Return to Sunset City ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "Holy cow! This place sure can change in three years." Ryo Asagawa's deep blue eyes widened as he marvelled at Sunset City for the time in three years. As he walked through the automatic doors leading out of Whiteland Train Station, he couldn't hold back the shock in his mind. The place looks so different from his memories of it. Where there were once slum buildings and cheap stalls by the open road, there were now tall and powerful skyscrapers climbing into the sky. The pavements seemed so much cleaner, the roads were far clearer, and it might have been Ryo's imagination, but streets even smelt fresher "Damn," Ryo said to himself, walking down the clear pavement with his suitcase in hand. "Sunset City sure is different from the last time I saw it. I wonder how all this started...?" It was unimaginable to Ryo. He had been living here most of his life and through that time he had come to associate two words to this town. Dangerous and Lawless. In his day, these streets weren't nearly as clean or safe for that matter. Sunset City had been a filthy stinking hole full of criminals, gangs and hooligans. Those who could fight were the best off, but when it really came down to it, nobody was at all safe. With a mayor that was too afraid to do anything about it, Ryo was sure that Sunset City would have looked even worse by the time he got back. Apparently, that was not the case. Because urban renewal had obviously been Sunset City's main agenda, but for how long? Well, regardless of that, Ryo's amazement could wait. His first issue was to track down his friends, Kayde, Yun-Yun (especially Yun-Yun, girls that hot don't come around often) and Jahn. It had been a while since Ryo left Sunset City, at least three years, so he hadn't really been in touch much. Not that it would have mattered. Communications between Sunset City and the outside world had been blocked up until two months ago. The reason behind this was to slow down the flow of illegal immigrants into the town. Now that he was able to reach the city again, Ryo decided that a visit in person was in order. But he still had no idea if he was staying or not. Still, the main issue was finding his friends. Ryo could remember distinctly that Yun-Yun had sent him a little letter about a month ago, saying that she had started working part-time at the liquor bar that Jahn owned Thankfully, that bar (Diamond Star) was not too far from Whiteland station. Catching up with Kayde would not be as easy, but in all hopes, Yun-Yun or Jahn probably knew what he was doing with himself. The young brunette ran a hand through his wavy black hair and picked up his pace, turning around a corner of a nearby building He may have been gone a while, and Sunset City may have changed, but Ryo still knew his way around. The layout had not changed much, and he knew that this path led to a back street. This back street when straight down from Whiteland road into the Brookwood district. Jahn had opened his bar there at least eight or so years ago, after the previous one was burned to the ground. 'Man,' Ryo thought. 'I remember the days when Kayde, Yun-Yun and me all used to hang out at Jahn's bar. Of course he was never happy about having a trio of barely-legals in his bar, but he always cut us some slack. I hope I can score some free drinks off of him this time, since I'm not a kid anymore.' Ryo continued to hammer over his thoughts, walking down the concealed back street leading towards Brookwood, trekking over a small distance. Though it took about ten minutes longer than Ryo remembered it taking, Ryo finally came into the Brookwood district. And, just as he thought it would be, Jahn's bar stood proudly amongst the other shops and buildings that surrounded it. Ryo loved the sense of nostalgia he felt when he looked upon one of his old hangouts. Jahn's bar, Diamond Star, looked almost exactly the same, except the windows were unbroken and there was no graffiti on the surrounding walls. But instead of just standing there, the young man made his choice and began to stride across the road, toward Diamond Star Ryo smiled as he pushed the revolving glass-paned door open, and made his way inside. He instantly froze when he saw what was taking place inside. Two thugs, dressed up in punk-clothes and sporting some Mohawks, stood in front of the counter They were armed with 8-inch knives, and their greedy eyes observed the cash register Behind the bar was, just as Ryo had hoped, Jahn, dressed up in his trademark grey suit watching the two thugs with contempt. One of them grinned like a madman. "Hey dude! I want every note and every coin in that cash register now, okay!? Do it fast or I'll have to ram this cute little knife into your eye!" "You better do what he says!" The fellow thug added, "This guy would slit his own mother's throat if he wanted to!" Jahn's dark brown eyes rolled. "You buffoons really think that intimidates me?" "Bastard!" The first thug yelled. "This'll teach you to mouth off to me!" In an instant, the ruffian twirled his knife in his hand and clutched at it tightly, then began to thrust at Jahn. The English barkeep didn't move a muscle, but then he didn't need to. A second hand flashed out from nowhere, grabbing thug's armed hand in a crushing grip. It was Ryo, with a confident and beaming smile along his lips. The thug cried out as Ryo's powerful fingers pressed into his hand, but Ryo didn't stop until he dropped the knife. As soon as the metal blade hit the floor, Ryo dragged in the thug and branched out his leg The thug's head snapped back with a bang as he was kicked dead centre, instantly inflicting a black eye that was going to have one hell of a sting tomorrow This punk stumbled backwards, while his cohort looked on in surprise. That kick was so fast that he barely saw it land! "W-Whoa!" The standing thug said, dumbstruck. "I thought that only the boss could attack like that!" Ryo smiled at that man. "Tell your 'boss' this. Anyone who interferes with Diamond Star or its owner will have to answer to me! Ryo Asagawa!" The thug that had been downed by Ryo's single kick looked up with awe. Did he just say... Asagawa? There was no need to question it though. Before the two even knew what they were doing, they turned tail and ran, dashing out through the door and back into the sunny streets. Ryo lowered his fists and smiled once more, turning back to the counter. Behind the counter, was Jahn, with a hugely surprised look on his face. "Ryo?" He said with strain, his English accent a familiar sound to the man in question. "Is that really you?" Ryo nodded "Yup! What's up, Jahn? How long has it been?" "Three years, kid!" Jahn joked. "Grab a stool!" That was what Ryo wanted to hear. The young man walked over to the side of the room, beside one of the many rounded tables that were around. He pulled down one of the stools then walked back over to the front counter. There were no other customers, probably because it was still fairly early, which made this situation even easier to get around. Ryo pressed the stool into the ground and hopped on it, while Jahn walked over to the shelf holding so many drinks and liquors. "What'll it be?" Jahn asked. Ryo grinned "Aren't you gonna ask me for some ID?" "Don't get smart, Ryo Asagawa." Jahn said smiling. "I'll bet you're looking for a taste of the old Blue Moon. You used to love it back in the old days." "That'll do." While Jahn took out the bottle of Blue Moon and began pouring it into the glass, Ryo looked around the place once more. It had been refurbished that was for sure, but it still felt like it had done three years ago. "So Jahn. Is that the first time you've come up against those guys?" Jahn shook his head. "No. Sunset City might have been jazzed up slightly, but it is still dangerous here. And as much as I hate having to fight again, my run ins with the Zazubaza Gang have warranted a return of my fists. I can usually handle these situations though." "The Zazubaza Gang?" Ryo questioned. "They're still active?" "Yup." Jahn replied. "Like I said, lots of things have changed but some are still the same as always. I don't really know much about them but I hear that the police aren't able to keep up with their activities But the police are just as useless now as there were before." Ryo nodded in thanks as Jahn handed him a glass of Blue Moon. "Thanks. So, what about Kayde and Yun-Yun? Are they around? I was hoping to see them now." "Yun-Yun is working here, part time." Jahn answered. "She's not coming in till a bit later for her midday shift. You're welcome to wait, but if you'd like to see her now, you should go up to the Mao Kung Dojo. She and her grandfather still own it and are still training students" "What about Kayde?" Jahn rested his elbows on the bar counter. "Kayde? I haven't seen much of him lately. He comes in every once in a while to grab a drink and chat with Yun-Yun, but aside from that I haven't seen hide nor hair of him. That's just like Americans. Always drifting, never rooted. But I suppose I can't talk. Sunset City's populous is cut from so many moulds. American, Chinese, English, Japanese, Russian, Mexican, Irish, African, French. You name it, we got it." "I gotcha. Well, at least both of them are still around." ********** "Yah! Tah! Wah!" Yun-Yun pounded on the heavy bag in front of her like it was her life. Each one of her beautifully aimed kicks and punches slammed into the thick training tool, creating loud thumping noises that echoed around the training room of the Mao Kung Dojo. It was hard to believe that her grandfather, Shun son Lee, had allowed this to be added to the training room, because usually he frowned on such things. All the same, Shun did pay for it with the money earned through training students, and because of that Yun-Yun was free to pound on this new heavy bag as much as she wanted. It helped her training, but more importantly, it helped her blow off steam. With one last kick, Yun-Yun ended her assault on the heavy bag. She took a deep breath and sighed, when she looked down at her clothes. She was just wearing a sweatshirt and jeans for the simple fun of it, but Yun-Yun had actually sweated all over it She began to wonder how long she was practicing for, and looked up to the clock on the left wall. Apparently she had been working out for like two and a half hours But Yun-Yun just let it roll off her back. It took its toll on her, but the practice was worth it. Despite the urban renewal, Sunset City was still never really safe All you had to do was look out the window of the dojo to see this. The walls that had been freshly painted were now starting to gather more graffiti. One of the windows in the other training room had been smashed in just yesterday too. Sunset City may have been spruced up, but deep down it was the same as it had always been And it was only a matter of time before it sunk back into the harshness that it had sprung up from. Because of this, it was absolutely essential that Yun-Yun was at the peak of her form. Yun-Yun wiped her brow free of the sweat she had collected in her previous workout, and grabbed a towel from a nearby rack. The woman placed her face inside the cooling towel, and rubbed, soaking up the sweat she had produced. While she did that, a door opened at the back of the training room. It swung open to reveal a man, tall and fairly built. His clothing was typically Chinese, his slightly greying black hair tied into a ponytail and thrown over his shoulder. Though this man looked to be about 45-years of age, he was actually around his 60's. Yun-Yun turned around when she heard footsteps. "Huh? Grandfather?" Shun son Lee smiled. "Still hard at work I see." "Uh huh." Yun-Yun answered. "I have to keep in shape. And plus I still haven't mastered all the techniques that you have taught me yet" Shun nodded "It will come in time. I have faith that you will fully understand the depths of our style of fighting. But for now you just make sure that your training stays as it is." "Sure, grandfather. I'll keep trying." Yun-Yun added. "But I better get to work. Jahn will kill me if I'm late again. Plus, I want to get there before any of the Zazubaza gang can cause anymore problems."
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