SS: Teacher and Student-Part 2

~~~ "I guess we'll never see eye-to-eye, huh?"

"I guess not, Kasugano-Sensei," grumbled the boy.

Sakura winked with a wide grin and a giggle seeped out. She ruffled the kid's hair and gave him a slap on the back.

"I'm sorry I was so hard on you, Kenji."

"I'm sorry I disrespected you, Sensei."

"It's all right, Kiddo," the teacher assured, waving her hand off toward the group of boys who clamored around with their handheld gaming systems. They waved back timidly.

"But let's make a deal," Sakura suggested, still gazing at the other kids. She turned to face Kenji and gave him a sly half grin, poking his shoulder. "You put in more effort during class, and I'll take it easier on ya."

Kenji rubbed the back of his neck, face flushed. What kind of teacher was she, making deals with her students? Wasn't she just supposed to take charge?

"Y-yea, sure. That sounds good, Kasugano-Sensei."

"Then we have a deal!" Sakura proclaimed, proudly folding her arms across her chest. "That was all, Kenji," she dismissed. "I'll see you in class." She nodded her head off in the direction of the boy's friends.

"Sensei," Kenji muttered, tightening his backpack.

"Yea?"

"I know Taka-Sensei is sick, and I hope he gets better...But if we end up needing a new teacher to take his place..."

"I guess I'd probably need to take things a little more seriously!" Sakura laughed in spite of herself.

"But...not TOO seriously...right?" Kenji prodded.

"Pff!" Sakura tossed her arm, shaking her head. Frowning in exaggeration, she deepened her voice, bellowing, "100 push-ups! 30 laps! No mercy!" and immediately burst into a snicker, oddly leaving the boy's question unanswered.

Some of Kenji's friend's had made their way over, muttering to each other.

"Kasugano-Sensei!" one of them called out amidst the bustle of the Taiyo High School students being set free for the day.

"You're so cool, Sakura-San!"
"I can't believe you just called her that!"
"I can't believe she teaches at OUR school!"

Sakura cracked flattered grin.

"Thanks guys, but it's no big, I just needed a job, and-"

"You know him, right?"
"Well, duh, 'course she does."
"Yea, she's fought him before and everything!"
"She like, learned how to fight from him, right?"
"No, stupid. She just copied him."

"Wait, wait, what?" Sakura interrupted their frenzy.

"Ryu-San!" they chimed together.

~~~ "You know him, don't you?"

"Hm...Ryu...Ah, right!" he triumphantly raised an index finger in realization of her question. "Of course I know that guy! We've trained together, fought side-by-side, waged wars with fists and feet of fury, split the earth and heavens in our wake. Of course I know Ryu."

"Omigod, really?" squeaked the eager girl clothed in jeans and a pink t-shirt with a monkey face.

"Yea, yea," murmured the main in the pink robes.

"Do you know where I could find him?" the girl demanded, clasping her hands together.

"Ah, well," the cleft-chinned man spurted out, stealing a moment of silence to coordinate his answer. "Ryu, I mean...He's a lone wolf, right? Always traveling the world and stuff...Takes that whole 'World Warrior' title to the next level, ya know? You never know where's gonna show."

"Except when there's a new tournament, right?" the over-excited Sakura proposed. The man in pink scratched his abnormally large chin at the thought.

"Well, yea, sure, then he's not as hard to find, I guess, but it'll be a while before the next one..."

"But when there is one, you'll hear about it?" Sakura was wide-eyed, strung along on baited breath.

"You kidding? Dan Hibiki never backs down from a tournament."

Sakura's gloved hands pumped a few times through the air.

"Me, neither! I'm sure I'm good enough to make it into the next one!"

Dan laughed, shaking his head.

"Uh, you're a little young there, Champ. You've gotta be 18 to enter the World Warrior tournament. But I like the spirit you've got there."

Sakura's excitement was extinguished, her arms sagging, but only for an instant.

"Ya think I'll ever get in a couple years from now when I'm old enough? You've seen me fight!"

"Eh, well, you've got spunk, Girlie," the ponytailed man admitted. "I can see a burning strength inside you. With proper training under the right martial arts, you could even rival me some day."

Sakura clearly caught on at this point how his voice seemed to constantly exude a sense of superiority. She'd at first been fooled by this, but had long since learned to see through his cocky mannerisms. All the same, she'd heard through the grapevine that this man knew Ryu-San. Networking was bound to get her somewhere right?

"But," Dan hesitated, wagging his finger, "you'd need to be trained in the ways of Saikyo to have any hope of being true World Warrior."

Sakura absent-mindedly pulled out her cell phone from her pocket when it vibrated and glanced at the screen.

"Saikyo?" she wondered aloud, skeptical.

[Where are you? Are you going to be late?]

"You've never heard of Saikyo?" Dan exploded, enraged at the thought, slapping his face. "And you call yourself a fighter?" He was practically steaming.

"Uhhh...huh?" Sakura murmured, punching keys into her phone while keeping her eyes on the crazy man in pink.

[Yea. Checkin out dojo. Like you said.]

"Saikyo is only the single-greatest form of combat to grace the planet!" Dan cried out proudly, flexing his arms. "Thousands of warriors strive to master its secrets!"

Sakura scratched her nose and she clicked another button.

[Sending]
[Sent!]

"Huh." She stuffed her phone back in her pocket, glancing around the dimly lit wooden room. "Thennn how come there's no one here?" she inquired, finding the whole thing suspicious.

Dan's proud pose jerked into indignation.

"Eh-It-It's a pretty exclusive club here, Kid!"

Sakura shrugged, inspecting the lifeless building. There was a wilted plant sitting in a pot in the corner.

"What's it take to get in?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow but bold and determined nevertheless.

Dan huffed air through his nostrils and regained his composure.

"Only those who prove to me that they are worthy of studying the ways of my father's teachings can become my students."

Sakura strutted up to him, her eyes squinting with suspicion. She jabbed her finger into his sternum, practically piercing his gi.

"Haven't I already done that?" she asked. "I remember you." A quirky squeak accented her 'I.' "You're that weirdo who keeps challenging me to fights and races and all that crap. And I kick your ass every time. Like a couple of weeks ago on my way home from school and you ended up in the garbage dumpster..."

"A noble showdown, indeed," Dan mused solemnly. "You lacked technique - and style, I mean, who in their right mind uses trash as a weapon? But you were a worthy opponent, nonetheless."

"You didn't even attack me," Sakura amended, her voice now a dulled dagger. "You just shrieked and ran around. And didn't I break your arm?"

Dan eagerly flashed his chunky bicep.

"I'm a warrior, Sakura. I've endured enough hardships where a mere flesh wound barely affects me."

There was a moment of unsettling silence and the bulging of arm muscles before Sakura's eyes elicited a response: "Riiiiiight."

"And how could you forget the might Dan Hibiki, anyway?" He thumbed his chest, glowing. "I've been testing your will, your patience, your endurance, determination, guts...to see if you had what it takes."

"What it takes to do what?" Sakura asked, shrugging.

"Er, eh...What...What it takes. Ya know. What it takes. And it seems that maybe you do! I just decided."

Sakura was carefully considering the situation. If this guy had connections to Ryu, and his own dojo, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to stick with him for a while. Even if he was a cocky ass and a pushover. Besides, maybe she could learn a thing or two, right? Maybe? In either case, she would have a place to focus her energies on, like Kei had suggested.

"You really need to look into a dojo, Sakura," she had advised. "Promise me you will. I just know it'll help you control yourself better. It'll just work out better for both of us, and for all of the poor guys you beat up on at school!"

While Sakura had insisted that the whole appeal of street fighting was the unpredictability of it all, she couldn't deny that she could do with less spontaneous detention-inducing scraps and more formal training. She was seriously questioning how "formal" this training with be with this Hibiki character, but just having a real place to practice, and an adult supervisor to her fighting would be beneficial. And maybe his strange and gullible nature could even prove to benefit them both.

"Well, then...would you be able to teach me how to use the Hadoken technique properly?" she wondered.

If he's really trained with Ryu-San, maybe he knows how to do it...But then again, I dunno, I mean, he's pretty...well...Yea. Different.

"Ha!" Dan scoffed. "Of course! I've mastered the Hadoken technique with a single hand!"

Sakura's jaw dropped.

No. Fucking. Way.

"Wow," she whispered, shocked at the idea. "You serious? You can really shoot Hadokens from ONE HAND?" Her eyes squinted, seeing through his talk. "For real? Even Ryu-San can't do that..."

Doubt clung to the dust drifting in the air of the musty dojo for a moment as Dan stared her down.

"Show me," she concluded, calling his bluff.

Dan's resolute determination faltered for a moment before he stole his composure back from this grubby girl's hands.

"It's harder than it looks, ya know," he cautioned, pulling back his arm. Sakura inched closer, carefully observing his posture.

"Ya might wanna stand back, Kid," he warned with a nod. "Don't wanna burn your face off or anything."

Sakura ignored his request, thoughtfully resting an elbow on in one hand and an index finger over her lips.

"Witness the might...of the Saikyo Gadoken!"

Dan's bulky palm thrust forth with a bold strike. A baseball-sized flame of puke green spouted out, flew a few feet, and wisped away.

"Uhhh..." Sakura scratched the side of her head, trying to make sense of what she'd just witnessed as Dan's dramatic pose remained. "Oh. You can shoot...'Hadokens,'" she wiggled air quotes with her fingers. "That's uh..." Dan's beaming confidence wavered and Sakura felt a pang of guilt, recalling the countless times her efforts at martial arts had been ridiculed and mocked.

"No, it's...that's...great," she insisted, clearly uncertain of the words coming out of her mouth. "I've...never seen anyone do that before. Yea." She raised her own hand and flexed her fingers, trying to imagine how the flow of chi worked like that, expelled through one hand.

"That's the power of Saikyo, the Hibiki family art!" Dan proclaimed. "I can see it in your eyes - you want to learn its secrets, too, huh?"

Sakura balled her hand into a fist, then drilled it forth, inadvertently nailing Dan in the ribs. When had he gotten that close? He choked and sputtered, stumbling back. Sakura squeaked with embarrassment, fretfully cupping her hand over her mouth.

"Oh, geez, frick, I'm sorry!"

"The element of surprise," Dan coughed out, waggling a finger at her. "It seems that's a lesson I won't need to teach..."

He caught her breath, then flashed her a frighteningly bright grin and a thumbs-up.

"I like your spunk, Kid," he concluded. "You've got what it takes. I can see the fire in your eyes. I can see it coming over you - I can feel it all around you!"

Sakura cocked an eyebrow and couldn't help but smirk.

"Er, yea...People tell me that all the time."

Clearly, this Dan character was flashy, arrogant, delusional, and didn't seem to know what the hell he was doing. But he was determined and passionate, and Sakura had to respect that.

"I'll take it upon myself to give you the proper training you need," Dan decided, slapping his fist into his palm.

"Proper training?" Sakura muttered, her insides lurching at the idea of actually training under the eccentric man.

"You see, Girlie, you're like a sharp...pointy lump of coal," Dan observed, his face trying to wrap itself around his own metaphor.

"How can it be lumpy AND pointy at th-"

"You lack refinement!" Dan rattled on. "I will crush you with discipline into the mighty diamond that rests within!"

Hm. Well, he has a good point. A little discipline could probably do me some good, right?

"The Road to Saikyo is a long, winding road," Dan informed Sakura, beginning to pace about the room. "With lots of hairpin turns and twists. And probably some backroads and maybe a couple of bridges."

Sakura's phone started to jiggle in her pocket again, she so slipped it out of her pocket and flipped it open. Dan's rambling faded into the background of her mind.

[So when you're done, we ARE meeting for tea at the usual place, right?]

"-with fancy arcs and stuff, like they've got in those American cities."

[Yea, totally! I'll catch you there in a few.]

"-maybe we'll pass a couple of lemonade stands on the way. Pink lemonade, of course.

[Sending...]

"You like pink lemonade, right?"

[Sent!]

"Oh, uh, yea. Totally," Sakura absent-mindedly replied, stuffing her phone away.

"Good," Dan responded with a resolute nod. "We'll have to get some at some point."

"Well, I guess I'll stop by tomorrow after school," Sakura insisted. "And we can start training right away!"

"I suppose you're worthy to be inducted into the study of the Saikyo arts," Dan muttered, attempting to regain control of the conversation despite having already told her he'd let her join his dojo.

~~~ "I admire your passion, Kid."

Sakura nodded vigorously at the praise.

"But," Ryu continued, "I still have much to learn myself. I cannot take on a student yet. There is a dark force within that I must learn to control before I am able to properly teach a pupil."

"Wh-" Sakura spat out in desperation, fumbling for words. "But-but you're a World Warrior! I don't-" she froze up, her hands trembling. "I came all this way, I've been training so hard, I spent this whole summer trying to find you, so that..." she trailed off, her face flushing, eyes welling up.

"Why won't you teach me yet?" she demanded, shaking her head in disbelief. "What else do I have to do to prove that I'm ready?" Her voice cracked and she signed in exasperation.

"Sakura," Ryu muttered with a sigh. He seemed confused as to how to proceed.

"I've waited for years now, practicing and everything! I've been trying to learn things on my own, but, just...URGH!" She thrashed her arms, then mashed them onto the sides of her head in aggravation.

"I can't fucking DO anything right!" she groaned. "I don't wanna be stuck as some stupid wannabe, I want to be a great fighter some day! I can't do that if no one teaches me!" Her eyes were wide with despair.

"Are you sure about that?" Ryu asked, setting down the sack that had been slung on his shoulder. "You seem to have come a long way down the warrior's path all on your own."

Sakura's cheeks were bubbling pink with disappointment, but Ryu had just tossed in a spoonful of pride to her emotional stew.

"Why do you think that is?" he coyly wondered, easing an answer out of her.

"Beeeeeecause I love to fight?" Sakura guessed with a shrug, stuffing her hands in her sweatpants pockets. Oh, she knew this was the answer he was looking for, but she didn't want to look too full of herself.

"Haha, exactly," Ryu confirmed, slapping her on the back. She stiffened as her body took in the unintentionally strong blow.

"You're going to fight whether you have a teacher or not," Ryu pointed out. "Your passion comes out in your technique - you don't fight to win, you fight because you love to. And I've never seen anyone fight quite the same way you do."

Sakura's face felt warm as cloves of respect, slices of determination, and more grains of pride were swirled into her boiling stew.

"I-well, yea," she sputtered. "I mean, like, totally. I just, ya know, keep fighting, and-and training, so that I can be strong enough to learn how to fight for real-to be a champion some day. Like you, Ryu-San."

"It takes a lot of hard work to get this far," Ryu cautioned. "It's not some game-it's a discipline."

Sakura grunted with solemn resolve, balling up her fists, eyes squinting in all the seriousness she could produce.

"I know. I'm ready for it."

Ryu smiled an empathetic smile, and a ladleful of worry was dumped into Sakura's heart.

"I'm sure you are," he agreed. "Sometimes we're ready before our destinies are..."

He slung his bag back over his shoulder and paused for a moment in thought.

"W-wait, you're leaving already?" Sakura pressed, her stew starting to boil over.

"Of course," Ryu replied calmly. "I must continue my journey, continue my training."

Sakura bit her lip and stared him down, desperation shooting from her eyes like lasers.

"Wh-b-but what about MY training?" she demanded, struggling to keep her voice from trembling.

"We all travel our own roads before they join together," Ryu noted with a thoughtful nod.

Ohhhh, come on! Are you fucking kidding me? Don't gimme that bullshit poetry, Ryu!

Sakura fizzed out an indignant huff, rubbing her forehead as if that would somehow ease the pain in her mind.

"What? But-um...Wh-what about when you're on the same road as someone else, and-and you're just...asking them to slow down for a minute?"

Ryu sighed and exhausted breath and stroked his chin for a moment. He was a man who dealt with fists and feet, not quips and comments. He stared into Sakura's watering eyes, her frustration dripping out. As tough as she may have acted, he knew she was still just a teenage girl. This included all manner of odd behaviors he couldn't possibly understand.

The chef in her mind's kitchen was in a wild panic, dumping in any spice it thought might tame the wild stew, but the liquid still found its way seeping out through her eyes.

"Our roads might cross," Ryu explained. "And some day I'm sure they will run parallel for a time." He began to peel his left hand's fighting glove off. "But you travel a different road than I do, Sakura." He dropped the glove to his side, flexing his fingers.

"I've been training super hard," Sakura assured, grasping at straws, hoping if she picked the right one it would miraculously change his mind. "I-I joined a dojo, and I've been fighting all kinds of people, so that I could learn about different techniques, like-like you said, aaaaaand I just graduated from high school, so now I'm old enough to join the World Warrior tournament, even! But I'm not strong enough yet!"

Sakura gasped to recover from her verbal barrage.

Ryu slipped the second glove off. He peered behind the curtain of her disparaging glare and saw the fires that were boiling that stew. Their normally bright red and orange flames were licking out shades of purple. That dark desire for power - the very thing he himself was trying to control - was revealing itself through that fearful, contorted face.

"You won't know whether you're strong enough or not until you try entering," Ryu advised.

Damnit, Ryu! Stop making up excuses! I need you! I can't do this all by myself anymore! I'm sick of it!

Sakura grit her teeth, fumbling to tear her own sparring gloves off to follow Ryu's example. He was going to at least give her a fight before he left, wasn't he?

"I'm not at strong as you are!" she cried, clutching the sides of her head. "I can't even-"

"Sakura," Ryu grabbed her arms in his massive hands and cast them down to her sides. "Stop."

The heat on the stove was switched off in an instant, leaving the stew to simmer and settle down.

"You're letting yourself be consumed by that drive for power," he warned. "It's the same struggle I face and I will not let what happened to...to him...happen to you."

Sakura was trembling again, crippled by disapproval, trying to work out who he was talking about.

"I cannot teach you until I have driven this darkness to a place were I can control it."

Small rivulets were still trickling down Sakura's cheeks as she stared up at his brooding glare. He was afraid, and that made her even more so.

"And you," he placed his huge palm on her head. "You need to do the same if you're going to be my pupil when I'm ready."

Sakura sniffled and brusquely rubbed her face. She paused, skeptically glared at Ryu with narrowed eyes. She shoves his hand off her head.

"Ryu-San," she mumbled, "Do you WANT to be my teacher? Or not?"

Ryu crossed his arms around his statue-like chest in stern frustration.

"Of course," he assured, shaking his head at her doubt. She crossed her arms, too, at his example, shuffling around to avoid eye contact.

"I'm sorry," she managed, grinding her palm into her forehead. "I know," she sighed, "I'm just being a stupid PMS-y girl. I know, OK?"

Ryu cracked a grin and shrugged.

"You can't win them all, Kiddo," he chuckled.

She smirked and half-heartedly giggled at his dry humor.

"But what am I supposed to do until then?" she pleaded, tossing out her arms. "I'm done with high school hell. I've been training hard for two years straight. I just want to be a real fighter now!"

"I'm not stopping you!" Ryu pointed out. "Just because I was trained young doesn't mean everyone needs to be. Besides, you will find your own style if you learn on your own for a while longer."

Ryu stuck out his arm, elbow bent, palm open, in some kind of welcoming gesture.

"Let's make a deal," he offered. "As long as you keep up your training, when I finish my own...I promise that I will be your Sensei."

Sakura palmed her chin, still unsure of how much he truly meant it.

"You PROMISE?" she insisted, slowly working through the words.

Ryu nodded, smiling in spite of her suspicions.

"You might be waiting a long while," he warned her. "But if you're really serious about this, I swear I'll train you. When we're BOTH ready."

"OK, then!" Sakura smashed her palm into his, trying to squeeze his concrete fingers with all of her strength. Sakura's stew was now a muddy mess, some ingredients half cooked, others burnt to hell. Throwing in some stalks of hope wasn't going to quite save it. Ryu noticed this through her determined eyes and felt it'd be best to dump out the whole thing and start off fresh.

"Before I go," he suggested, "why don't you teach me what you've learned since last time?"

Sakura grinned toothily, tightening her headband. She tightened her sparring gloves around her fingers as Ryu kicked his own out of the way. She admired their bright red surfaces for a moment.

I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you.

She pumped her fist and stared down her idol with resolute confidence.

"Take your shot, Kiddo," Ryu welcomed with a flick of the wrist.

Sakura grinned a wide, mischievous smile and nodded, preparing her fists.

"'Kay!"

She darted forward in an instant, fist pulled back and ready to strike, like a poised wild cat. Her punch was blocked by an arm. She followed through with a kick toward the shin that was sidestepped.

That emotional stew was pouring its way out through her arms and legs, dripping out of her elbows and knees and seeping through her skin, thinned out by sweat and adrenaline. The concoction flowed outward in a fierce torrent upon her opponent.

Her punches kept getting blocked, kicks weaved around, grapples reversed. A blow struck her shoulder, another smacked her shin, but she persevered with little reaction. While most strikes didn't make their marks, the few that did made it all worthwhile. In that instant, the fight was all that mattered, a massive release, each single motion cleansing.

A knee to the stomach brought her to the ground, gasping for breath.

~~~ "You've definitely gotten better since last time," panted her opponent.

Grasping her stomach as tension lurched in her abdomen, she glanced up at her sweat-ridden rival, the long, flowing bands of white flicking around in the breeze.

A hand encapsulated in a bright red sparring glove extended itself down to her collapsed form. She wiped her hair from her face, smirking at the childish grin that glowed back at her, still offering a hand.

"That's three in a row, Karin," Sakura taunted as Karin accepted her hand. Sakura tugged the fallen girl to her feet, hunching her over her shoulder. "All that corporate bullshit is rusting you up, eh?" she laughed, shaking Karin around a bit in jest.

Karin winced, sucking in air between grit teeth as she took the abrasion.

"Oh, heh!" Sakura sheepishly squeaked at Karin's grimace. "Sorry!"

"You goin' soft on us, Karin?" Kei teased, making her way up to them. "Sakura kicked your ass pretty bad today..."

Karin limped along, huffing at Kei's taunts.

"I'm quite painfully aware," she groaned.

"Haha, get it?" Sakura jested to Kei. "PAINFULLY aware?"

Kei gave Sakura one of those looks that begged the question: Really? Did you just say that? with cocked eyebrow and all.

Karin hissed in agony as her ankle fumbled across the pavement of the parking lot.

"Ohhh, don't be such a baby," Kei scowled with a grin. "I've seen you take far worse. You just need to practice more, get back in shape!"

"Some of us have more important lives to lead," Karin explained tersely. "Unlike Miss Kasugano here," she slapped her fist into Sakura's bruised bosom with a smirk, returning the spoonful of hurt she'd just be fed moments before. "we can't all completely obsess ourselves with fighting."

As she fidgeted around in pain while still trying to support the weight on her shoulder, Sakura knew that Karin's cocky ridicule was, at least in this case, a compliment and concession of respect.

"I guess that's why I'm a World Warrior, isn't it?" Sakura pointed out, beaming.

"I guess so," Karin grumbled.

"Hey, hey, now," Sakura insisted, catching the discouraged tone Karin had taken on. "You're just in a funk, Karin. All this paperwork and leading your father's empire...it's getting to ya! You need to unwind. Relax! Go with the flow!"

"Yea, you could make it, too, some day," Kei agreed. "Just try not to go around asking for trouble like this one." She gestured toward Sakura with a nod of the head.

"Oh, I'm sure it's too late for that," Karin decided with a laugh.

"So where are we goin', here?" Sakura asked, despite continuing to lead the group away from the high school parking lot. Despite being well out of the age of school, Karin and Sakura liked to spar in that old parking lot for nostalgia's sake.

"To get liquor," Karin groaned as a white limo rolled into the lot.

"Ah, there he is! There's old Ishizaki!" Kei greeted with a wave. The driver waved back as he rolled up to them. His window slid down and he gave them a nervous smile.

"Ah, hello. I-I see that Lady Kanzuki-Sama didn't fare as well in her sparring this week, hm?"

"She did just fine," Sakura assured, proudly pointing out some bruises and cuts that dotted her body. It was like she was showing Karin's score card.

"There's always next time, Kasugano," Karin slyly warned, squeezing Sakura from the side. Sakura tensed up to return the friendly gesture, letting her friend enter the vehicle.

As Karin grunted, settling herself in, she glanced at them with squinted eyes. Both girls knew what that look meant with Karin: booze-time.

"You girls are certain you don't have time to wind down?" Karin checked.

"Haha, believe me, I'd love to," Sakura told her regretfully. "But I can't today. I've another commitment."

"I see," Karin nodded, intrigued. "That's a shame. Very well, Kasugano. If you end up having time, give me a call."

"I'm gonna be teaching soon, Karin," Sakura pointed out, rubbing the back of her neck. "Full time. Remember? I'm not gonna have time to stay out and party."

"Oh!" Karin's eyes lit up. "That's right! I forgot!" She hobbled out of the car to envelope her friend in another hug. Both girls tightened up, wincing in pain as their sore muscles ached.

"Wow, you guys," Kei murmured, picking on them. Shaking her head slowly, hands on her hips, she walked over and gave Karin a hug herself. Karin wasn't normally one to dish out affection but these two had stuck around with her despite her attitude, so she owed them props for that.

"I forgot to congratulate you, Sensei," Karin said, emphasizing the last word with a bit of a mock.

Kei rubbed Sakura's shoulder as Karin limped back to her limo seat.

"Yep," she starts teaching full time next week!" Kei proudly proclaimed.

"That soon, eh, Kasugano?" Karin mused.

Sakura scratched the back of her head again, embarrassed by the whole thing.

"Ha, eh, yea, uh...I mean, like, I guess it's no big. It's Taiyo High, so not where I went to school, but I mean...I kinda had a bad rep there, ya know?"

"You're nervous, aren't you?" Karin probed with a warm smile of encouragement. "You'll do just fine."

"Ah, w-well, yea, I guess. Kinda. Like, I've been a sub for so long, and all that, but I-I dunno for sure if I can really be a good teacher for reals, ya know?"

Karin wiped some blood from her cheek and chuckled.

"Just keep your fists under control and I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Yea, you'll do great, Sakura," Kei seconded.

"Kanzuki-Sama, we're going to be late for your conference," Ishizaki muttered.

"I know, I know," Karin growled to herself. "Thank you, Ishizaki, you're right." She turned to her friends, closing her door and sliding down the window. "The business world calls, ladies. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!"

And with that, the white limo pulled out. Leaving Sakura and Kei to their own devices. They went back towards the school, making their way to the field out back.

"Damn, that girl tore a hold in my sweats!" Sakura laughed, glancing down at her bright blue pants. "Geez, Karin, these are my favorite exercising clothes!" At least her red jersey was left relatively in tact.

"What did you expect, ya idiot?" Kei incredulously asked. "Why'd you wear those clothes today?"

"I wanted to look all cool for the kids," Sakura murmured. Kei just snickered.

"Only you, Sakura, wouldn't think to bring a change of clothes..."

As the grassy field came into view, a small patch of high schoolers were clamoring in a group at the baseball diamond. They hadn't noticed the two ladies' presence yet.

"So how do ya think Karin goes to all of her business meetings all beat up like that?" Sakura wondered.

"Well, she probably changes into stuffy business suits that cover everything up and has makeup people fix her face. The woman's rich, she probably has, like, five people buzzing around her like bees or something, putting on makeup and fixing her hair and-"

"Blech," Sakura grunted. "I can't even imagine that. Why would you put powder and oil and shit all over your face like that?"

Kei's eyes widened in slight offense.

"Um," she cleared her throat, "SOME of us ladies like to look our best now and again, and-"

"KASUGANO-SENSEI!"

One of the kids roared the name, which elicited a scattering of cheers and calls from the seven or eight kids huddled together. They clapped and stamped their feet as the two women strode over.

Kei turned to her friend, bemused.

"Wow. Kids sure like you, huh?"

"Uh, yea, they sure seem to, huh?" Sakura's face was pink and she shrugged. It made her insides glow to be respected by these kids, but she did her best to be humble about it. "I've been teaching them on the weekends for a month or so now. Can't wait to introduce you to 'em!"

"Hey, who's that?"

"Yea, who's your friend, Sakura-Chan?"

"Dude, she's like, way older than you, don't call her that."

"Hello, Chitose-San!"

Kei waved a dainty, embarrassed wave blindly, unsure as to who knew her last name or why.

"Oh! Uh, hello, everyone!"

"All right, guys," Sakura began, pulling her sweatpants up, ignoring the fresh hole in the knee. She tugged down on her red jersey and tightened the shoelaces on her converse sneakers. Slapping her hands on Kei's shoulders, she announced, "This is my best friend, Chitose-San. She's not a fighter, but I love her, anyway. Treat her with respect. She's just here to see what you guys are learning."

Kei sheepishly waved again, eyes squinted shut and a nervous smile crawling across her face.

"Geez, they're just kids, Kei, it's fine, RELAX," Sakura whispered, patting her on the back and admiring the green T-shirt Kei had worn for the occasion: it depicted a monkey punching a dragon in the face.

A flurry of "Hello's," "Hi's," "Chitose-San's" spilled forth for a moment before Sakura marched to the group, their ranks spreading out and forming a semicircle around her.

"All right, guys, it's been a few weeks and I know you're gettin' antsy, so today, we're finally gonna start workin' on what I know you've been waiting for."

"Aw, YES!" one whispered to himself, shaking his arms with excitement.

"Now, you're gonna have to bear with me on this one, people, 'cuz it takes a lot of time and practice. I don't even have the thing nailed down myself. So don't get too down about it if it takes a while. It's tough stuff!"

"Oh oh oh we're finally starting those today?"

"Nice!"

"Man, this is gonna be SO COOL."

Sakura tightened the white headband, shaking her hair around to a more comfortable position, the thick brunette bangs flopping over the white cloth. She pounded her fist into her palm eagerly.

"Today we're gonna start learning the Hadoken technique."

After the burst of excitement swept over them, Sakura nodded and flicked her wrists a few times to loosen them up.

"Now, Hadokens are all about focus and concentration.. You've gotta force the chi out through your hands, using your fingers as the control to keep the energy going straight. I'll show you guys a few and then we'll start-"

"SHINKUU HADOKEN!" a kid cried. "Show us the Shinkuu Hadoken!"

"Yea, yea, that big-ass fireball! Show us how it's done, Kasugano-Sensei!"

Sakura ran her hands through her hair and turned to Kei, who was covering her mouth to prevent laughter from erupting.

"They're more obsessed with this stuff than you ever were," she joked at her friend, who made efforts to settle them down. She still found trouble believing that Sakura, who was still waiting for Ryu to properly train her, was out here on her Sunday afternoons, teaching kids how to fight. Maybe she'd finally moved on and realized what both Kei and Ryu had been trying to tell her about herself all along.

"What are you waiting for?" Kei asked. "Aren't ya gonna show 'em how it's done?"

Sakura smiled at her friend, and the two exchanged glances. Now that she had seen these hypothetical kids for the real people they were, seeing Sakura as a teacher wasn't as crazy as she had once believed it to be.

"Come ON, Kasugano-Sensei, we wanna see how strong you are!"

"All right, all right, Kiddo!" Sakura quelled the fireball-minded boy. "It's just that the Shinkuu Hadoken takes a lotta juice, you don't just whip it outta nowhere, ya know?"

She took a deep breath and loosened her wrists out. Turning away from the kids, she jerked her head to the head.

"Ya MIGHT wanna back up, Kei. This could get dangerous..."

Kei grinned and jogged over to her friend, smacking her in the back of the head on her way through.

"Ow! Hey, what-"

"Just 'cuz."

Sakura shook it off with a smile, rubbing her sparring gloves, and reeled her arms back, muscles tight, body hunched over.

This one's for you, Kei.

Her mind burned as the fires rushed from her chest to her arms, flooding through her arteries out to the palms, the energy bursting through her fingers as she straightened them out, pushing the bright blue flames through her skin. The seething hot manifestation of her own soul, burning with vibrant energy, cascaded upward into the air.

Ha. Nailed it.

Cheers and hollers rang out as the bright blue flames blasted into the sky.

"Teach us! I wanna do that!"
"Wow!"
"How does she DO that?"
"Woo! Yea! That's Kasugano-Sensei for ya!"
"Could I really learn how to do that, too?"

Sakura shook her wrists, azure embers still spitting from her fingertips, and grinned at her audience.

"That takes a lot of practice, guys...But if you stick with it, I'll show you how it's done."

Kei crossed her arms and slowly shook her head in admiration of the young woman before her. The bright red padded gloves were a bit worn and rough. The bright white headband wrapped around her head flapped in the afternoon wind, the ends a bit tattered and a few threads loose. The flames in Sakura's eyes were just as determined as ever.

Look at you, Sakura. Forging your own path.