Ryu's Harem

Part 5: Confrontation - Showdown in Nagoya (no sex)

--Sakazaki Ancestral Home, near Aomori, Japan, two days after Yuri meets with Ryu in Japan...--

"Almost...got it..."

After Yuri Sakazaki got up from her rest after her claiming by normal Ryu, she knew she had to remake herself. Not just in image but in spirit too.

And to start, she would also take the one thing from her family that might just give that change to her. Many years ago, before moving to Southtown, Takuma Sakazaki had mastered the arts of Kyokugenryu Karate. There were five forms of Kyokugenryu, and Takuma specialized in one of them, while Yuri, Robert and Ryo had each specialized in one of the other four.

But now Yuri knew she might have to go against Robert, Ryo and Takuma eventually, especially if she wanted to exorcise the demons that drove her from Southtown. And to do that, she needed to know how they fought and fight like them. First rule of combat: when you know how your opponent thinks, it's easier to design a way to counter them. You'll also be ready to take them on and hopefully beat them at their own game.

Or so it went.

But Yuri was now at her once-family's ancestral home. Years earlier, Takuma had secured a tome with the collected knowledge of the five forms of Kyokugenryu. He'd buried it in a cave behind the home. Or so the stories went. With those stories her only clue, Yuri began on a hunt for the tome. With a shovel, she began digging in the cave after she made an educated guess as to where that tome was.

After digging a few minutes, she struck metal. Digging around it, Yuri was able to uplift a box from the ground. It had been secured with a strong combination lock. No doubt one of Takuma's final safeguards. After a few more minutes of trying to recall Takuma's stories, Yuri was able to spin the dial on the lock and open it. The box was then opened to reveal...the Sakazaki Tome of Kyokugenryu. In a special plastic bag to prevent decay, no doubt.

Taking the tome into a backpack, she relocked the box and reburied it, taking pains to make sure it looked like nothing had happened. It had been a few days since she had been thrown out of Southtown by her father, so there was no telling if he thought she'd try to get to the tome. And there was no telling if Takuma had already taken precautions in case of this, either.

Once she thought she was in the clear, she took the shovel and backpack and got out of there as soon as she could.

--Yuri's Motel Room, later that night--

"Hi, Mai, it's Yuri. I got that family heirloom I hoped to get, and I'll be back tommorrow night," said Yuri after she got in touch with Mai.

"That's good to hear, Yuri," said Mai. "Did you have any problems?"

"None yet, but whether Takuma, Ryo and Robert ever found out I took it I don't know. I'm not even sure if they DO know about it. If they do, I might have trouble."

"Well, get back here as soon as you can. I'll try to keep you covered if they come nosing." Mai knew Yuri was out to get that 'family heirloom,' but since the Sakazakis threw her out of the family, Yuri's claim on it was now questionable at best.

And since she was now persona-non-gratia around the Sakazaki home, Yuri's acquiring the tome was possibly "theft". But now Yuri had what she needed (or so Mai hoped) from there, and Mai hoped Yuri could use it to go on with her life. The other thing Mai knew was whatever road Yuri took to get there would eventually go through Ryo, Robert and Takuma as well as King.

--Shiranui Dojo, a few weeks later--

Ryu had just gotten out of his ki-training with Yuri, the latter had not a stitch of clothing on. But no sex was performed.

Yuri had told Ryu that she'd heard from Mai to get in tune with your ki, you had to be nude. Without clothing to hinder your movement, you could be more in touch with yourself. Ryu just chuckled mentally at that. He'd grown to love Yuri as much as she loved him, and Mai loved them both. This was no doubt one of Mai's little jokes to get Yuri to loosen up.

Once, Ryu had helped Yuri train while nude as well. The point he stressed was that to channel ki, you've got to be able to do it under less-than-ideal situations.

Like when you have a lot of distractions and temptations.

And when you're naked, the temptation to grab your trainer or your trainee and screw them silly was very strong indeed. But Yuri had admirably performing, even with them rubbing against each other. Mai had said that Yuri's skills had increased by leaps and bounds.

"She even performed well in the Tokyo fight clubs. Often good enough to take the prize purse (as well as a few side bets on her). She's even crafted a new alias--Miss Kabuki. Her own family wouldn't know the new Yuri Sakazaki."

As for the extra Kyokugenryu training, Yuri took it very seriously indeed.

"She almost took it as seriously as I took refocusing my Shiranui ninpou skills," Mai had answered Ryu when he'd asked her on how Yuri was doing.

To that extent, Ryu had pulled Yuri to the side while she was on a break.

--flashback--

"Why are you training like this?" Ryu had asked Yuri.

"I want to do it so I can be able to wipe the smirks off of the faces of my former boyfriend and family," said Yuri as she drank from a bottle of water. "Sooner or later, I'm going to have to face them again, and I want to be able to match them skill to skill."

"That's not a good reason," went Ryu. At Yuri's incredulous look, Ryu replied, "Sit down."

Yuri sat, and Ryu went, "You know my story, right? I train to be the best in Ansatsuken. I still do. My sensei, Master Gouken, was the absolute best in the art. Then...tragedy struck." Ryu sighed as he continued. "His brother, Gouki, tapped into the dark, forbidden, evil side of Ansatsuken. The Dark Hadou. Ansatsuken means 'Murderous Fist,' and there are some techniques that can kill a person in a single blow. He later fought my sensei, and killed him." Ryu bowed his head. "I found his body, and went into mourning. When I found out who killed him...my focus then shifted, like yours."

"What do you mean?" asked Yuri, surprised at this.

"I wanted to see that whoever killed my sensei was just as dead. It took me a long time, and I caught up with Akuma. He nearly brought me to the brink, but I've beaten the bastard and avenged Gouken. Before he died, he told me about my own Dark Hadou, and of how I would end up like him. I had beaten Akuma, but Gouken was not coming back.

"I felt...empty, Yuri. Revenge had driven me to where I would have been just like him if good people hadn't stepped in. I owe my soul, as well as my life to them. That's what happens when you use revenge as your motivation. It distorts your art, corrupts your mind and spirit.

"I'd read where one man tried to take the 'I'll show you' route, just like you, Yuri. He ended up asking himself at a crucial time, are you doing this because you want to succeed and better yourself, or are you wanting to tell your detractors 'Go fuck yourselves'? He said if it was for the second reason, then that was the WRONG reason. You never want to throw away your life to spite someone else. So what I want you to do now is to refocus yourself as to improving yourself rather than revenging yourself. Because when you improve and succeed, you can go on with life and make peace with yourself."

"Wow," said Yuri, "That's deep."

"That's also true," went Ryu. "Come here."

Yuri did as he asked. Ryu took her in his arms as he continued. "Because I believe in you there is a young woman wanting to live, not die. Wanting to succeed, not fail or spite. I can help you get her to the surface, but you've got to be willing to let me."

Yuri looked Ryu in the eyes. "I want to succeed. I want to bring her out." She then tightly embraced Ryu. "I want you to help me," Yuri whispered, then kissed him.

Ryu smiled. "Let's get started."

--end flashback--

Yuri had also redoubled her energy in studying the rest of the tome. Ryu has also given her some pointers in ki manipulation by using Ansatsuken techniques. There was a tournament in Nagoya coming up, one she used to go with her family to and compete in. This might be the chance she needed to put her family problems behind her once and for all...if she did it right.

[She's got only one shot, so I hope she doesn't blow it,] he thought with concern.

After all, some times there's only one chance to do the right thing.

But all that Ryu needed to know was that tournament would be something he'd need to look into as well. He'd need to make some arrangements as to travel and lodging, and also clear it with Chun Li and the girls. Lodgings were covered, since Ken's family had hotels all over the world and Nagoya was one of the many places where he could stay for free. He'd begun thinking of Kei and Sakura as more than just two teenaged girls. And Chun Li as more than a fiancee. In a very kinky way, they'd become a family. One that he couldn't admit fully in public, but a kinky, close-knit family nonetheless.

And every family needs the head to bring home dinner. And lunch. And breakfast. And assurances they won't be out on the street.

Which was what he was doing by being in tournaments. Any time he "placed high enough" he'd take home cash, more than enough to keep the finances at home going. Chun Li did her part in both her tournaments as well as her Interpol paycheck, but he wanted to make sure she knew he could be counted on to shoulder his share too.

He'd done that recently with a few matches, enough to take on a challenge match here and there where no cash was at stake, but pride was. To a fighter, though, ego was just as valuable as money. The right name with the right record could command good odds or great purses. And a champion title or two even more.

But to get all that, you had to win.

While Yuri might've done well in the fight clubs, it was just a warm up. It would be the tournament that would determine if "Miss Kabuki" would be a big hit...or simply a miss.

Ryu hoped for her sake she'd be a hit that would send her former friends and family out of the park.

But either way, Yuri had said the Nagoya tournament would be one to remember. In the past she'd always enjoyed herself there, with a respectable showing then. Now, though, she wanted more than that.

She wanted to win.

She wanted to drive off the demons.

She felt she finally got her "battle groove" back and wasn't going to let anyone take it from her again.

Again, Ryu hoped she was ready.

It was only a matter of time until Nagoya...

-Nagoya, Japan, the several days later...-

Yuri had called it right, Ryu deduced. This tournament was definitely something to remember, as the best of the best from Japan, China, Korea and the United States. He wondered why neither he nor Ken was notified of this tourney.

'Maybe we both would have cleaned house,' Ryu noted as both Yuri and Mai stood beside him. Yuri was dressed in a white-and-red version of her green outfit that she wore when she had met up once again with Ryu. Instead of her bandanna, she wore a metal kabuki mask on her face, concealing her identity from the participants.

Especially from the Kyokugenryu School.

Mai wasn't competing. She was there as moral support of Yuri and Ryu. Her hair was still short, but was in the process of growing back. She was dressed in casual clothes: a turtleneck sweater, black denim pants and tennis shoes. She knew that she getting stares from most of the men there (some of the women included), mainly because she had the biggest bust in the entire arena.

Two women noticed Mai as well. But it wasn't in the sexual sense. One was a friend and former teammate of hers from back in the King of Fighters tournaments, who was also the girlfriend of Ryo Sakazaki. Like Mai, King was there for moral support for her boyfriend and his school. The last time both King and Mai had spoken to each other was shortly before the Southtown Incident when Mai had left in disgrace.

King had found out about it though Mary once Mai had left Southtown. Then the incident with Yuri had taken place, and King wanted to basically beat the living hell out of Yuri should she see her again. However, only Mary and Mai knew the truth concerning Yuri's behavior and wondered how King would take the news that aside from being raped by Geese and Mr. Big, that Yuri was a victim of incest by her father and Ryo.

The sponsor of the tournament, Chizuru Kagura, had also noticed Mai and the masked woman flanking Ryu. She knew about Ryu though his friend and rival, Ken Masters of the Masters Foundation. She also knew about the chain of events that surrounded both Mai and Yuri. Disgusted at Robert Garcia and at the male members of the Sakazaki family, she severed her ties with the Garcia Concern, thus bringing a hopeful business alliance with Garcia to an end.

The thought that was going through both Chizuru and King's minds was, 'What's Mai's connection to Ryu?'

===

The tournament then began. Both the Kyokugenryu School and Ryu, the sole representative of his school--which he intentionally labeled incorrectly as the Shotokan School of Karate--were the dominant forces in the tournament, as was Yuri in the womens' competition, taking out any and every challenger that were laid before them.

Yuri was most impressive, she had put all of the female contestants on notice. Under the alias Miss Kabuki (in a parody of her father's alter ego, Mr. Karate) she even caught the eye of her former family members, seeing as how she had managed to conceal her Kyokugenryu skills from them, causing Takuma and the others to mistaken her style for Western Kickboxing.

Takuma and the others also suspected that the mystery woman had ties to Ryu as well, seeing as how she was hanging around with him. But Takuma couldn't shake the feeling that she was somewhat familiar to him. King also felt the same feeling about the mystery woman as well. During the intermission, King excused herself from Ryo and the others in order to speak to Mai. As she rounded down a back corridor, she stopped when she heard Mai talking to Chizuru. Fortunately for her, they were both talking about Ryu.

"So how you've been?" Chizuru asked.

Mai slowly nodded. "I've been doing okay. And you?"

"Busy as always. You know how it is with running your own business." Chizuru paused for a moment. "I saw you come in with Ryu. What's your story with him?"

"He's been there for me since the whole Incident," Mai explained. "He's a real good friend. If it wasn't for him...then I really don't want to think about the alternative. I'm just here as support for him. Just showing my appreciation for all he's done for me."

"So you're still fighting?"

Mai nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not competing in this tournament though. I'm just waiting for the right moment to make my return to the ring."

"So you heard about Yuri?" Chizuru inquired.

"Yeah. I heard she left Southtown after what had happened."

"Any idea as to where she may be?" Chizuru asked. "I'm really worried about her."

Mai suspected that someone might be listening in on their conversation, possibly someone from Yuri's estranged family so she lied to Chizuru. "So am I. She's really not all that stable after all that's happened."

Chizuru nodded in understanding. "I hope she's all right," she said, catching on. "It's been several months now."

Having heard enough, King turned and walked off. She wasn't even close to her goal in finding Yuri and finishing what she had started. After making sure that they were alone with no one eavesdropping Chizuru turned to Mai. "Well..."

"Yuri's staying with me at my place," Mai explained. "Ryu took her under his wing."

"She's being trained in his style of fighting?"

Mai shook her head. "No. When she first arrived, she went to Aomori to retrieve a family heirloom, which was a book complete with Kyokugenryu techniques. Ryu's been giving her some ki-training as well. So far, she's mastered several levels of Kyokugenryu."

"Is she here?" Chizuru asked.

Mai nodded. "She's the one in the kabuki mask. It was her idea to come here. I think she has something planned for Ryo and the others."

"Does he know about what happened to Yuri?" Chizuru asked.

Mai nodded. "She told him everything. And he decided to help her out. You really should be thanking him. He helped her recover from what had happened in Southtown."

Chizuru raised one hand to her chin in thought. "Maybe...but there is just something about Ryu that makes me uneasy..."

Mai smirked. "As if." She turned and walked off. "Come on. The tournament's starting back up again."

===

The semi-finals were taking place. In the womens' competition, Yuri cleaned house. Her mask nearly came off on several occasions, but she managed to keep her identity concealed. Ryu continued to blow past the competition with little difficulty as well. However, Ryo failed to past one particular challenger and Robert ended getting himself disqualified following Ryo's loss.

Yuri ended up winning by a stroke of luck when her challenger for the final match had to forefit due to an injury. Ryu went on to face the challenger who had defeated Ryo. Unlike Ryo, who had failed to defeat the challenger, Ryu defeated him easily and won the tournament. This was more than the Kyokugenryu School can take. They were seeing red.

At the awards ceremony, Chizuru Kagura was presenting Ryu with his trophy when the Kyokugenryu School crashed the ceremony.

Ryu turned to the uninvited guests. "Oh. It's you guys. What do you want?"

"What do you think we want?" Robert shot back. "That trophy should belong to the Kyokugenryu School, not you!"

Ryu tucked his thumbs into his belt. "And I guess that you two should have this trophy. I'm really not into ceremony, but if memory serves, you didn't win the tournament."

Ryo took a step forward. "Well, we're here now, so let's do it! You and me! We'll see which is better, Kyokugen or Shotokan!"

The crowd was definitely getting into this little feud between the fighters.

"It's Ansatsuken," Ryu corrected. "And I'm only one man. I managed to make it through the tournament, while the both of you let your egos get the best of you. That is your fatal flaw."

Takuma folded his arms across his chest. "Your fatal flaw is that you have no backup. Your blond friend is in America. There is nowhere for you to run to now."

Ryu merely grinned. Apparently, he had something up his sleeve. Soon, it will be time for Ryu to play his hand. "As much as I would like to fight all of you," Ryu continued, "I'm going to have to decline. However, someone wishes to fight in my place."

At that moment, Yuri, still wearing her kabuki mask, stepped onto the platform. Even though her face was concealed, her eyes read nothing more but bloody murder.

Ryo scoffed. "A girl? Doesn't matter who you got fighting for you. You won't be able to win against us. Nobody can beat Kyokugenryu!"

At that moment, Yuri removed her mask, just as Ryu drops the bomb on his rivals. "Not even your own sister, Sakazaki?"

That stopped the Kyokugenryu squad in his tracks. "Wh-what?!" Ryo gasped.

Robert shook his head, obviously in disbelief. "No...Yuri?!"

Takuma was in the most shock. He turned to Ryu. "You...you turned her against us!"

Ryu moved behind Yuri and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You did that yourselves. She came to me and you can say that I saved her from herself. It will be most interesting to see Kyokugenryu measures up against itself. And after all you've all put her through...I don't think she's too happy to see any one of you." He then turned to Yuri. "Now it's a good time to release your anger."

King had enough of waiting. She charged towards Yuri...

...only to run straight into a spinning roundhouse kick to the face. King was out like a light.

Then Yuri was on the three men. First Robert, who was brought down with a powered-up Raiouken, which was followed by a Double Upper. Ryo was next, the victim of a Super Yuri Upper.

Only Takuma remained. Donning his infamous Tengu mask, Takuma went into Mr. Karate mode as Yuri charged at him like a woman posessed. The former teacher and student fought. Only this time, as Takuma found out, Yuri had been training in the various levels of Kyokugen following her banishment from the Sakazaki home several months prior.

There were five levels of study in Kyokugenryu Karate: Ko-ou, Ryugeki, Hienshippu, Raiou and Shoran. Ryo was proficient in the Ko-ou level, whereas Robert was the expert in the Ryugeki level. Takuma was proficient in the Shoran level, which was the highest level of the Kyokugenryu study. Yuri started off on the Raiou level, but quickly mastered the first three as well as the Raiou style and was currently studying the Shoran Level.

The battle had since left the ring and went into the audience, Yuri and Takuma trading blows--Yuri more than her father. Right now, Takuma Sakazaki was receiving a serious case of divine retribution from his daughter. Takuma had to do something fast, or else the battle will most likely end very badly for him, as it did with Ryo and the others. He then hopped back, so that he was back on the platform, while Yuri was on the sidelines.

"It's over, Yuri!" Takuma shouted. "I have the high ground!"

"You think that's going to stop me?" Yuri shouted back as she prepared to jump.

Takuma saw what she was planning on doing. "Don't try it."

Too late, Yuri was already in the air, heading towards Takuma, who prepared to knock her out of the air with a roundhouse kick.

That's when he noticed her cupped hands glowing. He realized that Yuri had tricked him, but it was too late.

"Haoushikouken!" Yuri yelled out as she released a massive wall of energy from midair, sending it towards Takuma.

Takuma didn't even have time to block or avoid the blow. Fortunately for him, he didn't feel a thing as the wall of energy rendered him into unconsciousness.

Yuri landed on the edge of the platform. She had exahusted herself by performing the ultimate technique, and even with Ryu's ki training, it still wasn't enough. As she passed out from the effort, Ryu was there to catch her before she could harm herself from the fall. Without a single word, Ryu carried her out of the arena. Mai followed them as medics rushed to tend to the fallen Kyokugenryu fighters and King.

===

-Mai's home, later on...-

"How's Yuri?" Ryu asked as Mai walked into the living room.

Mai sat down next to Ryu. "She's going to be okay. All she needs is rest."

"That's good to hear."

"Here's something else you didn't know about the Sakazakis," Mai said. "King also commited incest. With her teenage brother."

"How do you know that?" Ryu asked, surprised.

"She told me," Mai replied. "It's amazing as to what kind of info you get from some people when they're drunk."

"You think she knows about Yuri and her family?"

"Probably," Mai replied.

"No doubt they deserve each other," Ryu snorted as he stood up. "I'm going to check on Yuri."

===

Inside Yuri's room, Yuri was resting in the bed. She had changed out of her clothes and into an oversized dress shirt which wasn't buttoned, but did a good job of concealing her breasts. When Ryu walked into the room, she assumed a sitting position as Ryu sat down on the bed.

"How you feeling?" Ryu asked.

"I'm exhausted," Yuri replied. "But I'm okay."

Ryu placed one hand on her face. "You did good, Yuri. I'm proud of you."

"Good is an understatement," Mai said from the doorway. "That was unbelievable."

Yuri shook her head. "No," she said as she looked at Ryu. As she hugged him tightly, she added, "Someone believed in me."