Ninja Gaiden III The Fury of the Dragon Written by Jeff Nussbaum deuce@scsn.net ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter Four It had been a long trek home, and Irene would still be asleep. Ryu moved with catlike grace across the rooftops leading back to his apartment. All that was left was to sneak back in without waking her. A simple task for a ninja. He slipped in through the window by which he had left, quickly got undressed, and got into bed next to Irene. She stirred slightly, and he looked at her worriedly, afraid he had somehow awakened her. But she said nothing... only mumbled something in her sleep, and curled up to him. He let out a relieved sigh and put his arms around her. At last, it seemed his life was complete. He had tied up all the loose ends... all that remained was to marry the woman he loved, and live a normal life. He relaxed, and closed his eyes... but sleep would elude him for a long while this night. And when it finally visited him, his dreams were disquieting, painful things. Images of his father's disappointed eyes burned into his mind. "Ryu... you have changed so much...," came his voice. Ryu started to respond, but suddenly, his father's form shifted. His eyes lost their irises and pupils... and his face became a smooth white mask, with bloody tears running down it. "ASHTAR!" Ryu cried, and reached for a weapon... but found himself defenseless. "We are JUST ALIKE, you and I," proclaimed the nightmarish figure. "You thought me dead...," it continued. Suddenly, it transformed again, taking on a purple hue and regaining facial features. The Jaquio said, "But I will always live on in your mind, Ninja Dragon. You will never escape us... we will haunt you... for all eternity...." Ryu turned to run from the apparition, and found himself staring into the face of the Demon. That supernatural beast that he had sealed away.... Without the Dragon Sword, how would he fight it? He had no chance. The gargantuan maw lunged toward him, and he found himself encased in blackness. He screamed.... Irene ran into the bedroom. "Ryu? Ryu, what's wrong!" He sat up sharply, his head in his hands. She came over and sat next to him, hugging him gently. "Ryu?" He looked up at her amd held her tightly. "Yume ka," he whispered to himself. "What?" Irene asked. "Oh, nothing," he said. "It was just a dream. I'm okay." She wasn't convinced. "Ryu, you're shaking like a leaf... come on and get some breakfast. It'll be all right." He pulled away and smiled at her. "I suppose it will... and I think I could use a good breakfast." The previous night had been real. Ryu had gotten his revenge, without Irene's knowledge. She would never have consented... nor understood, he felt. And the dream was just that: a dream. Perhaps now, life could finally go on. *** And for a long while, it did. The two were married some months later, and were happier than either of them could remember being. Ryu decided to open up a school of martial arts, a project which Irene heartily approved. She had worried about him constantly, and she was relieved to see him beginning to think less like a ninja and more like a normal person. She loved him dearly, but he could be so frustrating at times. He was often given to long bouts of contemplative silence. And it was only when she became upset that he realized he was ignoring her. He always apologized, but he would never tell her what he was thinking about. But she had learned to deal with it. When the school opened, Irene took over managing the school's finances. She was relieved to get away from the typical white-collar workforce at this time. She even managed to get in a few lessons from time to time, though nothing serious. One year after the opening, the school was flourishing. They were well into the black, and they were celebrating. Irene had told Ryu that she had a surprise for him. That night, they sat on the floor in front of the fireplace sipping champagne and reminiscing about the events of the past year. "So," said Ryu, "What's this surprise you have for me?" She looked at him with a happy smile and gave him a look which only a woman with a big secret could give. "Well," she said coyly, "What would you say...." She stopped there and looked at him again. He gently tickled her ribs and said, "I'd say tell me before you force me to get rough with you." He grinned. She squirmed and escaped the tickling fingers, then hugged him. "Well, Ryu... brace yourself." She held him at arm's length and told him her big secret. "I'm pregnant." Ryu nearly dropped his drink. He did drop his jaw, and found himself at a loss for words for a few moments. She looked at him expectantly, nervously. "Irene...," he said finally. "Yes?" She was tense, almost stiff. "That's wonderful!" he said, and kissed her. She relaxed and returned the kiss eagerly. When they broke apart, he said, "How long?" "The doctor said I'm about 9 weeks along." He suddenly furrowed his brow in concentration. "What?" she asked. Suddenly, he grinned. "Oh yeah. THAT night." Irene knew that look well. She swatted him playfully on the arm. "Silly boy," she said, and nestled close to him. The two were happy... at last, life was proceeding normally. Everything was finally going the way it was supposed to. *** And for many years, it did. Irene bore a son, and the two decided to name him Ken, in honor of Ryu's late father. At first, she had been hesitant about this, but eventually decided that there was no real harm in it. Ryu was the proudest father Irene had ever seen, and the boy never wanted for love or attention. "He looks just like you," Irene had said on many occasions. As he grew, he began to grow interested in the martial arts. Ryu was very pleased with this development, and Irene approved. After all, those martial arts had saved both their lives on more than one occasion. Over the years, Ken grew into a strong-willed, healthy young man. He had been raised well, with the same disciplines bestowed upon his father. He did his best to be Ryu's most attentive student, and he grew quite skilled. On occasion, he even defeated his father in sparring matches. As Ken approached his teenage years, he became curious as a cat. He often took to snooping around the neighborhood and around the house to see what interesting things he could find. One day, he truly hit paydirt, though he didn't know it until later that evening. "Hey dad?" he said to his father, who was sitting in a chair, reading. "Can I ask you something?" Ryu looked up and smiled. "Feel free, son." The Ninja Dragon was aging... bits of gray seeped in at his temples, and his face was crisscrossed with the lines of age, worry and adult life. But he was happy. "Do you know a guy named Foster?" asked Ken. Suddenly, Ryu's heart leapt into his throat. He thought he must be going mad. But no... he would answer any questions, honestly. Ken deserved no less. "Well... yes, I did once, a long time ago. How did you find out about him?" Ken turned away, somewhat abashed. "Um... well, I was looking around in the attic and--" "And just what," asked Irene as she walked into the room, "were you doing in the attic?" "Well, I was just seeing if there was anything interesting up there," Ken said, trying to regain his composure in the face of his two moderately annoyed parents. "And I came across some old files about this guy named Foster." Irene sighed. "That stuff was packed away for a reason, Ken. We've been trying to forget about him for the past 13 years." Ken looked downcast. He felt ashamed and guilty because his snooping had upset his parents so much. But he had already broached the subject... so he felt he might as well ask. "What was it he did?" Ryu put away his book and steepled his fingers in front of his face, looking over them at his son. "He was your mother's former employer." He took Irene's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "He caused us plenty of problems long before you were born." "And he also tried to have me kill your father," put in Irene. Her eyes misted over as she thought of the horrors she had been forced to witness while in the clutches of the Jaquio. Ryu put his arm around her waist. Ken was dumbfounded. He figured it was something big, considering how deeply buried the files were in all the junk, but had no idea it was something of this magnitude. He felt awful for having brought it up. "I... I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to upset you... I really didn't." Irene walked over to him and hugged him tightly. "I know you didn't, son... but he's part of the past. Let's not talk about him anymore, okay?" Ken readily agreed and held his mother close. And eventually, the dark tide of emotions seemed to fade away. Ken continued his studies under his father's tutelage, and grew more and more advanced, though never quite reaching the level of skill attained by his father. This was to prove unfortunate in the future.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TO BE CONTINUED ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ninja Gaiden, Ryu Hayabusa, Irene Lew and all characters are the sole copyright of Tecmo. This document is meant for public distribution in its ORIGINAL FORM ONLY, and should not be sold at any price. All events portrayed in this story are the inventions of Deuce, and do not reflect the "proper" story as shown by Tecmo (even though Tecmo screwed the pooch on the NG3 story).