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Chapter Text

A.K.I’s master had spoken of this man before. He had said he was cunning, a fierce fighter, and an ever pressing nuisance he wished to be rid of. It was odd that A.K.I. could only partially see any of what her master said, as usually anything he said was undisputed gospel to her. Yet… even she could see other things in the target.

Rashid, or “Rashid of The Turbulent Wind” as he so annoyingly referred to himself as, was a strange specimen. Master F.A.N.G. spoke of his cunning, but A.K.I. only saw an aloof buffoon. He hardly paid attention to his surroundings, which had made it easy to sneak up on him before. Speaking of such a time, she had the chance to duel with this “Rashid” only once, in Nayshall. She had planned to secretly take his life and report back to her master, hoping to be showered in his praise. The fight itself was the eventful sort. A.K.I had to resort to her external uses of poison to even get a chance to catch him off guard, but to no avail. The agile man seemed to have the wind at his back, and on his side for that matter, going as far to summon tornadoes to aid him. The high flying moves he used were impressive feats, ones that nearly managed to claim A.K.I. 's life. If it weren’t for the fool’s kindness.

As A.K.I. nearly fell off the rooftop that staged their fight, Rashid had quickly reached out to save her, leaving himself open. So perfectly open for his demise. She could have injected him with poison then, but she didn’t, for reasons unknown to even herself. He had hoisted her up and began lecturing her on the usage of poison. A.K.I. stopped bothering to listen by the time she was safe, but faintly remembered him drabbling on about rematching for some… FooTube? Not that it mattered at the time. The night had started to set in, and A.K.I. needed to get back to her hideout in Nayshall for the time being. On her next visit to Metro City, she asked Master F.A.N.G. for more information about this breezy nemesis.

“RASHID?!?” F.A.N.G. squawked. “That turbulent moron is the very reason Shadoloo is in shambles! Operations C.H.A.I.N.S…. It was an unprecedented time for our organization and Lord Bison…” a singular tear rolled down F.A.N.G.’s cheek. “…AND HE JUST CAME IN LIKE A STORM AND RUINED IT ALL!!!” A.K.I. stood silently as she waited for the tall man to calm down. “The day I get my hands on him again, will be his last!” A sinister smirk slithered onto A.K.I.’s pale face upon hearing those words. “Master, I do believe I know where we could find him.” F.A.N.G. paused in his flamboyant outrage and looked over to his student. “You… wh-what?” A.K.I. held up her phone. “I’ve run into this Rashid before. He spoke of a FooTube or something similar, and upon finding his account, I know where he is.” She showed the screen to her master, showing that a stream started 6 hours ago had Rashid facing off against some fighters in Metro City. F.A.N.G inspected the video further and actually could see himself in the background.

Upon this realization, F.A.N.G. let out a small whimper and retreated into the shadows, until the camera footage held no more trace of him. A.K.I. tilted her head in confusion. The master seemed so adamant about taking this nuisance out, and he was… scared? The master did credit Rashid with taking out his entire organization, but even that just didn’t seem to make any sense. How could someone as relaxed as him take down an entire terrorist plot and unravel the head behind it? F.A.N.G composed himself, taking a few deep breaths before coming up with a plan. “A.K.I., this could be the time I’ve been waiting for. I am going to need you to keep tabs on our enemy out there. Stay out of his sight, and keep me informed of his activities. Perhaps we can get more of a grasp on why he is here before we eliminate him.” A.K.I. looked down at her phone. The video said “FIERCE ATTACK! BRINGING THE TURBULENT WIND TO METRO CITY!!! COME CHALLENGE ME!! 5000 ZENNY IF YOU WIN” A.K.I. spoke up. “It seems he’s just challenging random people for money. That is common in this area, no?” F.A.N.G. laughed. “Yes! Yes it is, but there has to be more… I wouldn’t be surprised if he was here to wipe out any Shadaloo remnants… that is why I need you to spy on him.”

A.K.I. heeded her master’s words carefully. This would be similar to how it happened in Nayshall, only this time she could get the satisfaction of her master’s praise in real time with each successful task carried out. Oh what bliss it was… 2 weeks had passed, and A.K.I. diligently kept tabs on the Arabian fighter. She knew the hotel room he and his large bodyguard were staying in, where he had eaten all three meals of every day, and even the locations where he stopped to upload his videos. She had been keeping tabs on his channel as well. He seemed to be quite popular on the internet, each video and stream pulling in viewers by the hundreds of thousands. He put a lot of effort into the content he made. He would lose hours staring at his phone or camera, editing footage and rewatching his matches. The big bodyguard had shown his face once or twice. He came usually bearing a snack, or just wondering about the young man. He once brought a large box. A.K.I. wasn’t close enough to hear the conversation, but she remained behind a nearby shipping container to see what the box was. Perhaps it was information regarding the master’s Shadaloo? Or perhaps it was a map of the operatives in the area…

Or maybe it was just a drone. Used usually for sports footage, and one that Rashid spent 30 minutes toying with to get it properly piloted. He managed to run it into his own head more times than fate should allow but still kept messing with the device. This is the man the master was so worried about? He seemed even more helpless than last time, but A.K.I. had resolved to listen to her master's desires, so she kept watching. He flew the drone off and kept checking his other various devices. A.K.I. began to wonder if any of his videos or streams may hold a clue as to why he was in Metro City. There was a skydiving stream, a 24-hour challenge over some ridiculous sounding hidden menu item at Hado Pizza, and a video about him running into another wind user in Mexico. “Ugh…” A.K.I. grunted in frustration. “This is going nowhere!” All the videos were useless, and the droning in A.K.I.’s head became louder and louder, until it seemed just a bit too loud to be a manifestation of her mind. She looked up to be met by the same drone her target had just been given, looking down at her. This wasn’t good, this could mean she was compromised. Tossing a nearby piece of cloth on the drone, A.K.I. picked herself up and bolted to the left, only to be met by Rashid standing with a smile.

“So we meet again! I saw you checking out my videos. Did you see any you liked?” A.K.I. froze in silence and then suddenly moved left and right at a hypnotizing pace to get around the Arabian. It mesmerized him for a second, but when he came back to full consciousness, A.K.I. was full sprinting the other direction. Rashid yelled as he gave chase, “HEY! That was cool!! Let me catch it on camera during our rematch!” A.K.I. ran faster, disappearing into dark alleys, climbing up ladders and finding the most unorthodox paths to evade her pursuer, but he kept pace, still yammering on about content for his channel. It wasn’t long before fatigue began to set in. No matter where A.K.I. slid off to, Rashid was there, happily chattering about any titles for the video this fight would produce. A.K.I. finally seemed to shake off Rashid long enough to catch her breath. She may not have agreed on the master’s assessment previously, but she had made one of her own. He was persistent, tireless, and hard to lose. Even as she sat and recovered her stamina, she could hear his hooting and hollering coming closer. He seemed to have a better layout of this city than she did, so he knew all the nooks and crannies that A.K.I could get to.

A.K.I. made her way down a familiar alley near the big stadium, still panting frantically as she bumped into her master. So that’s where she was now; the map she had of the city in her head began to slowly connect, but not before F.A.N.G. cut her thought process to ask what was happening. “Why are you here?! You are supposed to be monitoring Rashid!!!” A.K.I. tried to stammer out an explanation, not getting much out. F.A.N.G. stopped listening to her when he heard laughter and shoes skidding coming from the street perpendicular to them. Rashid happily chirped, “I know you’re over here lady! I need some footage, so let's get that rematch going!” F.A.N.G. peeked through the cracks of the boxes concealing him, noticing Rashid getting ever closer. Something then snapped as he looked at A.K.I. “Y-you… idiot…! YOU LED HIM RIGHT TO ME!!!” A.K.I. looked up, attempting to signal that this wasn’t her intention, but a fierce backhanded slap to the face sent her to the floor. She could feel the poison on her face. It would cause her little to no harm due to her tolerance, but to think that the master would pull out his lethal method on her over this? To think… he just struck her down?

Rashid jogged into the alley, having heard something. He saw A.K.I. on the ground, and the happy deposition he carried turned to one of concern. “Oh man, are you ok?! What’s with that stuff… on your face…?” Rashid slowly turned to face the man he previously hadn’t seen, F.A.N.G. He glanced over to A.K.I. a look of horror and sadness stuck on her face. Like he needed more reason to beat F.A.N.G. into the dirt. He murdered his best friend, now attacking and hurting women in alleys? That was even farther past the line F.A.N.G. crossed long ago. Rashid put down his handheld camera, and began walking to his adversary, without his signature swagger and jaunty demeanor. "You know, I swore to myself that If I ever saw you again, I'd make sure you'd cause harm to no one else." Rashid calmly muttered. His face, it was a face F.A.N.G. remembered well. The face Rashid made when he told him he murdered his friend, the same face that preceded one of the fiercest beatings F.A.N.G. had received in his life. There was no way he could let this happen again, so he took up his poison coated hands in defense. Rashid rushed forward with a righteous fury, ready to take down F.A.N.G. for good this time.

A.K.I. was too distraught to understand what was happening. She had always looked forward to the praise her master would give her for a job well done, and avoid the reprimands of a mishap, but never, NEVER, had he resorted to violence. A.K.I. was a fighter, this shouldn’t have phased her, or at least that is what she thought. The stinging on her cheek, she couldn’t accept that it came from the master she loved, cherished, and followed with all her heart. It was the worst betrayal she believed to be possible. Once the harsh reality set in, she finally came into focus with her surroundings. That Rashid from earlier, he was here. It seemed he was fighting F.A.N.G., mercilessly peppering the latter with attacks that bounced him against the wall. The tall man in purple slumped over, covered in blood and bruises, breathing pained and hateful breaths. Rashid stared only for a moment, before turning around and standing over A.K.I. “Hey, are you ok? I see he got you with the poison. Can you see how many fingers I'm holding up?” Rashid held up 3 fingers, and A.K.I. nodded, a few tears rolling down her face. Upon noticing this, Rashid bowed his head in anger. All was silent for a moment or two.

Suddenly, Rashid jumped and began spinning midair. F.A.N.G., who had lunged forward to deliver the same debilitating blow that won him their last encounter, looked confused. Rashid landed directly on F.A.N.G.’s fragile hand, stomping it into the pavement with his arms crossed. “As if I would fall for that again.” It was obvious the force had broken the hand underfoot, but Rashid began to spin, crunching the shattered bones more with each rotation. Aided by the air currents, Rashid delivered a powerful hopping kick to F.A.N.G.’s face, sending him flying into the light and sliding across the pavement. The poison maker fled, running off to the darkness of the city streets once again. Now sure that all was well, Rashid returned his focus to his newfound acquaintance. He helped her up and dusted her off, and picked up his camera. “Look, to be honest, I’m not really in the mood for a rematch anymore, and I doubt you are either, lady. Maybe I’ll catch you another time, deal?” A.K.I. stood and stared at Rashid, tears still falling down her face. With a breaking voice, she softly questioned, “Why are you so important to him…?” Rashid turned to her and held up his hand to his ear. “Huh? What did ya say?”

The tears on A.K.I.’s face began to melt into the same crimson color that stained her lips, as she began to speak louder. “Y-you were so important to him… that he hit me… he’ll never trust me again…” Rashid took a step back, unsure of what to make of this situation, before A.K.I. looked up and met him with bloody eyes. “Y-you took my master from me!!! What am I supposed to do now!? Y-you… AAAAAAAHHH!!!!” The pale mourner lashed her claws towards Rashid, who narrowly evaded by flipping back to create some distance and prepared himself for another fight. As he regained his balance though, A.K.I. was nowhere to be seen. Rashid scoured the area to ensure he wouldn’t be in for a surprise attack, but all seemed quiet. He cautiously walked out of the alley and into the sunlight, with red eyes watching him from the shadows. As he disappeared from view, A.K.I. slumped down to the floor, quietly asking herself, “What am I supposed to do now…?”

Chapter Text

The phone line rang endlessly. Just as it had for the past two weeks. F.A.N.G. had fled the country and cut ties with A.K.I. Even her visits to China bore no fruit in finding her beloved master. The idea of him abandoning her was always a possibility, and a very high one in this line of work, but A.K.I. never considered what she was meant to do if it came to pass. For a few days, she bore an unimaginable hatred for that fair weathered fool that ruined her life. That horrible Rashid. After some time, however, the hate subsided. That’s not to say she forgave him, but it seemed like it wouldn’t change her current state. One of the only things A.K.I. had to her name was a small fortune she made selling medicines and poisons, a fortune that was designated to small gifts and offerings to her master. It hadn’t been touched otherwise for years and years. On top of this, the thugs and junkies in the area were all searching for new highs and products, ones that A.K.I. produced very easily. Financially, A.K.I. was fine. She even managed to rent a small apartment; the same one she often used as a hideout in Metro City. The place was trashed, ransacked for notes and ciphers by F.A.N.G. before he left. The small shrine A.K.I. had of her ex-master was untouched, covered in drawings, notes, and pictures of her own creation. A shrine she used to stare at lovingly for hours, now just brought a quiet sadness. It had been hidden in the closet carefully now, just out of mind for her. Days melted into weeks, time became an ennui flavored blur without her master. Without her purpose.

Rashid never did get that sinking feeling to go away. That feeling that he did something wrong. To think that pale lady actually loved someone like F.A.N.G…. only for him to stab her in the back. Of course, Rashid thought that was rather characteristic. Evil intentions and dubious means were just core elements of F.A.N.G. and there wasn’t much to think about beyond that. The pale woman though, that gave Rashid much to think about. She was better off now, wasn’t she? He would often reaffirm himself, “I mean, whatever she has got going now has gotta be better than her time with F.A.N.G., right?” As much as Rashid could repeat that, he would think back to her bloody tears. The pain in her voice as the reality set in that a chapter of her life was ending. The heartbroken scream of anguish she let out just before slipping off to who knows where. Just a seed of doubt stayed in Rashid’s mind that the woman he “saved” could be worse off because of him.

Metro City was a lot of fun to be in with the wind at your back. High flying skyscrapers, great alleyways for parkour clips, killer food, it all was enough to have Rashid coming back for more before too long. The Buckler Gym often gave good matches, especially when the Sullivan guy stepped in to throw down with the streamer. Not to mention that there were rumors that the ex-world champion Ken Masters was somewhere in the city, though Rashid never could find him. The next item on the streaming agenda was to find this elusive peacekeeper in the Chinatown of Metro City, and maybe patrol with him on stream if he got lucky. That part of town during the day was pretty fun. Rashid took some kung fu classes with Chun-Li, who he remembered from their combined efforts to stop M.Bison. No one was nearly on her level, but even Rashid could admit to the camera after the sparring: “I can’t believe she’s teaching regular people to kick that hard, damn… I gotta sit down…”

Taking a short little break after the class, he took the opportunity to ask Chun-Li about the vigilante. “Hey, Chun-Li! Word on the street is there’s a guy taking out crime during the night time. You know where I could find him?” She sighed in contemplation. “I do believe he has a rooftop hideout, but I’ve never seen it for myself. Your best chance would be to find him during the night, but be careful because he tends to strike first and ask questions later. He is quite skilled and quite slippery from what I‘ve seen.” The Arabian thanked his impromptu informant and decided to kill time in the nearby restaurants until the sun began to set. He was at least 6 cha siu bao in before he decided to waltz outside. The sky was orange, and the clouds a flame lined grey. Sure signs that night would set in and crime would be up. Sure enough, the gangs with their trademark box masks showed up, but they surprisingly seemed to pay Rashid no mind. There weren't any robberies going on or any crime in general. They seemed all rather… zen for being criminals that terrorized Metro City every night. “Well, guess I’ll have to look for this guy if he isn’t gonna have a reason to patrol…” Rashid sighed. He wandered the alleys but to no avail. Just groups of stoned gangsters laughing and joking in the alley corners, oblivious to the obvious tourist recording them. Before long, Rashid’s camera notified him about his low memory on his camera drive, so he groaned and sat down to sort through any unneeded footage.

A.K.I. watched the ceiling fan spin around and around, mimicking the endless cycle of her routine. It was just about time to make another sale with the Canary Crate Gang, not that they needed anymore of her “Snake’s venom.” A.K.I. stopped wearing her old cheongsam, traded now for simple sweaters and baggy pants. She hardly had anyone to show off for. Even her trademark mushroom-like hair was drooped down and straight. The reflection she saw each evening was almost a mockery of her past self, but she had just accepted it as this is who she was now. She opened her door, only for it to stop and be met with a loud “Ow!” A.K.I. assumed it to be another junkie that fell asleep at her door, only for her to see a flowy bundle of clothes jumping up and down and holding its rear. The man turned sideways to reveal his face as he groaned out, “agghh… my tailbone…!” A.K.I. froze as she saw the familiar face. Rashid followed suit as his eyes met A.K.I.’s. She seemed… awful. Her previous flamboyance and flair was drained, she had somehow gotten even paler, and her bloodshot eyes pierced into his soul. There was a heavy silence, one where Rashid couldn’t think of anything to break it. A.K.I. surprisingly spoke first. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you with the door.”

Rashid stumbled over his words a little, surprised at how calm she seemed. “Oh I'm- you- it's fine!” A.K.I. nodded a little and turned around to grab her bag and close the door. Rashid’s mind raced as to what to ask to ease his conscience, maybe just confirm that she was doing ok. “Uh… how have you been?” A.K.I. paused in her actions a moment, only to continue before responding. “Fine.” The answer didn’t really strike as a good feeling or anything inherently bad, so Rashid returned to silence. A.K.I. turned and looked at him, her red eyes half lidded. She hesitated only a moment before quietly saying, “Excuse me.” Rashid took a small step to the side and let her pass. She took a few steps and paused once again. “Rashid.” The man perked up. “Would you still like our rematch?” Rashid stammered a little once more. “Wha- right now?” A.K.I. shook her head. “No. I have business to attend to. I would just like to go against you some time.” Rashid smiled as he cleared out some footage. “Yeah! I’d love to! As long as you don’t use-” A.K.I. cut him off. “Poison. I know. I have no plans to use it.” She glanced her eyes back, her red pupils glimmering otherworldly in the darkness. “I would much rather choke the life out of you with my bare hands.” Rashid’s blood ran cold as A.K.I. turned back to the path she decided upon and walked away, her hatred for Rashid rekindled after meeting him again. A smile didn't grace her face. No "nishishishi" laughter escaped her lips. Suddenly, Rashid wasn’t too sure about rematching A.K.I. at all.

A.K.I. made her way to the meager headquarters of the Canary Crate Gang. Xiang, the acting boss (ever since the first was put in the hospital by the peacekeeper) greeted A.K.I. warmly. “Hey! The next supply is here! What do we owe you for this one?” A.K.I. placed the bag down. “It’s a small order. 100,000 zenny should suffice.” Xiang waved his hand over. “You heard the lady!” Two small thugs with the box helmets carried a backpack full of money, which A.K.I. took. “You seem to be doing well on your supplies of ‘Snake’s Venom.’ You may not need another large shipment for a few months, but you know how to contact me if you wish for another personal request.” Xiang nodded with a laugh. “Understood. Pleasure doing business with you, A.K.I.!” Just as soon as she entered, A.K.I. left back to her apartment. Rashid was gone now, and she entered her domicile before entering the guest room. Now turned into a chemist's wet dream, A.K.I. checked the purity of her liquid drug before depositing it in large vats for the next shipment. It always made her laugh at how stupid it was to keep all her operations for drug smuggling in her apartment, but on top of the police in this city barely being any stronger than its average denizen, it was almost an unspoken rule of the Chinatown to leave everyone to their own business. That drunken peacekeeper was the only one to break the rule, but he had more than enough skills to back it up. Surprising how A.K.I. hadn’t run into him yet.

A few hours after meeting Jamie Siu, Rashid had found a sort of kinship with him. Both fighters loved the essence of freedom in their lives and their fighting styles, even if they were different flavors of freedom. Rashid got a good 20 minutes of footage helping out with the patrol, and the two had settled down at a bar. Rashid ordered a fancy drink while Jamie kept swigging that god awful concoction Rashid has the misfortune of trying. By the time the orange rinds and luster dust made it to the glass, Rashid asked Jamie a serious question. “Hey, do you ever think you may not be doing the right thing, stopping the crime and all?” Jamie raised an eyebrow. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” A short shrug preceded an explanation. “Like, say you beat up a guy and stop him from stealing a phone or something, but now he ends up in the hospital and can’t pay for his wife’s medicine now? Or like, the guy was doing one favor to finally pay off his debt, and now he’s gotta answer to his debtor for a failed job?” Jamie laughed a little. “You give the jokers that roam these streets a little too much credit. 90 percent of those thugs are just tryna make it big. In the hella small chance that someone is trying to make their lives a little better in just the wrong way, I try my best to help ‘em out if they're willing to talk to me.” Rashid scoffed, remembering the beatings they served out earlier without a word. “Talk to you?”

Jamie brushed his shoulder a bit. “Yeah, y’know, my reputation plus punks watching me put straight belt to ass usually has ‘em chatty. I’d damn well prefer an awkward conversation instead of having to fight me if I was in their shoes.” A swig broke his speech. “I mean, sometimes, the toughest problems are solved through talking.” Rashid took a sip of his drink, noticing the tangy sweetness, and sighed as he looked into orange liquid. Jamie took notice. “You got a problem of your own, huh? Lay it on ya boy, I’m pretty good at problem solving!” Rashid looked over and smiled genuinely. “Thanks, but I think it's something I gotta figure out myself… It all pretty much started with me, and I wanna be the one to fix it all.” The long braid bobbed as Jamie nodded in understanding. “Best of luck to you, my man. Holler at me if you need any help though, got it?” The Arabian nodded and returned with a “Thanks, Jamie. I’ll keep it in mind.” He would keep it in mind, but he had no intentions to call in the cavalry. Wrapping more people into his personal quarrels with the poison users would only cause more problems, even if they could probably be solved with more hands on deck. This was something that Rashid felt needed to end with him the same way it started with him. He believed he saved the pale woman from F.A.N.G.’s mind control but he could tell A.K.I. was still deeply messed up by everything that day. Maybe it was his kindhearted nature, or his guilt of knowing her sadness was caused by his efforts to take care of his nemesis, but Rashid wanted to help. Maybe in their rematch, he would get a chance to talk and maybe fix this whole mess. Maybe. Just maybe.

Chapter Text

Rashid fumbled with his camera on the Metro City rooftop, adjusting the angle nervously. He knew that under normal circumstances, he’d have the perfect shot in a second, but he was just buying himself time now. He had received a letter at his hotel of a date, time, and location, just above an "A", "K", and an "I" written on the bottom with periods separating the letters. At least Rashid knew her name now. She was there, as expected, but notably lacking her signature poison claws. Rashid was surprised that she stayed true to her word and left the poison, but it made the threat that followed after that promise seem that much more real. That and her dead stare. She seemed so calm for someone making such violent threats and someone moments away from a fight. Moments that could only be added to by fiddling with this damn camera, which she surprisingly advocated for. “You said you wanted to record the rematch for FooTube, didn’t you? I’ll wait for you to set up your camera.” The light was red, audio was being recorded, and the camera was all set. It had been for almost a minute, but it was only now that it was made verbally known. “A-alright…! The stream is live! Hey guys, we are still in Metro City, and we got a match you all have been waiting for, so here we are!” Rashid turned and looked to A.K.I. He was sweating, smiling, and hoping that any semblance of friendliness would mean she didn’t truly intend to kill him. “Do you… uh, wanna introduce yourself to the stream?” A.K.I. stepped over and looked at the camera calmly. “No.”

The Arabian's heart dropped as he glanced back at the camera with even more nervous sweat dripping. “W-well, guess she’s just a mystery fighter for now. But anyone who's been watching the streams for long knows that we have a knack for finding hidden gems in these streets-” A.K.I.’s monotone voice cut through Rashid’s opening. “I’ve seen your videos. You never make intros this long. Quit stalling.” Rashid stammered a little. “I mean, I just edit them a little…” A.K.I. stared at him motionlessly. “No you don’t.” He didn’t. He knew it as well. “Guess it's time to face the music…” Rashid mumbled to himself, just before taking his footing. Why was he so afraid of this fight? He had fought many people with evil souls, plenty more who had vendettas against him, but A.K.I. just made him feel worried. She didn’t have that lethal poison or that sinister smile and laugh, so what was it? He pondered some more and waited for A.K.I. to take up her stance, expecting the same snake stance she often employed. To his surprise, she just raised her hands slightly and put her weight on her back foot. Keeping that same cold, dead look in her eyes, she stepped forward with surprising speed and launched a straight punch to Rashid’s chest. It wasn’t impossible to parry, but he could feel its intent and suddenly knew why he was so nervous about this fight. She really did want to kill him. Not only that, but she even made sure that it was going to be broadcasted.

A flurry of basic strikes came his way, lacking the flair usually carried in snake style kung fu. They were just as dangerous as any other style, but there was nothing extra to them, just the intent to follow through. Rashid brushed off a few more before commenting, “I remember you having a little more flavor to your fighting, no? What’s with all the day one stuff?” A.K.I. didn’t stop her assault but the two were now trading turns on defense and offense as she spoke. “I don’t have anyone to impress and I only have one goal. Why would I toss in “flavor” if it's unnecessary?” A foot slid by Rashid’s face as he cartwheeled away. He took the opportunity to kick up some dust and send a small whirlwind flying towards A.K.I. She let it pass by, minorly disturbing her hair before she lunged forward again. Rashid tossed his knee out to check whatever strike game his way, but his opponent suddenly disappeared. “What… whe-” His questioning was cut off by A.K.I. 's lightning quick slithering up his leg to his torso, which she wrapped her body around to trap his arm above his head. Her body contorted in superhuman ways and quickly began restricting Rashid’s airflow. Whatever deadpan ennui had grasped A.K.I. before slowly started chipping away as she tightened her hold and smiled. “Oh… I’ve been wanting to do this for so long… Ever since my master told me of a man he hated, ever since my master said it was you, ever since I’ve MET you, I’ve wanted nothing more than to have you die a slow, painful death…” Rashid began to choke and gasp for air, but nothing seemed to help as he stumbled around with the frail woman wrapped around him. “But after you took my master away from me, a simply slow and painful death wouldn’t suffice. I need you to feel my pain. To feel what you caused me, you insipid fool! And what better way than to get you where it really hurts… like in front of all your equally moronic fans…”

A.K.I. tightened her hold ever so slightly and began to dig her sharp fingernails into Rashid’s throat causing his flight or fight response to kick in. Rashid began flipping backward, doing the flips quicker and quicker before the bizarre air currents that aided him in battle almost seemed to keep him flipping in air without touching the ground. A.K.I. started to feel a little dizzy, and that must have been the desired effect because he just kept going faster. She squeezed and pulled all her joints to crush what she could, licking her teeth as she began to hear bones popping and Rashid grunting in pain. Her smile faded only a moment as she felt her center of balance shift ever so slightly from the perpetual spin it was in a few seconds ago. The confusion of what that meant was met with the crushing pain of her back being crushed on the concrete below. Rashid used the recoil from smacking his back (with A.K.I. on it) into the ground to bounce forward and escape the constriction he was in. He unfortunately landed face first and rolled forward with a busted nose, but A.K.I. seemed to be in much worse shape. She stumbled to her hands and knees, coughing up a little blood. She could feel something in her body was broken, but the entire mass was flooded with pain so it was hard to pinpoint. She had been pushing her joints to the limit to squeeze the life out of Rashid, only for the awkward position to be slammed into the ground with such force. Yes, something in her body HAD to be wrong, if not broken...

Rashid groaned and tenderly pressed his nose just to retract his hand the moment contact was made. He worriedly glanced back at A.K.I., who didn’t seem to be much of a threat now as she made pained groaning noises. Rashid pressed the camera’s power to shut it off in an attempt to hopefully avoid getting age restricted due to the brutal state he and A.K.I. were in. All was quiet for a while, save for the labored breathing, before A.K.I. shook her arm a little. Her left arm was majorly dislocated, seemingly as if she pulled both her shoulder and elbow joints out of socket. She sighed as she looked at the limp noodle she had for an appendage before she stood up and walked to the exit to the floor below. She lined up her arm carefully with the wall, before slamming it hard enough to pop back into place with a loud snapping noise; one that had Rashid jump up in fear. “Hey, hey, no! Don’t do that! We gotta get you to a doctor!” A.K.I. looked back at Rashid with a bewildered look. “A doctor? Despite the fact I was wringing his neck like a wet rag, he wants to take me to a doctor?” She thought to herself. Rashid had already started walking towards her with his hands up in a diffusing (most likely for her to stop the arm popping), but she just stared as she continued her work. A.K.I. eyes angrily locked with his as she snapped her elbow back into place, eliciting a sickened look from her opponent.

She did some left side arm circles while never breaking her intense gaze, almost as if to demonstrate her superiority over Rashid. After a few agonizing moments from the streamer’s perspective, A.K.I. stopped and took up her stance once again. Rashid laughed nervously. “Nope! Ha ha, no, we aren’t doing that again. Look, neither of us are in shape to keep at it and I’d rather uh…” he rubbed the back of his hair in a cartoonishly goofy manner. “Talk. Y’know?” A.K.I. stared again, this time even more confused than before. “No, I don’t ‘know.’ There is nothing for me and you to talk about. We have a fight to finish.” Rashid sighed a little. “Uh… look… Ay-Kay-Eye (A.K.I.)-” A.K.I. cut him off to correct him. “It’s pronounced ‘Ah-ki’ you moron. You-” A.K.I. dropped her stance. “You don’t even know my name…?” Rashid pulled out the letter he received. “Huh… sorry, I guess I sounded it out kinda weird…” A.K.I. was shocked that she was putting in all this effort for an opponent who didn’t even have the time to learn her name. He even acted like he didn’t know what he had done to her, and the fact that she intended to kill him for it seemed to have no effect on him. “I know you are… mad at me for whatever happened with F.A.N.G.- oh I see now, your name is an acronym that’s said as a word like his… but, I just want to fix what I can! So we can be sparring buddies in the future instead of you trying to kill me.” A.K.I. picked up her hands almost as if to squeeze his throat. “You. can’t. fix. anything. YOU are the reason he left me.” Rashid folded his arms and gave a small pout before muttering under his breath. “Good riddance, he isn’t that good of a guy…”

The pale woman screeched out, “What did you say!? You know nothing of my master! The things he’s done for me!” Rashid put his hands up as she inched closer with a hateful glint in her eye. “I know from first hand experience he sucks! He’s literally stabbed me in the back before and last time I saw him, he was beating on you in an alley!” A.K.I. began to protest again, but the words fell short. That was something that shocked even her at the time. “...th-That was your fault!” Rashid put his hand on his chest as he leaned forward. “My fault? What?” A.K.I. was fuming at this infantile banter she was almost forcing herself to engage in, but she pressed on. “If you weren’t there, none of this would’ve happened! You showing up at the master's hideout caused him to think I betrayed him. You made him lash out in fear and I was in the way!” Rashid did his best to avoid eye contact, as that was something he could actually agree with. “Yeah… but to be fair, I didn’t know he was there-” “To be fair? FAIR?! What is fair about your lack of spatial awareness ending my life with him?! He was all I had! Can…” A.K.I. sniffled. “Can you even imagine what that's like?! To lose someone that close to you?! GAH!” A.K.I. shouted as she swung at the air behind her feverishly and gripped her biceps while crossing her arms, silently letting her tears drop. Rashid slowly lowered his hands to his sides, and let out a somber line. “... I actually would know a thing or two about that…”

A.K.I. looked over at Rashid, who seemed to be telling the truth. Why should she care, though? The last thing she wanted was his sympathy. She sniffled once again before giggling a little. “Good. Too bad I wasn’t the one to take them from you…” Rashid let out a small huff of air. “Well I’d say it's close enough considering it was your old master who did the deed.” A.K.I. sniffled once more as she looked back in confusion. “What are you talking about?” Rashid looked up and tilted his head a little. “He never said anything? He was feeling pretty high and mighty about it at the time.” He slowly sat down with his legs crossed, and began to tell the tale of why he even encountered F.A.N.G. to begin with. A.K.I. sat too as the story continued, hearing of how a close internet friend actually worked under F.A.N.G. 's beloved Shadaloo and was pulling strings to stop the Black Moons and Operation C.H.A.I.N.S. Rashid told about how he searched for her for weeks and managed to stumble into Shadaloo and F.A.N.G. by chance in his search for his friend. “When I finally confronted F.A.N.G., he told me he killed her… he laughed about it, mocked me, mocked her, and everything she did to try and save the world. I just lost my temper and beat the hell out of him.” A.K.I. nodded softly. “I knew that last part, but I had always thought you were some freedom fighter out there trying to disrupt Shadaloo’s plans for some righteous goal.” Rashid laughed. “Ha ha ha, me? If it weren’t for my friend, I never would have thought about messing with Shadaloo. I probably wouldn’t have even heard of the organization.”

A.K.I. looked down at the ground again, seemingly deep in thought. Rashid took note and wondered if this was finally his chance to fix this. Choosing his next words carefully, he spoke with a purpose. “I didn’t aim to cause you any pain. Yet, despite doing what I thought was right, I’ve caused you to feel a pain similar to mine and I am sorry for that, A.K.I. As someone who has been on the other side of this, I understand that you are angry and you wanted payback. I did too, and I got mine. It would be unfair to deny you yours.” Rashid sighed and looked at A.K.I. with soft eyes. “Do you want to finish this?” He asked, preparing to fight again if she wanted. She looked up and stayed silent for a moment, before quietly saying, “I want to know what I’m supposed to do… He was all I had… all my goals, everything I loved and held dear, all my purpose, it was all in him. He was my reason for living, and now I don’t have him.” Normally, Rashid would quip about how that's a good thing, but even he knew that would undo the progress he made. “Maybe it's time to find a new purpose? A new reason to be happy.” A.K.I. looked towards him with red, puffy eyes, quietly questioning, “Like what?” Rashid paused and thought, but he ultimately had no clue. “I’m not sure. However, I’d be glad to help you find it. It's the least I can do, right?” A.K.I. nodded a little but cleared her throat. “Don’t think this means I’ve forgiven you, though, you fair weathered fool...” Rashid laughed again, nodding in understanding. “I get it. I don’t need forgiveness, I just wanna help fix what I’ve broken.” A.K.I. stared an emotionless gaze at Rashid, then at the now setting sun on the horizon. There was no fixing what was broken and both Rashid and A.K.I. knew it, but having something replace what was broken? That didn’t seem like a bad idea.

Chapter Text

“Ok, um well… What do you like to do for fun?” A.K.I. glared with a furrowed brow as the question graced her ears. The two sat at the table in Chinatown a day or two after their rematch, Rashid pondering what else A.K.I. could find enjoyment in after she gave him such an annoyed stare. “Ehh… maybe I’m over-thinking this. How about we just start trying things? How about you try content creation like me? It’s pretty fun!” The corner of A.K.I.’s mouth quivered in an attempt to display an emotion, but even she couldn’t tell if it was meant to be a frown or a sarcastic smile. “And what exactly would I make content about?” Rashid shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably an interest of yours. What do you do for fun- oh.” A.K.I. sighed and nibbled at the small portion of the peking duck she ordered. “This is going nowhere.” Rashid shook his head. “I wouldn’t say that… the answer just isn’t clear just yet. Did you do anything before… him?” A.K.I. pondered only for a moment. “I used to make and sell herbal medicines and poisons.” With that one snippet of information, Rashid perked up like a child being given candy. “Hey, now we’re talking! Why don’t you make videos about making medicine?” She took note how he left out any mentions of poison and despite that being what she adored most in the past, she looked down at her food and murmured out: “I suppose it's worth a try.”

A.K.I. and Rashid treaded their way to the prior’s abode. Never in a million years would she have let her home be known to anyone, if she ever had a definite place to call home to begin with. However, she just didn’t seem to care anymore. Rashid didn’t seem like the type to abuse the information of knowing her whereabouts, nor would he have a reason to as far as A.K.I. could think. As the door opened, Rashid took in the surroundings. The apartment was surprisingly clean and well organized. He didn’t know it, but the prospect of killing him during their rematch filled A.K.I. with a quiet excitement, one that compelled her to clean for almost no reason. She pointed at a table in the kitchen. “Sit. I will get some basic supplies.” Rashid nodded politely and took his seat before setting up a back up camera he bought in the event his wind knocked over and broke his main one. He yelled through the apartment, “Hey, you watched my videos, what’s your account?” A.K.I. stayed silent and walked back in with some herbs, flasks, and basic chemistry supplies. “Please do not yell in my apartment.” Rashid reclused his head a little. “Oh, uh, sorry.” Placing her items down, she quietly informed her guest that “I never made an account. I just watched them on the browser.”

“Well here, get out your phone. Let’s make an account for you.” She pulled out her phone, which Rashid held out his hand for. This was only met with a look of disgust, to which Rashid nervously chuckled, “O-ok, I’ll just talk you through it! You’ll wanna download the app first.” Having the process explained to her, A.K.I. created an account and simply named it after herself. She didn’t spruce it up in any of the ways Rashid suggested, like a profile picture or channel description, but she did think those could be done later if this was something she ended up enjoying. Rashid set up the camera and pressed the recording button and sat down looking at A.K.I., who looked back in silence and confusion. “What am I supposed to do now?” Rashid tilted his head a little with a small laugh. “Well, I’d just start with a little introduction and a summary of what you plan to show off. What are we even making?” A.K.I. looked at her ingredients. “I have some dried longan fruit. It has been used in traditional medicine-” Rashid put up his hands to stop A.K.I. and turned off the camera. “That’s a good start, but you’ll want to tell the people watching your video. After you give a short intro, of course.” A.K.I. looked back to the camera and gestured to try once again. Rashid turned it back on and she started once more. “Hello. I am A.K.I. and this video is going to explain how to create longan extract.” She looked back towards her momentary mentor who gave her a thumbs up and a goofy smile. A.K.I. continued, “It is made from the longan fruit, which is a sort of bodily depressant used in traditional Chinese medicine.” Rashid jumped in with some improvisation. “So, what does it do exactly?” A.K.I. turned to the left, a little surprised. “It produces a calming effect, as well as helping the immune system with its high amounts of vitamin C, among other things…” Rashid gave a small wink and the click of his tongue, which A.K.I. took as his way of encouraging her to continue.

She went throughout the video explaining the process of extracting the fruit by cleaning, drying, grinding the dried pulp into powder (which she happened to have on hand), and adding ethanol as a solvent with a 5:1 ratio in the ethanol’s favor. Then, she explained to place it in an extraction vessel and stir continuously for multiple hours before filtering out the solid components. All the while, Rashid would chime in with questions to test A.K.I.’s knowledge of the subject, which she answered each time with relative ease. “Once you successfully separate the solid residue, you have used one method to create a Longan extract that you can use for medicinal purposes. It's suggested you take anywhere from 250 to 500 milligrams a day with meals to receive its benefits.” A.K.I. then went silent and pressed the button on the camera to end the recording, taking a moment to look back and inform Rashid “That wasn’t unenjoyable.” Rashid laughed. “Yeah, I actually learned some stuff! I think you did an amazing job!” A.K.I. felt something tinge inside of her chest at the praise she received. It was nothing compared to the euphoria of her ex-master’s praise, but it was the first time since he had left that she received any genuine praise. It felt nice. Rashid took a cord and plugged it into the camera to start editing the video. He added some soft background music, edited out the few mess ups they had throughout the video, and even whipped up a subscribe screen for the end of the video.

A.K.I. was surprised that he managed it all so quickly, but it made sense considering how this was his true passion. As the video began to upload, Rashid sighed contentedly before glancing over to his pupil in content creation. “Y’know, I didn’t expect you to know anything about medicine, since you use mostly poison and all.” A.K.I. idly organized the items on her table, speaking up with some more of her knowledge. “Medicine and poison are one in the same. There are numerous medicines that are poisonous in high doses and poisons that save lives while serving medicinal purposes in lower doses. Even the poison I used during my fights has its uses outside of hurting my opponents.” Rashid looked up and stroked his beard. “Huh… I never thought about it like that. I guess even something that looks bad on paper can still end up helping in the end.” He looked down and stared off into space, his eyes full of contemplation. “Maybe poison isn’t all bad then. It's all about who uses it and how it's used…” A.K.I. nodded softly. “I understand your aversion to poisons, but that is correct. Herbs and their concoctions aren’t inherently evil or good, it lies in their usage.” Rashid hummed with almost a saddened sense of nostalgia as he appeared to be tackling something in deep thought, but the chime of the successful upload snapped him out of it.

“Alright then, that’s that. If this ends up being your passion too, we can collaborate more and make videos together! That sounds pretty fun, right?” A.K.I. stood motionlessly. She wasn’t sure if she really enjoyed the video making part of it, but even this was slightly enjoyable to her. Perhaps she would just need to take some more time to truly discern that for herself. Rashid popped up to his feet with his usual chipper demeanor. “Well, it's getting late and I should probably head back to my hotel and call it a night. Let’s see how your video is doing in a couple days, ok?” A.K.I. nodded and showed him the door before letting her guest out, but stopped him as he made his way out. “You left your camera and tablet on my table.” Rashid gave a big smile before reassuring A.K.I. “Those are my backups, but you hold on to them so you can keep making videos. Consider them a gift!” There was a tangible essence of shock in the air which only A.K.I. seemed to be cognizant of. Rashid wished A.K.I. a good night and walked on down the street as she closed the door. All was silent once again. She admitted she didn’t hate the process, but she couldn’t pinpoint what exactly was the enjoyable part. She glanced over to her table, notably at the camera and tablet. Upon further inspection, he had reset the tablet for her usage. He really had just given her a rather expensive looking camera and editing tablet in the hopes and only hopes that she would find some enjoyment in using them. Rashid was such a weird specimen.

She cleaned and returned all of her chemistry equipment, and placed her new gifts in a drawer. She ran herself a bath to relax at the end of the day and soaked in the warm soapy water. As A.K.I. let the bubbles encompass her, she thought back to the fact she actually received a gift from a man she had attempted to kill just a few days ago. She only ever received one gift from F.A.N.G.; knowledge. She thought about how that night she met F.A.N.G., trying to seduce him and blackmail him for money with the help from her brother during her days as a prostitute. “I wonder where he is nowadays… I haven’t seen him since that night.” She asked to be taught the characters on the knife F.A.N.G. offered as a potential choice for their meeting, and he accepted to take her under his tutelage. One thing led to another, and here she was now. It was a useful gift, she learned to read, learned chemistry, anatomy, and all the necessities for her line of work. Rashid’s gift was less of the important kind. It was for a hobby and enrichment, which were things A.K.I. had deemed unimportant for her life. Perhaps she would need it now, without her master to guide her, meaning that camera and tablet WAS important. However, she wouldn’t even be contemplating hobbies if it weren’t for Rashid ruining her life. Taking her master away, leaving her to wander life aimlessly, it was all his fault. “I guess even something that looks bad on paper can still end up helping in the end.” Rashid’s epiphany rattled around in her head, causing her to think something that she never had before. “Maybe it’s good that the Master left…” Many would consider her attachment unhealthy. Even A.K.I., with her rose tinted view, could see F.A.N.G.’s occasional discomfort and frustration outside of their professional setting.

A.K.I. pushed those thoughts aside as she prepared to retire for the night, only pausing to a singular notification on her phone. She had received a FooTube follower by the handle “HipbaDasSicalster8.” She never paid much mind on her research of Rashid, but she did remember that his username was something regarding a hip. She also received a like and a comment on her video from the same user which read “Very informative video! Keep it up!” That tinge in her chest from before came back, almost forming into an odd ache. She went to the comment and pressed the thumbs up icon. “Why did I do that…?” A.K.I. questioned. She didn’t undo the like and just before she put her phone down, she received a notification saying “HipbaDasSicalster8 sent you a message.” It took some time to find the direct messages, but she opened the message saying “Feel free to use your new camera to make some more stuff without me. I’m excited to see what you teach next!” She didn’t send a response and just placed her phone on her nightstand. Once she laid down she stared at the ceiling, pondering as to what she was feeling. She had hated Rashid not too long ago, notably for his stupidly nice attitude, but now she seemed to find it tolerable. How odd he was.

Rashid managed to make it back to his hotel, only to be stopped by Azam. “Greetings, young master. Would you care to tell me where you have been?” The intimidating stature of his bodyguard made Rashid nervous in every encounter, but he did his best to steel himself to answer. “I was helping a new friend with making some videos. She was really taking off with it!” Azam raised an eyebrow. “This ‘friend’ wouldn’t happen to be the same one I saw attacking you from your camera footage, would it?” Giving an exasperated sigh, Rashid whined “Azaaaaam! I told you not to go snooping through my footage! You know I don’t like you seeing my failed stunts…” A deep chuckle came from the large man. “I apologize. I simply believed it would give me some clues as to why you seemed so battered the other day.” Rashid huffed a little and crossed his arms. “Well, apology accepted. And yes, she is my new friend. I messed up things with someone close to her, so I’m doing my best to help her out and find a way to take her mind off of it.” The tall bodyguard smiled and noted, “As noble as ever, young master. I do hope you manage to help her sufficiently. I’ll do my best not to… uh ‘snoop’ anymore.” A long smirk came from his ward. “Thank you. Welp, I’m calling it a night, Azam! Make sure you get some rest too!” Azam nodded. “Of course. Good night to you.” Rashid waved back. “Night!” As he threw himself to his bed, Rashid thought back to A.K.I. She seemed to have fun with the video, which is just what Rashid wanted. She didn’t smile, laugh, or joke, but she seemed to break out of that melancholy haze as she explained her craft. That, in Rashid’s eyes, was an exciting improvement.