The Wrath of the Crystal Shot ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Ouku-Zai Park, Shibuya Yoko took a look around while the other members of the White Crow Gang got into position. It was a car park. Clear, empty, on the edge of Shibuya. It was obvious that this gang came here to settle differences on a regular basis. They knew all kinds of shortcuts to this place. It helped that it was nearby to an actual grassy park, the perfect place to make a quick escape when the time was needed. Jin Han Yung, Liang Ho Yung and the rest of the group assembled around a space inside of the open-air car park. Yoko walked into the centre of the ring they had formed. Jin Han did the same, coming forth. The circle spread outwards, to give the two of them more room to fight. But Yoko concentrated on Jin. Jin Han Yung was different from most gang leaders. He was sharp, polite, serious and no-nonsense And he did look pretty challenging. Yoko hoped for the most that this was true It was a silly idea to follow a bunch of Tokyo punks into an isolated, hidden area for a fight in such a position, but Yoko felt safe. She felt, accurately, that Jin Han Yong was unlike his brother. He was a boy who truly believed in honour, and would respect the promises that were made between the two of them. Jin spread his legs apart, leaned forward a little, and swung his arms in an exotic way, from side to side, up and down, just until his centre. Yoko brought up her fists and assumed her stance, to get this thing on the road. Though she wanted to enjoy a street fight with a worthy fighter, she still had Xiangau to think about. “Yah!” Jin was the first to act. He shot inward for Yoko, pushing out his palm to strike. The girl was struck bluntly to the face. She backed up to gain some bearing his next action, but he was too fast. Jin threw the palm of the other arm straight into the stomach of Yoko, making he lean forward. Jin saw that as an opportunity, and acted. He hopped from the ground and led with his knee, which hit Yoko around the jaw squarely She was flung back by the head, sliding along the stone of the car park. ‘He’s fast…’ Yoko thought, rubbing her chin. “Hwaaaah!” Jin came in again, this time leading with both arms at his side. His palm swiftly shot out from the left. Yoko sidestepped him, then spun around his side, her hair and body twirling magnificently. Before anyone knew it, she was behind him. That was the speed and elegance of her Angel Dance manoeuvre. Yoko crouched to the ground, her fingers touching the coolness of the stone floor beneath her. She span the front of her body around, her hands alternating positions to make way for both of her legs. Jin gasped as both of Yoko’s sandaled feet swept him off his. The White Crow Gang grimaced as Jin Han Yong flopped to the soft stone floor. Yoko stepped back and waited for him to rise. She could have capitalized and attacked while he was on the ground, but Yoko thought better of it. Over-zealousness with an enemy whose style you were not familiar with wasn’t optional. Nobuo had always taught her that. And this form of Kempo, ‘Kuen Moo style’ as Jin called it, was unknown to Yoko. Jin stood up, and altered his fighting stance before attacking again. This time his charge was slower, and his hands were positioned closer to his shoulders. It was a tight position to attack from. But Yoko could not let that distract her. Jin Han Yung came forward and stepped inside, and thrust his fist at Yoko. The girl titled her head to the side, avoiding that shot at her, then tilted her head in the opposite direction to avoid the second. Before Jin withdrew it, Yoko grabbed his left arm, around the wrist, with her right hand. She pulled his arm to the side, then curled her leg between Jin’s ankles and hooked her foot closely to the back of his. Yoko then pushed at him with her free arm, and tugged her leg back. She released his wrist while doing so, and the result led to Jin’s back touching the floor once again. Jin blinked, looking down at the Yoko’s ankles. From the surprise in his eyes, he didn’t really expect to be bested by a woman. At least not by Yoko. Maybe it was time for… ‘that’ move. Jin rolled over his side to his stomach, then pressed his palms into the ground, tucking his knees under his body. Jin Han forced himself upright, turned around, and cast a cool smile at his opponent, the brave Yoko. The others in the group looked at this and smiled too. The only one whose face remained stoic was Liang. Apparently, his pride had been bruised by his defeat. Maybe he didn’t want his brother to succeed where he had failed. “Here it comes…” One of the surrounding men said. Another at the side sneered. “Jin Han Yung never fails with it.” Jin rolled up the elbows of his blue and silver outfit. Slowly at first. He cast his eyes at Yoko, who was still and prepared just a few metres ahead of him. “You’re a powerful fighter, Yoko. I must admit, I never expected that. Nor did I expect to be forced to use this move so early on in our fight. But like they say, necessity often makes for strange bedfellows.” “What move…?” Nobody said anything to answer her question. Jin Han took the time to nudge his head. The circle around the two fighters instantly got bigger, as the surrounding White Crow Gang backed up on Jin Hang Yung’s command. That presented to Yoko that they knew what he was about to do. Jin Han stood still for a fleeting instant, then pulled up his hands. They moved slowly, and shook, the veins inside them raising as they throbbed with the blood that was now rapidly raging. Those spread fingers clenched together, and Jin slapped his hands together in front of his face, mimicking a man in deep prayer. Jin remained there, in that position, his body becoming more and more tense. It shook, his feet, legs, arms and head all shook, as the young man gathered power within himself. Yoko didn’t know what was coming. It was probably more wise of her to attack him now rather than wait, but she was curious as to what would happen. “Nggaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…” Jun Han Yung growled like a focused beast as the trembling of his body was replaced by trembling in his hand. Seconds later, his hands pulled apart like a clamshell. The tips of his fingers still touched the tips of their opposites, including the thumb, forming an upside down diamond shape between his hands. A small ball of energy burst to life between them. Yoko blinked. What could this be? The ball of energy, a crystal blue, swirling and volatile, grew between Jin Han Yung’s hands until it almost touched the very corners of them. Waves of dust blew away from Jin and through the circled group. There was a bright sheen that passed over the ball, and both Yoko and Jin Han knew what that meant. The young Chinese man alternated the position of his hands, then pulled them around to his right side. In one forceful push he projected both arms forward, screaming, “Suishoudan!” Yoko gasped as a crystalline sphere of power came at her. It was too fast to avoid, too forceful to block. But she had no choice, that was the only way. Yoko stood her ground, crossed her arms over her face and defended. A burning sensation attacked her. The energy ball forced itself against Yoko’s weaker defences, pressing against her arms with its hot, searing energy. It burned magnificently, trails of smoke rising from the point of connection. Yoko screamed as the energy scorched her, realizing that she should have risked dodging it. But it was too late to amend that error. Yoko was forced off her feet and driven straight through the crowds, as the cerulean energy ball rammed her with itself. Yoko tumbled along the ground, rolling over and over again until she stopped, lying in a bruised and burned clump The Suishoudan, the ‘Crystal Shot’, had struck again. Jin Han Yung looked on in disbelief, pleased with the effects of the Suishoudan, but confused at how Yoko could have managed to block it for that long. She even braved the burning of it till it overwhelmed her. What a courageous heart she had. Jin Han withdrew his hands, then stood straight, looking over at his crew. “Someone. Go help her up.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Asagawa Training Facility, Tokyo, Japan “So… it must be very odd for you to return here after so long.” Li Ming nodded to Nobuo. It was weird, in some ways. Though all of the students had moved on (aside from Yoko) it still felt like it had last year. Training with the others to master the teachings that Nobuo had to offer. Ever since her Uncle had told Li Ming of her destiny, she had yet to experience that kind of warmness again. That was why she was so thrilled to be back here after so much time. “It is Nobuo-sama,” Li Ming replied. “I just wish some of the old students were here.” Both Li Ming and Nobuo were within the great hall of the Asagawa Training Facility. Li Ming had been touring the whole place over again, getting re-familiar with the sights, smells and sound of the place she once called home. And she had loved doing that, too. It was nice to re-connect with something you’ve felt you’ve lost. But, the place did have its fair share of changes Something Li Ming did not expect. Yoko was probably right about her. It might have been arrogant, but Li Ming expected everything to be the same when she returned But it hadn’t. This world had been turning, even in her absence Suddenly she didn’t feel like she was a part of it anymore And though that hurt, she knew there was no one to blame but herself. It was her choice to leave this place, hers and no one else’s. Nobuo nodded “They have all moved on. They feel that they have learned all they can from me. I suppose they may come back one day to show me what they learned and what they have improved on. Like you.” Li Ming nodded back to him. “Yes. I have improved. Of course, it wasn’t enough to defeat Yoko. She’s really gotten a lot stronger.” “Yes, a bit of a firecracker!” Nobuo said in good humour. “But she still has a long way to travel. As do you I am sure that the next time you face each other, you two will have improved a great deal.” The doors at the back of the hall burst open. Nobuo and Li Ming looked around and gasped in urgency. Yoko was standing there, her body lit by the light of the outside splashing with the darkness of the hall. It showed off the results of her journey out to town. The knees of her jeans were sheared, revealing her grazed kneecaps. The front of Yoko’s Valkyries tee shirt had been torn. But the most strident of injuries were the burn marks on her arms. Streaky lines of burned flesh fused in part by a radical source of heat. Yoko herself, in her face, looked tired. And both Nobuo and Li Ming knew that she had been fighting. “Yoko?” Li Ming ran to her side, and checked to see if she was okay. “Are you alright? What happened out there?” “I’m fine…” Yoko said irritably. “…I got into a fight… that’s all…” Nobuo sighed “I think that is rather obvious, Yoko. Explain yourself.” What could she explain? That she got over-confident and took something too far? Yoko reprimanded herself already. She didn’t need it from her grandfather or Li Ming. The girl turned her back to them both, with Xiangau’s bandage bag still in her hands. “It’s over now. I don’t want to think about it.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ One by one, Yoko removed the dressings on the sleeping Xiangau’s face, arms, legs and upper body. She clumped them all together, then tossed them in the bin at her bedside. She would have to empty that bin tomorrow morning, it was beginning to get a bit full. Now that those old bandages were out of the way, Yoko began applying the new, fresher ones to Xiangau’s wounds. It was a slow, delicate process, but one that was done with great care and attention. Yoko set to work like a beaver building a damn, and eventually, she had accomplished her goal. Xiangau had almost twenty separate cuts to his body, and Yoko would have to change them everyday to keep infection from setting in, but she was happy to do it. Besides, it took her mind off other things. Like Jin. Yoko shook her head. She didn’t want to remember her defeat. But visions of it would not go away. And what was worse, was that Yoko could not understand why she had lost. She had the advantage. She floored Jin Han Yung more than once But he got right back up and resumed his attack. That… energy wave… Even now, Yoko could recall it. Even when she didn’t want to. That hot streaming ball of energy. Constantly swirling, constantly burning. The heat singeing her arms, the force pushing her back. That was the terrible ruthlessness of energy waves. It allowed even weaker fighters to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. A knock came at the door. Somebody wanted to speak with her. “Come in.” The door slid to one side, revealing Nobuo. Yoko looked away from him and back to Xiangau She could tell that he was ashamed by Yoko participating in such a frivolous fight Yoko didn’t quite understand it herself. She thought that her brother Ryo was supposed to be the hot-headed half of the Asagawa-Siblings. “Yoko.” Nobuo spoke commandingly. She looked back at him, reluctantly. “Yes sir?” “Come with me.” She expected to be punished for getting involved in a fight for no reason. Something like cleaning the entire training hall by herself, or, market duties for a month. But why would she need to go with him to be told that? Yoko just shook her head and followed along, standing up and trailing after Nobuo as he left the room. She cast one more look at Xiangau before leaving, and then followed along. The two walked through the wooden floored hallway, before cut into the training garden. The stone clearing that Yoko came to every morning to practice her fighting techniques. Nobuo walked forward, toward the huge rock in the centre of the field. It was like a training dummy, for use with bokuto. Yoko didn’t use the bokuto much, mostly because she didn’t like using weapons. But it was an aspect of the Asagawa-style that her father Tsukasa had always told her to try at. But what did this have to do with punishment? “What is this all about, Grandfather?” “Yoko,” He said. “I want you to tell me exactly what happened.” She might as well have. It wasn’t like it could get her in any more trouble “I stepped out of here to get some new bandages for Xiangau I got to the market, bought some stuff, then came out. There were some guys there, they call themselves the White Crow Gang.” Nobuo ran a hand through his white beard. “I have heard of them… continue.” “Well, they insulted me, calling me a… I don’t want to repeat it. But the point is, I couldn’t let that go, so I punched one of them. Any other guy came to me, Liang Ho Yung I defeated him just as easily, but then his brother arrived… his name was Jin Han Yung. He said if we had one last fight then the whole thing could be settled. At first I was winning, but then he pulled off a powerful technique… an energy wave.” “Well, that explains the burn marks.” Nobuo said. “But what made you think that attacking that man was warranted?” “They insulted me!” Yoko defended. “You would have been angry too, if you heard what they called me! I just did what anyone else would!” Nobuo scowled “Words! Words, Yoko! That was all it was. Just a feeble-minded person’s idea of humour. You cannot use your power on people because you feel insulted. That’s the kind of recklessness that breeds arrogance. You should fight to defend yourself from danger, not to create it. That was one of the first things I ever taught you.” Yoko hung her head lowly. Now that she thought about it, Nobuo was right. It wasn’t like the White Crow Gang could have forced her into anything. Maybe she should have held off on attacking them. At least until they attacked her first “I’m sorry, grandfather.” Yoko said humbly. “Nevermind,” Nobuo heaved a sigh. “What’s done is done. That is not why you are here.” “Then why am I here?” She asked. Nobuo turned his back to Yoko, turning to the giant rock. “I suspected that you had been defeated by an energy wave, as I have told you. I really hoped that I would not have to teach you one, being that they can be so destructive. But I think you’ve learned a lesson about thoughtlessness today. I believe you are ready to learn the ability that your father and I fine tuned.” Yoko blinked “W-What’s that?” “Watch closely…” Nobuo pulled back. He stamped his feet to the ground, parting them by about half a metre. He gripped his hands into fists, then pulled them back to his sides, one after the other. His upper body leaned forward a bit, and he addressed Yoko while fixing himself into that assumed position of his. “This is the stance Clear your mind, empty it of everything, your fears, your doubts, your confidence, even your memories of the fight so far. Think of nothing. Make your mind like a pool of water. Any pebble-like thought will make ripples that will ruin the tranquillity you need for this.” “I understand.” Yoko said. Nobuo then shut his eyes. His body with completely and utterly still, calm and reserved. It was like he had become a part of the scenery, a void leaf in the quiet wind. “Once you have become devoid of all emotion, you act.” Nobuo followed his instruction with action. He opened his fists and spread his palms, the fingertips pointing downwards. He drew his hands back even further, both turning into vertical positions as they came back. Then, in one smooth and continuous motion, Nobuo pushed both arms forward and roared. “Raaaaahhhhhh!” From his open hands surged a huge wave, a wave of fire, swirling around sharply like a drill The penetrating cluster of Chi-produced flames ripped through the air and headed sharply for the giant rock, leaving sparkling embers in its wake. The sphere of fire energy drilled into the stone, streams of flame turning like a wheel around the blast point. Yoko’s mouth hung open in awe as the flames died down. They detached in falling shards of searing fire, leaving behind the products of their endeavour. A twirl-shaped crater had been cut into the face of that rock. Cracks spiralled outward from the epicentre, the inside of it blackened and smoking. This was the power of the Asagawa-style’s trademark move, the Fire Wave. Nobuo retracted his still smoking hands. “That is the Fire Wave.” “H-How… did you do that?” Yoko asked, her eyes and voice showing her surprise. She would have never believed that Asagawa-style encompassed an energy wave. Let alone one that powerful… Nobuo began walking toward his chambers. “That will be for you to figure out.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Asagawa Training Facility, Tokyo, Japan “Spread legs your legs. Bring your hands to sides. Assume the stance. Clear your mind. Make it free of all troubles. Then once your body has become devoid of all emotion… Haaaah!” Yoko spread her legs further apart, shot her arms forward, opening her palms. But nothing happened Nothing at all. The most she seemed to be able to spark off was a slight puff of smoke. Aside from that, zero! And it was beginning to annoy her. Yoko sighed, then stood upright, wiping the sweat from her face. She had been practicing this move for over two days now, and still nothing. But she had to learn it. If nothing else, she would never have a chance against energy wave users unless she possessed one herself. And if she perfected something as powerful as the Fire Wave, then she would be a force to be reckoned with. Even more than that, she had to learn everything that the Asagawa-style had to offer. In one fight with Xiangau, Yoko had learn not to doubt herself. But it was because of that notion that Yoko had to learn this move. She needed confidence in herself, and maybe by learning the Fire Wave technique, there was a chance that Yoko could obtain that confidence. Though she was a different person to her father, Yoko did want to honour his memory by carrying on his style. And to do that, she would need to the of the herald of the Asagawa-style, the Fire Wave. Yoko sighed again, then strode over to the training rock at which Nobuo had demonstrated the Fire Wave. She stood in awe of it. Pure, solid rock, that now had a twelve-inch deep crater inside it. That was very impressive. If you took it from a normal point of view. The energy produced by Fire Wave was so riotous that it could carve pure stone. There had to be some secret behind the Fire Wave. Something that Yoko wasn’t understanding. But what? What could there possibly be that Yoko wasn’t comprehending? After all, she was performing the opening gestures the exact same way as Nobuo had done two days ago… The Asagawa-girl backed up and drew in her hands again. She was going to learn this move even if it killed her. Just as she was about to attempt it again, someone stepped out from the sliding doors leading into the shrine innards. It was Li Ming. “Yoko,” The Chinese woman said. “Take a break.” Yoko looked over her shoulder. “What is it? I really need the practice right now.” Li Ming smiled She had never known anyone as dedicated to bettering herself as Yoko. It was respectable in many ways. And in many ways, Li Ming hoped that she could someday look at fighting in that light. Still, what was happening now was a little bit more important. The Chinese woman pointed behind her. “Xiangau is waking up.” Well that was certainly worth ceasing the training for. Yoko’s smile brightened, and she leapt from the rock she was standing by, to the inner veranda that Li Ming was standing at. That moment, she ran around the bend of the temple, through the wooden doors into the living spaces. She passed through the door, then ran inside and followed the corridor until she reached her room, the one Xiangau had been sleeping in. With Li Ming taking up the rear, Yoko slid open the door to her and went inside. And sure enough, sitting with his back against the bedpost, was Xiangau. His eyes looked red from continuous sleep, his hair was mess and his cheeks were flowered, but all in all he was fine. Yoko smile brilliantly. “Xiangau!” She beamed. “You’re awake!” The young man’s eyes tried to adjust to his surroundings. “Where am I? What is… this place…?” “This is the Asagawa Training Facility! You see, after our match at the God of Fighting Grand Championships, I woke up to find you out cold. I took you back to the complex, then when you wouldn’t wake up, I decided that it was best for me to take you home. And… this place is home.” “The tournament…?” Xiangau’s head felt hazy. But then, his mind reminded him of one little issue… Reinhalt… “No! What about Reinhalt?! Where is he?!” Li Ming shook her head. “What does he have to do with anything? And besides, I think you should be thanking Yoko. She didn’t have to take you with us. Yet she’s been at your side all this time. Do you realize that you have been out of commission for nearly a week?” Xiangau held a hand to his head. “A… week…? Damn… Mukasa… and Reinhalt… all of them are issues… I need to stop Reinhalt…” Yoko blinked “Stop him from what?” “I…” Xiangau didn’t know just how to say it, but… “I… I can’t remember…” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ END OF THE TOKYO DRAGONS 1994: RISE OF GAIA
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