Chapter 10: Seattle, Washington

"OOOF!!!"

Sean gasped for breath as a foot rammed straight into his gut, temporarily cutting off his air supply. His opponent, a practitioner of Tae Kwon Do named Cho, managed to land in a few more hits on Sean before knocking him down for the count with a roundhouse to the side of the head.

Watching from the sidelines, Ken couldn't help but shake his head at the way his student's fight was coming along. He noticed that Sean was having some degree of difficulty with his opponent due to his long leg reach.

"SEAN, YOU NUMBSKULL! WATCH YOUR GUARD!!!", shouted an irate Mel.

Ken looked at his son and thought to himself why he even agreed to let him come along. Eliza had expressed disagreement when Mel wanted to tag along and watch Sean’s match. But Mel insisted so much that she finally gave her consent on the condition that Ken be responsible for him. Apparently Mel was enjoying this little outing very much and at the moment was now urging Sean not to give up so easily.

"C’mon Sean. Watch his legs and keep moving!!!", encouraged Mel.

Although the worse for wear, Sean still some stamina left in him. Hearing Mel’s cheers, he finally decided to take matters into his hands. Blocking his opponent’s barrage of kicks, Sean was able to slip past Cho’s defenses and connect with a solid punch to the stomach. While Cho was stunned momentarily, Sean took the advantage and rushed at him in a quick tackle. Knocking the fighter down, Sean proceeded to smash him repeatedly before retreating hastily a few yards back. Cho struggled to get back up but fell to his knees still dazed from Sean’s assault. Sean had already started gathering his chi for the final attack that would end this match. As Cho finally got to his feet, he could already sense that this fight was over and promptly braced himself. Holding his hands to his body, Sean concentrated his chi into a tight ball of energy before throwing the glowing sphere at the hapless Cho.

"HADOU BURST!!!!!!"

The inhumanly fast fireball slammed into Cho and knocked him off his feet. He landed on the ground unconscious a few feet from where he originally stood.

Sean sank to his knees, utterly spent from the battle as applause erupted from the spectators who had witnessed quite a good match. Mel was all cheers for Sean on his win and despite himself, Sean could only snicker at the kid who moments ago had been deriding him on how the match was coming along at first. After making sure that Cho was properly attended to, Ken went over to Sean's side to congratulate him on his match.

Sean beamed at Ken and said, "Master, I did it! I beat my opponent…"

Ken smiled and replied, "Not bad… your skills have greatly improved. But don't let this win get to your head, though. You've still got a long way to go before reaching my level."

"Don't worry, Sensei. I'll keep that in mind.", Sean said.

"Hey, Dad. What are we gonna do for a victory celebration?", asked Mel.

Ken answered, "Hmm… let me think about it. Let's pick up your mom first then I'll take you all out for pizza. How does that sound to you boys?"

"Sure thing.", both replied as they started away.

Suddenly, Ken involuntarily tensed as if sensing a dark familiar presence. He promptly scanned the surrounding area hoping to make sure that everything was alright. Noting the sudden apprehension, Sean asked, "Sensei, what's the matter?"

As the dark aura gradually faded Ken relaxed ever so slightly. Turning to Sean who was looking at him with a puzzled look on his face, Ken answered, "It's nothing. I just thought I saw something, that's all. Anyway, we'd better get going."

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Hidden in the shadows, Akuma watched Ken and his charges as they walked away. Akuma had sensed that Ken Masters was nearby and had proceeded to search him out of curiosity.

Akuma said to himself, "Ken Masters, truly your fighting spirit hasn't diminished since our last encounter. However, I shall leave you be for now… perhaps until another day."

A sinister grin crept across his features as he anticipated the battle that was to come. It irked him, however, that Ryu was proving to be as elusive as ever.