mikagami looked up for a brief moment before returning to his game. "Done with your matches for today? Come on in and sit down," he said.
Chun Li did so. She watched him in silence for a while before suddenly asking, "Why is Team Hokage here?"
Mikagami ended his game before turning his clear grey eyes on her. He shrugged. "Different reasons, though the main reason being that we have to find a cure for Kagerou-san."
Chun Li arched an eyebrow. "She is cursed to wander through Time, never ageing or dying. We are here to find a cure for her. Besides, Mori Kouran has been trying to get his hands on Yanagi. We've got to stop him," he paused. "Why are YOU here? Why is Team Street Fighter here?"
Chun Li opened her mouth, but no answer came out. How can I bring myself to tell a stranger why I am here? To tell him about my history? He wouldn't understand. She smiled wryly and tried to change the subject. "Mikagami-san, did Team Hokage get anything out of the last Urabatou? So what if you won?"
Mikagami frowned slightly. What is she trying to pull? A facial muscle twitched before he started another game. He answered coolly, "Recca saved his Hime. Fuuko and Domon grew stronger in terms of willpower. Kaoru discovered the true colours of Kurei. I..." he hesitated, "I found out who my sister's murderer was."
There was silence except for the beeps of the game and clicks from Mikagami's controlpad. Chun Li looked down at her boots. Perhaps... he does understand.
"Mikagami-san, I am here, because..."
At this point of time, the door burst open to reveal Domon, Fuuko and Raiha. Domon was screeching at Raiha to get lost, while the very amiable Raiha was ignoring him and dodging the various punches that came his way. Fuuko was trailing behind, with a HUGE sweatdrop. That very sweatdrop became more pendulous when they caught sight of Mikagami and Chun Li alone in the room. "Oops." the three of them said. (in an anime, this is the cue for Mi-chan and Chun Li to go SD)
Chun Li sprung up. "Hey, it's not what you think!" she began, but Domon and Raiha had already zipped out of the room and Fuuko was saying "Sosorrytodisturbyoubutwedidn'tknowyouwerehere.BYE!" and slamming the door.
Chun Li bit her lip. This wasn't good. She got up and said a quick "excuse me" to Mikagami before running after the three of them. Mikagami watched her run out of the room and winced as the door slammed shut. Darn that Kirisawa.! I'll have to tell her off later..
Later during dinner, Chun Li was very carefully avoiding Mikagami's eyes. Domon was happily chatting to Sakura again.
(for the clueless, Domon has a LEETLE crush on Sakura.)Cammy was eating in a corner, talking to Saicho. Kukai, Ryu, Mikagami and Kagerou were having some intellectual conversation about the role of momentum in fighting techniques, which Recca was trying to understand but failing. Fuuko was eating with Raiha, who was trying to get rid of Fujimaru and Vega. Kaoru was in another corner, trying very hard not to feel ignored, when Guile approached him. Immediately, Kaoru flashed him a quick smile before running over to Saicho.
"It's the semi-finals the day after tomorrow," Saicho said suddenly to Cammy. "Your team is through to that, isn't it?" he asked.
Cammy nodded. Kaoru grinned. "So is Hokage," he said. "Maybe we'll be up against each other." Cammy smiled ruefully. "I hope not. It's hard to fight against friends."
Kaoru's smile faded and he whispered, "yeah" before excusing himself. Cammy watched him walk out of the room and turned quizzically to Saicho. "Kurei," he said simply. Cammy gave a little gasp of understanding and immediately felt very contrite. Oops, she thought to herself. But I forgot.
Finally, it was the day of the semi-finals. Team SF had spent the previous day training up, and Vega actually felt quite good about the entire thing. He flexed his hand and watched his blades slice the air, even leaving an after-image behind. I wonder who we're fighting today... Too bad about the new ruling... about how each opponent is a surprise.
Recca used Nadare to knock cans off the wall, then shoot them for accuracy practice. (from left to right: coke, pepsi, orange, grape, barley, soyabean, chrysanthemum tea, sprite) The cans fell off one by one, and Recca concluded his training, feeling confident about the match. "Last minute training, Recca?" came a sarcastic comment.
He turned to find Fuuko and Domon standing together with their arms crossed. He shrugged. "Why not?"
Fuuko smiled. "Come on, Leader. The match is starting."
"From the north entrance, we welcome... TEAM HOKAGE!" Demi said into the microphone as the crowds went wild.
"Hokage! Hokage!" they chanted, as Team Hokage made their entrance.
"The first fighter... Domon Ishijima!" Inoko cheered loudly as Domon's face appeared on the big screen.
"Second fighter of Team Hokage, Kaoru Koganei!" Chanting from the crowds started.
"The third fighter, Fuuko Kirisawa!" The crowds waved Fuuko flags and banners as Fuuko appeared from behind the doors.
"Presenting Team Hokage's fourth fighter, Tokiya Mikagami!" Sasami, Enna and Toraha started to yell madly.
"And Hokage's leader, Recca Hanabishi!" The roof nearly came down as the crowds started stomping.
Yanagi looked at the spectators. "Everybody's supporting us!" Recca smiled.
"And from the south entrance, please welcome... TEAM STREET FIGHTER!"
Spectators from their earlier matches put up flags and banners to equal Hokage supporters. "First fighter, Guile!" Guile's face appeared on the screen beside Domon's.
"Second fighter... Vega!" The mask flashed on the screen and the spectators who had never seen him before started whispering about Kurei, who, by the way, had not been seen since the previous Urabatou.
"Third from Team Street Fighter, Cammy!" The spectators started cheering wildly.
"Fourth, Chun Li!" Chun Li walked into the arena and her face fell. Why, oh why are we fighting Hokage? And by sheer luck, I drew Mikagami-san...
"And fifth, Team Leader, Ryu!" Ryu supporters screamed and started throwing confetti and popcorn into the air.
The teams stared at each other the stage at each other. This was it.
Author's Section
raydance: My brother likes our fic so far. Especially the anti-Guile sections.
plhu: So does mine. He got really interested after reading the prologue.
raydance: Your brother's in love in Pokèmon like mine too right?
pause of 3 seconds
plhu: Now we know what sort of audiences our fic appeals too.
raydance: Maybe we should start worrying.