___ ___ <__< BLOSSOMS IN THE SPRING <__< A crossover Improfanfic started by The Eternal Lost Lurker Street Fighter and all related trademarks belong to Capcom. Cardcaptor Sakura and all related trademarks belong to CLAMP, Kodansha. Used without permission. Shoma, Natsu, and Hinata are from the game Rival Schools, a game set in the SF world. All related trademarks belong to Capcom. Chapter 10 - Sakura and the FIRE of Competition -----======----- "Why are you up so early, Sakura? Usually you sleep in on Sunday." Sakura just smiled as she looked at up the floating clow guardian. "I'm going to meet some friends today, and then we're going to watch Gorin high play a baseball game today." "Ah, baseball!' Kero-chan exclaimed. "I've never seen a game live before, Sakura. You just have to take me!" Sakura just laughed nervously, "I'm not sure you'd like it. There will be a lot of people at the game so you'd have to stay in my bag the whole time." Not to mention I don't want Natsu and Hinata to see you, Sakura added to herself. She wasn't sure how her friends would react to a living, breathing plush animal. "It's no problem, I'll just pretend to be a stuffed doll. Nobody will notice." "Well, okay," Sakura reluctantly accepted, "But I did get a brand new Dreamcast game for you to play while I was gone today, so I thought..." "Is it Garou?" Kero-chan asked as he interrupted Sakura. "Is it, is it, is it?" "Yes..." "Then enjoy the game today, I'll be fine right here." Kero happily said as he turned the Dreamcast on. "Now we will show the world the true power of Rock Howard. Hahahahaha!" Sakura just giggled as she left the room. "Have a good day, Kero-chan!" Kero-chan just nodded in reply, all of his focus devoted to the game. "Oh yeah, you will respect the son of Geese Howard!" He taunted as he finished of his opponent with a powerful super combo. "Raging Storm!" "Hey Sakura, don't forget to bring the Clow Cards with you. You'll never know when you need them..." Kero trailed off as he saw that Sakura had already left the room. "Oh well, she probably won't need them at the game. Now Terry, it's time for the student to surpass that master!" -----======----- The sweet sounds of music filled Tomoyo's kitchen as she put the finishing touches on a cake. It would be the dessert for the picnic she had prepared for Sakura and her friends. She just couldn't wait for Sakura to try the meal after the baseball game. It had taken her most of the night to prepare the feast, but it was time well spent for her Sakura. She could picture the surprised look on Sakura's face when she appeared unannounced at the game. "I'll have to make sure I bring my camera, and a few baseball inspired outfits for Sakura to model." Making sure the icing was perfect, she carefully placed the cake into the picnic basket. "I better hurry to the train station if I want to catch Sakura." She said as she picked up the picnic basket. She skipped out of the front door and ran straight into Li Shaoran. "Oh no!" Tomoyo cried as she fell to the ground, the picnic basket flying into the air. It was about to crash to the ground, when Li quickly sprang up and caught it with his hands. "Thank you, Li-Kun!" "No..No problem...." Li said as his face turned slightly red. He quickly handed the picnic basket back, and stood there silently for a few seconds. It was Tomoyo who broke the awkward silence by speaking first. "So why are you here, Li-kun?" "Um..I'm here too..too" Li trailed off for a few seconds, "I'm here to ask ifyou'llgotothemovieswithme?" "I'd like too, but I'm going to..." "Have a picnic, right?" Li answered for Tomoyo in dejected tone. "It's okay, I just happened to have two tickets and wondered if you wanted one. But you seem to be busy so I won't bother you." "Wait!" Tomoyo shouted as Li turned to leave. The hurt look on Li's face touched her more than she thought it would. "I guess I can come with you..." "What about the picnic?" "That's not till later. I can easily make it after the movie." "Oh," Li muttered as he clenched his fists. He waited awhile before he started to speak again. "Then, will you accompany to a movie today, Tomoyo-san?" "I will, Li-kun," Tomoyo replied with a hint of reluctance in her voice. "I will." -----======----- It was a half hour before the start of the Gorin High baseball game, and the team was going through the final moments of preparation. A few people had parked themselves in the batting cage to take a bit of batting practice, while others were practicing fielding in the outfield. About the only person who wasn't warming up for the game was the starting pitcher, Shoma Sawamura. The usually excitable and hot tempered pitcher was sitting calmly on the bench. He was a smallish teen, with spiky black hair and brown eyes. He carried with him a red bat nearly as large as he was tall strapped to his back. His brown eyes were focused on the diamond in front of him as his team warmed up. "Hey Shoma," His coach called out. "Why don't you throw a few warm up pitches to get loosened up for the game?" "I don't need any," Shoma tersely replied, not moving from his position on the bench. "Hey, what's up with Sawamura today?" One of the players in the batting cage commented as he knocked a ball into the outfield. "He's not his usual, lose self before the game." The batting coach just shook his head, "Don't worry, he's just got his game face on. He's taking this game seriously like you should be." "Focus is one thing, but Sawamura is taking it too far. He didn't say a word at all on the way here, he just stared out the bus window. " "Maybe it's because of those Justice high incidents," Another player added in with a whisper. "I heard he was heavily involved in them, so..." The player trailed off as Shoma stood up from the bench and made his way over to the batting cage. "Are you talking about me?" He said in a calm, cool voice. "No, we were just talking strategy." "Good," Shoma stated he stepped into the cage, with his bat in hand. "Pitch to me." The coach just nodded and tossed a Shoma an easy warm up pitch, which he ignored. "I said pitch to me! How do you expect me to warm up with a weak pitch like that. Gimmie another one, a real one!" Following the command of Shoma, the coach once again pitched to Shoma. But this time instead of pitching slowly he instead let loose with his 90 mile per hour fast ball. The same fast ball that had helped him earn a place in the starting rotation of the Tokyo Giants. He would show this upstart kid just who was the coach and who was the student. A small grin appeared on Shoma's face and this pitch sped towards him. And at the moment it neared the plate, he quickly swung his bat. It hit the ball, and sent it flying over the left field fence. Shoma just stood there and watched the ball as it landed, his face still calm and his vision still focused on the shocked coach. "This field is my field!" He calmly exclaimed as he was suddenly surrounded by flames. "And I'm not going to let anyone take it away." The players and coaches just watched on in shock as he left the field. -----======----- "I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry!" Sakura cried as she dashed down the street towards the ballpark. She had missed the train to the Gorin High district, so she had to wait a half hour for the next train. Now she was running down the street trying her best to avoid running into any one. It'd had been a while since she had a chance to see her best friends Natsu Urahara and Hinata Wakaba. They had been friends since they were kids, and Sakura had kept in touch with the pair when she had switched schools in Junior High. Sakura had even done some training with Hinata, helping her polish up her technique and fighting style. They had even fought together against Hyo Imawano during the Justice high school incident. At that time Natsu's classmate and unofficial boyfriend, Shoma, was brainwashed by Hyo to fight against other high schools. But thanks to feelings Shoma had for Natsu he was able to break free from Hyo's control, and help beat Hyo. "Great, I'm almost there!" She exclaimed as she turned the corner. She could see her friends, Natsu, and Hinata, up ahead and waved to them. "Hi there, how are the two of you doing?" She asked as she came to a sudden stop in front of the entrance gate. "We're fine, Sakura." Hinata sighed as she looked are her exhausted friend. She was a small girl, with short light brown hair and brown eyes. She was wearing her school uniform today, which consisted of a light blue skirt and vest over a white blouse. The eternally cheerfully girl topped it off with a white headband on her head and a pair of hand guards for protection."You didn't run all the way here from the station did you?" Sakura slowly nodded her head as she continued to catch her breath. Hinata and Natsu just laughed, as they lead Sakura into the park. Natsu was a tall, lanky girl with blue eyes and bluish black hair that just seemed to lay flat on her head. She was wearing her Gorin High uniform which was a white blouse with a dark blue skirt. But when she fought she wore her red volleyball uniform, and always stood stooped over, like she was about to receive a serve. "Well, you're on time as the game is about to start." "Great! I can't wait to see Shoma in action!" "I can't wait too," Natsu added in as well, "This is the team's first game after the second Justice High mess, and I hope Shoma puts on a good show." "Aww.. you just want to cheer Shoma on, Natsu" Hinata teased. "And with Momo away at a tennis meet you can lead all the cheers on by yourself." A blush appeared on Natsu face as she stammered in reply "I'm just here to cheer on a fellow classmate, that's all." "Sure..." Hinata and Sakura giggled in unison. "Man..." Natsu trailed off, her face turning an even deeper color of red. "We need to hurry up or else we'll miss the opening pitch!." "Yes, Natsu-san!" The girls replied together, causing Natsu to break into laughter herself. -----======----- "Okay, this is a pretty important game!" the manager of the Gorin high team yelled as he paced around the locker room. "If we win this one we can pretty well guarantee ourselves a trip to national championships. So I hope you all know what needs to be done." "We need to hit!" The team cheered together. "We need to field! We need to Pitch!" "And most importantly?" "We need to play as a Team!" The manager nodded his approval. "Then let's go out there and win this game for Gorin high!" "Do any of the captains have anything to say before we take the field?" An assistant coach asked. At that Shoma stood up, and glared at the entire locker room. All of the noise died down as the team mates tried to avoid his fiery gaze. "Yes...I want all of you to stay out of my way. This is my game, and I'm going to win it." "Shoma, we're a team!" The Manager exclaimed, "We play together, and we win..." The manager trailed off as a flaming pitch flew past him, crashing into a nearby locker. "I said I'm going to win this game. The rest of you stay back, less you want to get burnt my competitive fire." Shoma coldly stated as he left the locker room and headed out on to the field. "We...Well.." The manager stammered. "You heard what Sawamura said. Just go out there and stay out of his way. I don't want anyone getting hurt." The team quickly nodded in agreement, every member looking at each other with concern. -----======----- "Now entering the field of play, your Gorin High Baseball team!" Sakura, Hinata, and Natsu started to cheer and wave their Gorin flags as the home team took the field. "Hey, I don't see Shoma anywhere?" Sakura asked as she scanned the field. "He's the starting pitcher," Natsu answered as she pointed to the bullpen. "See, he's taking the field now. Go Shoma!" Hinata joined in with the cheers, "Go Shoma! Do your best for Natsu!" "Hinata!" Natsu chided, as Sakura snickered and joined in with the cheering. She couldn't help but look at the focused look on Shoma's face as he took his first few warm up pitches. "Wow, he looks like he's really into this game." Sakura commented as the first batter of the inning stepped up to the plate. "This game is important for the national championships. A victory for Gorin means a trip to the finals." Sakura just nodded in reply as she watched Shoma stare at the batter. For some reason the cold look on his face just didn't seem to feel right. And something else was tugging at the back of her mind, something Sakura just couldn't place her finger on. She watched carefully as Shoma wound up for the first pitch, and hurled it towards home plate. Time seemed to slow down for Sakura as she watched the baseball fly in the air, coated in a ball of flame. The feeling in the back of her mind grew as she watched the pitch went past the batter and hit with a thud in the catchers mitt. "Strike one!" The Umpire shouted as the crowd erupted in cheers. But Sakura was looking on in worry, as she had an idea of what her earlier feeling meant. "Hinata, Natsu, we have a problem." "A problem, Shoma's pitching great!" Hinata cheered as the umpire called Strike 2 on the batter. "See, he's packing some sorta of heat tonight. I don't think anyone can hit him tonight, right Natsu?" "Yeah, he's impressive," Natsu replied with a hint of worry in her voice. "But something seems off with him. Like it was during the Justice high incident..." "Strike 3, you're out!" The umpire called, causing the crowd to cheer even louder. "Wow!" Hinata exclaimed as she clapped along with the crowd. "I don't see why you're so worried. We've beat Justice High down so they're out of commission, and Shoma is having his best game of his life. We should be cheering." Sighing inwardly, Sakura continued to watch the game as the next batter fouled of the first pitch. The inner feeling of alarm continued to grow in her. "Guy's, I know what I'm about to say may sound silly but I think Shoma is possessed by some sort of spirit." Actually a clow card, Sakura thought to herself, but this is close enough to the truth for them. "Could it be some sort of left over brainwashing from Hyo Imawano?" Natsu asked. "I think you guys are just over reacting. Shoma is..." Hinata trailed off as a loud cracking sound filled the stadium. The cheering died out as the crowd looked on in horror as the batter at home plate collapsed; Shoma's pitch hitting him square in the helmet. Shoma just watched on with a cruel smile on his face. "He paid the price for hitting my pitch. Now, who's the next batter." "My God," Hinata whispered. Natsu didn't say anything, as she watched on in shock. Sakura cursed to herself as leapt on to the playing , "Man, I wish Kero-chan was here. I know it's a clow card but I don't now which one it is." "Sakura, wait for us!" Natsu cried as both she and Hinata jumped into the field and chased after Sakura. "I hope we can stop this before Shoma does another stupid thing." Natsu's train of thoughts were interrupted as another loud crack filled the stadium. She watched in horror as the umpire went flying back into the safety fence, landing right next to the batter. Shoma just calmly stood on the mound, his form suddenly covered in fire. "Does anyone else wish to experience my burning fast ball?!" He gazed at all the players on the field who were starting to run away. "Or are all of you cowards..." "We're not cowards!" Sakura yelled from second base, as she entered her battle stance. Natsu and Hinata stood beside her, each one of them getting ready to fight Shoma. "We'll take you on and beat you at your own game, Shoma." "Heh, I'd like to see that!" Shoma laughed as he turned around to face the trio. "If you think three girls can beat me on my diamond then you must be deluded. Nobody can put out my competitive fire!" Natsu tensed up beside Sakura, "Shoma!" She cried as tears started to come down her face. "You've got to stop this, this isn't like you. We can help you fight the leftover brainwashing from Hyo." Laughter now filled the empty stadium. "You think I'm brainwashed? You have no idea what you're dealing with, little girl. I'm not the Shoma you know...I'm better! But you amuse me, so I shall give you the first at bat." "Shoma..." "Natsu," Sakura whispered in a reassuring tone. "We've got to fight him here, to help him. Are you with us?" Natsu just nodded back in reply,. "Okay, then we'll do a three pronged attack on him.." "Come on now, I don't have all day girls." "Then let's go!" Sakura exclaimed as the girls spread out, forming a triangle around Shoma. She quickly cupped her hands, building up her ki. "Hadouken!" She yelled as she sent her fireball towards Shoma. "Pathetic," Shoma stated as quickly assumed his pitching stance. "Now see a true attack. Burning Illusion Balls!" Winding up, he let loose with over a hundred fast balls covered in flame. The cancelled out Sakura's fire ball easily. "Is that all you have?" "No," Natsu cried as she jumped in the air. "I'm sorry Shoma, but I have no choice. Blazing Serve!" Shoma just laughed as the flaming volleyball traveled towards him. He calmly unsheathed his giant baseball bat and assumed a hitting stance. And as soon as the ball was near, he hit with his bat and sent it flying towards Hinata. "Ack," Hinata said as she dodged to the side of the attack. She thought she had a snuck up behind Shoma, but it seemed that he knew where she was coming from. "We need to regroup here." A quick nod came from both Sakura and Natsu, as the once again formed a triangle around Shoma. Sakura was beginning to wonder if she was going to need to use her clow cards to take down the possessed Shoma. She slowly reached back to her pocket, hoping to get the illusion card ready to use. Sadly it wasn't there... "Oh no, I left the cards at home!" Sakura yelled in a panic. She needed to leave the house early today, and since she was just going to a game she didn't think she would need the cards. And while she knew that her fighting game skills could get her through this mess, she couldn't help but think that Clow would make this easier for her. "Hey Sakura," Hinata yelled, shaking Sakura from her train of thoughts. "We're going to all go at once. Are you ready?" "Yes." "Heh," Shoma laughed, as he stood calm and collected on the mound. "Let's see if this effort is good enough." "Let's go everyone!" The three girls dashed towards Shoma at the same time, with both Sakura and Natsu preparing an attack at the same time. "Hadouken" "Blazing Serve!" they called together, launching their attacks in tandem. "Easy, Blazing Illusion Ba.." Shoma tried to interrupt but was stopped as Hinata connected with a hard punch to the stomach. She followed it up with another punch to stomach before she called out "Triple Team attack." Shoma tried to block the next punch thrown by Hinata, but before he could do that he was hit by two hard punches from both Natsu and Hinata. The three of them then proceeded to pummel Shoma with a flurry of punches, before the connected with one huge punch to the gut that sent him flying into the dug out. "Shoma!" Natsu cried, as she started to run towards him. "Don't, he may still be possessed!" Sakura said as she stopped Natsu. "Let me go and check. I have an attack that deals with this." "Okay.." Natsu relented, "Just make sure Shoma is okay." Sakura nodded as she ran towards the dugout, summoning her key staff. She hoped that Shoma wasn't knocked out, only just dazed so she could seal the card. She doubted that he was still at 100% after the triple team up attack though. When she finally reached the dug out she was shocked to find that there was nobody there. "He's not here? Where he is..." "I'm right here, Captor" Shoma whispered as he suddenly appeared behind Sakura. Turning around, she was met with the blunt end of Shoma's bat and quickly grabbed her by the throat. "How fun, this makes the game even more interesting. But you can't win. You will never get the old Shoma back, and I will continue to burn through this pathetic competition." "Sakura!" "Stay back!" Shoma yelled as he turned around, his hands suddenly burning with fire. "Or else your friend here will be set on fire." "Yo...ur..fi..rey?" A hearty round of laughter filled the stadium as Shoma tightened his grip on Sakura. She coughed loudly, trying to get any bit of air she could. "Good guess, Captor. But it won't help you now. Once I've dealt with you I'll be free to continue using this shell. Now say good..." Shoma didn't get a chance to finish, as a hard kick connected with his face. Letting go of Sakura, he turned to face the man who had dared to attack him. It was one of the game umpires, the third base one if he remembered correctly. He had short black hair, and brown eyes and a rather cocky look to him. "Now, now, baseball should be played by the rules. And I don't think attacking girls is in the rules." "Oh, and what do you want to make of it?" "I'm the umpire," The guy said as he assumed a fighting stance. "And as such I'm here to enforce the rules." "Then let's see you try," Shoma said as he readied his stance. "Let's go." -----======----- "Sakura, are you okay?" Hinata cried as she helped her friend up. Sakura coughed slightly as she stood up. "I'm...okay. How's that guy doing?" "He's doing quite good, he's hit Shoma with quite a few good knockout blows." "But Shoma isn't going down," Natsu said with concern in her voice. "He looks like he's hurting, his left arm is hanging limp. But he's still fighting at full speed." "He's not going to go down, Natsu," Sakura stated. "What's possessed him will make sure he won't go down. It's like a never extinguishing fire." "So we're only hurting Shoma?" Sakura couldn't look Natsu straight in the eyes. "That's all he's doing, hurting Shoma...And it's not stopping him!" Natsu wildly exclaimed. "Tell me Sakura, how do we stop this guy? How do we stop Firey from hurting Shoma." Sakura's shoulders just slumped, a look of depression on her face. "I don't know.." "Shoma.." "Um, guy's" Hinata interrupted, "I hate to break this up but Shoma's fighting back against this guy and is getting some good hits in." "Damn it," Sakura cursed, "If only we could...we could..." Sakura trailed of as she looked at Hinata, and then at Shoma. "Do you have an idea?" Natsu asked as she shook Sakura. "Well do you?" "I think she does, Natsu. So stop shaking her" Hinata said as placed her hand on Natsu's shoulder. "And if I know what she's thinking it's a rather insane idea." Sakura just nodded her head. "It is an insane idea, a dangerous one. But it's the only way we can think of doing this." "But," Natsu stammered, "You said we can't beat this Firey guy." "We can't, but Shoma can." -----======----- "Blazing grand SLam smash!" Shoma yelled as he extended his burning bat into his opponents form. He tried to dodge it, but couldn't escape the full impact of the blow as he was sent crashing into the ground. "Is...That all you got?" He coughed as slowly started to stand up. "No, that isn't." Shoma replied in a cruel tone. "I've got so much more Mister Umpire. But the game is over for you..." "Shouken!" Sakura yelled as dashed up behind Shoma, connecting with her 8 hit Dragon punch. "So your back up Captor? Couldn't wait to be finished off." "It's you that's going to be finished off, Firey!" Sakura struck a pose, pointing her fist at Shoma's possessed body. "Plus I'm just returning a favor to the guy who helped me out." "Thank you," The guy politely replied as he slowly stood up. "But I could of handled it..." "Not this guy," Sakura stated as she maintained her combat stance. "Nothing can put him down, because his competitive fire burns forever." "Yes it does!" Shoma responded with a confident laugh. "It was quite a stroke of luck for me to be combined with this guy. Shoma's natural hot headed nature and competitive fire combined with my own powers to create the awesome form I am now. I am unbeatable." "No, you're not.." "I'd like to see you try, Captor." Sakura grimaced, and dashed forward. "Shouken!" Shoma just stood there and took the blow, noticing that she was taking all of the force of the strikes. "What..are you doing?" "Why I'm beating you!" Sakura exclaimed as she turned around to face. "Take this, Shunpukyaku!" She leapt into the air with her version of the Hurricane kick, once again taking the full force off the strikes. It had the effect Sakura wanted, as Shoma turned to face her with a look of pure fury on his face. "So you mock my abilities, captor.. Face this. Blazing Illusion ball revised!" Shoma turned, and quickly launched a massive version of illusion ball, with ever ball on fire. "Look out!" The guy cried, as he doubted Sakura could turn around to cancel the effect of the attack. He tried to get up and knock her out of the way, but found he couldn't move. "Damn it, took to much damage!" He cried, as time seemed to slow down. "Now it ends, Captor!" Shoma laughed as the attack was about to hit Sakura. "I shall be the one to take you out, and the clow shall remain free!" However it was not to be, as Natsu quickly leapt in front of the attack, covering Sakura up. The attack impacted with Natsu's back, erupting into a blazing white flash of light. "Natsu..." Shoma whispered as the light blinded him. When his vision returned, he found Natsu lying off to the side of Sakura, unconscious. "NATSU!" Shoma cried, as he was surrounded by a pillar of flame. "How dare you hurt Natsu!" "No," Firey cried as she began to take her Clow form, "How can you be fighting me? How? You we're under my power." "Simple...You...hurt...NATSU!" Shoma yelled, as the pillar of fire grew around him. "Ack!" Firey screamed, as Sakura leapt up to action. "Key which hides the powers of the Dark..reveal your true form before me! I, Sakura, command you under our contract..Release." Readying her Key staff, she ran in close to Shoma. "Revised Key Staff attack, baseball version!" Sakura yelled as she swung her staff like a baseball bat. The end of the staff connected hard with Shoma's Mid section, driving all the air out of him. "Return to your true form, Clow Card!" "No!" Firey screamed as the flames around Shoma were slowly sucked back into the card. The card then floated down to Sakura's feet. "Whew, we got it.." "Natsu.." Shoma muttered as he fell to the ground. "Nat...su..." "Oh no, Shoma!" Sakura and Hinata cried, and the propped up the ball player. "Don't...worry about me...Worry about Natsu.." "But I'm okay, Shoma" Natsu said as she slowly stood up and walked towards Shoma. "Not a scratch on me." "H...ow?' Shoma asked in confusion. "I thought that attack hit you..." "Oh, I just cancelled it out with my Super Rengekiken attack." Hinata said nervously, as she flashed a V to Shoma. Shoma collapsed after he heard that. "I'm glad...I guess I really...screwed..." "Shush, just rest Shoma," Natsu tenderly said, "It's all right now. You just need some rest. Sakura, thank you for your help." "It was no problem," Sakura bowed. "I was glad to help a friend." "And I must say you looked cool like fighting!' Hinata exclaimed. "What is that Clow Card stuff, maybe you can teach me a bit of that style." "Well, I'm not sure about that," Sakura laughed nervously as she looked around the field."Hey, where did that guy that helped me go? I wanted to thank him" "He left awhile back after he made sure I was okay," Natsu said. "Come on, let get Shoma to a hospital." Sakura nodded, turning back to look at the field once more. She wondered if she would ever meet that guy again. She did need to thank him, and he also did look kinda of cute. -----======----- "Hey, why did you leap out there and help that girl?" One of the fellow umpires asked as helped the hurt fighter to the hospital. "I just couldn't stand to see a guy picking on a girl." "Heh, that's my lady killer Toya Kinomoto for you, always making time for the girls." "Whatever," Toya stated plainly as he walked along. He was just helping out, nothing more. Though he did have to admit the girl he helped was kinda of cute. "Sakura, eh? Well I hope get to see more of you down the road." -----======----- Epilogue- Somewhere in Thailand "Sir!" "You may enter," M. Bison, supreme leader of Shadoloo bellowed. "What do you have to report?" "Sir!" he saluted crisply. "We have no more reports on the location of Ryu, he still seems to be in the Himalayan mountain range." "Damn, It's always hard for our satellites to track down anyone in those blasted mountains. Anything else to report?" "Well," the soldier said as he flipped through the report. "We've picked up more of those weird energy spikes in Japan. We had one today that was off the scale." "Hmm, interesting." M.Bison stated. "You may move half of the Satellites tracking Ryu and move them to Japan. I wish to study this energy more." "Yes Sir!" the Soldier saluted, and then turned to leave the room. The door whooshed closed behind. M. Bison continued to look the data over, an evil grin appearing on his face. "Yes, this does seem to have some potential. Potential indeed..." -----======----- -----======----- LEAVE IT TO KERO-CHAN! -----======----- Konya nyatchiwa! I didn't have much of a role today, but that's okay cause I got to play some fighting games. So in honor of that, we'll take a special Kero-chan check and look at the great fighting game outfits. Today we'll look at the star of Art of Fighting, Yuri Sakazaki. Note that she has a neat little Karate Ki, with nice green pants. She wears her hair freely and as a much cuter taunt than that Dan guy. And now for the point you've all been waiting for, It's Kero-chan check time!! Today we luck at the black belt on Yuri's outfit, which she sometimes untie's during a perfect win pose. Thus giving all of the loyal Kero-chan check viewers a nice bit of Service... [Yuri: Ecchi...Haoh-Shokoken!] *Kero-chan flies off into the distance* Yuri: We'll I guess I'm taking over for the rest of this session. So Join us next week for a less perverted and more informative Yuri-chan check! -----======----- Well here is the rewrite, with more description for the Rival School characters. Tried my best to comb out the grammar mistakes, but it's the weakest area so there is still some in there which I apologize for. But I hope this does read better for most people out there... I dedicate this chapter to SNK, which is closing it's doors this week. I enjoyed a lot of their games, and will miss them. Sadly their last game seems to be Kof 2001 and Garou for the Dreamcast (So go out and play them...:) Thanks to Jason Drozd, and Smlee for helping iron out some kinks in this chapter...