Street Fighting!

“SUPER STREET FIGHTER FOUR!”

Kaigo grinned as his hands fell onto the control board that was in front of him. The large hi definition tv that was carefully balanced on the small table in front of him flashed as the game began, the flashy paint-influenced graphics bring him and his opponent to the character selection menu. Before his opponent could blink, Kaigo had chose Ryu, the red bandana unfurling majestically from his head. Kaigo liked Ryu. He had a sense of style and knew he could kick the crap out of anyone who got in his way to become the best street fighter in the world.

Kaigo had similar ideals. Here at the finals of the Japanese Street fighter 4 tournament, he knew that if he one he would be among the best street fighter players in the whole world. And he knew he would win. His opponent had only barely scraped through his last match. Kaigo knew this because he had finished his match in a few short seconds and had immediately walked over to see who he would be facing in the finals.

The sweat on his opponenets hands put a shean on his controller, while Kaigo’s remained completely dry, except for the moisturizer he had rubbed on his hands before the match. It not only made his hands incredibly soft and flexible, but it had the added bonus of killing the disgusting bacteria that was surely covering the well used controller. It was not a standard controller, but one designed for streetfighter, with a 8 way movement stick and a set of 6 buttons, simplifying the controls down to their basics. And kaigo knew he was the best at exploiting the controls.

The announcer’s deep male voice broke out in sharp English, only understood by Kaigo because he had taken time to look up what the words meant. When he said fight, his hands blurred into motion. His hands moved like vipers on the controller, and on the screen Ryu did a series of jumps, kicks and punches, hitting his opponent so fast that he had no time to react. Jumping back after the combo, he let of a Hadouken as soon as he hit the ground, and the ball of energy did the final blow, knocking the dazed enemy over.

As the boy beside him slumped his shoulders, already preparing for defeat, Kaigo sighed. This was easier than he thought. Even this boy, the American champion, was not challenge. He hardly paid attention as the second round started and his character thoroughly thrashed the boy’s. He looked about to cry as he was taken of the stage, and the announce started speaking Kaigo’s name in both Japanese and English, naming him the champion. A group of men, all wearing suits, came onto the stage and handed him a novelty cheque with his winnings scrawled across it, a total of 35,000 dollars. Kaigo barely smiled.

It was all too… easy. Sure, he had now paid for his entire secondary school career. American money was worth quite a bit in japan, and his grades would let him get into any school he wanted. Why did nothing in life challenge him? Surely everyone wished they were as perfect and as skilled as he was, but he just wished something would come along that actually made him work for it.

He wandered out of the stadium after signing numerous autographs and putting up with relentless praise. He had turned down many offers for rematches; anyone he had already beaten was not worth the trouble. Turning around the next street corner, he began the long walk to his bank, carrying the large cheque under his arm.

Hayato stared out the bar's window, trying to see what the weather was like. He was on his way to go put a deposit for the bar in the bank, and he didn't think that he would like to go out if it was sunny, or rainy, or cloudy. He didn't really want to go out at all now that he thought about it. Sighing, he slung a maroon scarf around his neck and stepped out into the bright sunlight of the afternoon. Locking the bar behind him, he looked up and down the street, making sure it was safe. Safe from what he could not say, but at least now he knew that the street was relatively empty. Sighing, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it, stepping out from under the shady awning. He really disliked sunlight.

It had been a very slow afternoon so far, as was expected with the unexpected sun, and the fact there was a tournament of some stupid game going on in the arena down a couple blocks. Shoving the cash deep into his pocket, he started the long walk that would take him to his bank. He did not know why he had chosen one so far away, but it was the one his parents had used and after all these years he had grown attached. It helped that the manager of the branch was a family friend. He had done a lot for his sister and him when his parents had passed away. It no longer bothered him so much to think about that day.

Maybe it was the passing of time, or the fresher wound of the loss of his older sister, but for some reason he was able to look upon it with relative indifference. He glanced to his left as he crossed the street, and when he looked forward again, he found himself looking at a strange sight. A younger man was walking in a relaxed fashion down the street with a humongous check while three members from three different gangs followed, in what they thought was discretion. Hayato almost lost his cigarette when he wondered at the utter stupidity of the situation. Sighing once again, he rubbed the back of his head and made his way over to where the kid was walking.

The first thing he noticed was that he looked like he was still in high school, and the second thing he noticed was that he looked a bit like a, well, to put it bluntly a bit like an idiot. He decided not to make an assumption before actually meeting the guy though. He waited for him to get to the intersection that he was standing at, and joined him when he passed him. He walked beside him, not saying anything at first, only looking over his shoulder at the gang members following them. At the sight of Hayato they seemed to falter a bit, but kept walking. He sighed again in annoyance and glanced at the kid beside him. He was only a bit shorter, but he didn't look like he fought a lot.

"Hey, kid," he said finally, speeding up their pace. "You do realize that you have managed to find yourself followed by three different gangs right?"

Kaigo was bored. Even the gang members behind him did nothing to phase this. From their look they were only good beating someone up using massive numbers, not actual fighting. The hand that was not holding the big check fingered the knife that sat in his back pocket. He was an excellent knife fighter, in fact he was extremely good at most combat style, although he favored the katana over all of them. Unfortunately they had passed a bylaw a few years back that finally made carrying swords illegal in Japan. With a sigh he palmed the knife and began to flick it open and closed. How boring.

Some weird man had also started following him, it seemed. The man was matching Kaigo’s stride perfectly, and kept glancing at him then back at the gang members. Maybe another gang member? An undercover cop perhaps? Both ideas he doubted, the man held neither the swagger of a gang member nor the hard indifference of a man of the law. No, he was a bystander, possibly one that would help Kaigo if it came to blows. Not that Kaigo really needed help, he could handle these grease balls. That and if one of them tried to attack him the others would all start infighting, being members of opposing gangs.

Kaigo smirked as the man spoke of the obvious, the gang members trailing them. It was not as if they had been hiding. He was about to say a sarcastic comeback when he saw a flash on the steel wall past the man. His hand moving faster than even he thought possible, it snapped out and caught a throwing knife that had been heading towards the man’s shoulder. A trickle of blood dripping from between his fingers as the blade caught his own flesh, but the damage was minimal. With a grin, Kaigo spun hard and let the blade fly, watching with satisfaction as it thunked heavily into the owners chest.

“Finally, let’s get this started.” Kaigo said as his knife seemed to appear in his hand. He ran towards the particular gang that had thrown the knife, and watched as the other gangs stared in apprehension. Kaigo did not know how he had garnered the reflexes to catch a throwing knife out of the air, but he was not complaining. He felt more alive right now then he had in months. He laughed, an action that thoroughly spooked the gang members, as he fell into the fray with the two large men from the first gang. Both held knives in their hands.

He spun and twisted, avoiding the numerous stabs and slashes they sent his way, and when one of them overextended a thrust, he grabbed the man’s arm and pulled. The man tumbled forward with his own momentum, and Kaigo’s blade found the back of his kneecap as he fell. He would not be standing anytime soon. The other man thought Kaigo off guard, and attempted to stab him in the stomach. Kaigo barely reacted in time, jumping back and sucking in his stomach, so that the blade only barely pierced his skin. A smile broke out on his face as he brought his leg up, smashing his heel into the man’s chin. The man fell hard onto the ground, surely unconscious.

Kaigo turned his head to look at the man, “Gonna help or what?”