Disclaimer: I own neither Street Fighter nor Dalkstalkers. They belong to Capcom, not me. I repeat, not me! Now that that's been made clear...

Playtime in Twilight

Soaring through the midnight sky, Morrigan Aensland prepared to make her journey back to the demon world. So far this night wasn't as fun as she had wished. True, she enjoyed the parties and clubs she had visited, but nothing that stood out this night. In short, it was a tad boring. So much so in fact that she decided to cut this night short and return home. Tomorrow was another night after all. Perhaps she would...

'Hm...?'

Her gaze had lowered toward a woodland area just on the outskirts of the city area. The shine of the moon lit down on a clearing where a lone figure could be seen. To her, this was an oddity, as many a mortal avoid being all out on their own at night in the middle of virtually nowhere. It might have been nothing, but it peeked her curiosity enough to take a closer look.

Sailing slightly around the trees, she slowed to a hover as she looked through the green. The figure, it turned out, was a man, well built and muscular, wearing a white karate gi. This, along with the gloves on his hands gave the tale tell indication that he was a fighter. And if that wasn't enough, the power she was sensing from him was strong; far too strong to be an average fighter.

'And quite a handsome one too...' she smiled. 'Perhaps this night still has something to offer to me after all.'

Trudging through the nightly woods, Ryu made ready to search for a place to rest. After a day of travelling and training he was now just looking for somewhere to rest his head. Oddly enough, he felt a little restless this night, but it couldn't be helped. He had come into town earlier upon hearing of a local tournament taking place, only to be disappointed to discover that it had been cancelled. As a result, the energy he spent in getting ready had no place to go, thereby causing sleep to elude him at the moment.

'At least it's a nice night...'

His thought, however, were soon interrupted when a few leaves and shrubbery shook about behind him. Turning toward it, Ryu readied himself. True, he was probably the only person out here in the middle of the woods, but it could be a wild animal or something. That didn't worry him much either, but he prepared himself for whatever it was that was there.

Except for this...

Emerging almost silently out of the trees was a woman, with long emerald hair and a voluptuous body that was scantily clothed. As she emerged out more fully, he saw a set of bat-like wings, both on her head and from her back. Furthermore, there was aura of allure and seduction coming from her as well. But more than that, he sensed a great power within her.

Interestingly, he sensed it was a dark power, but not malicious. That was a new concept to him, being familiar with the evil powers of the Satsui No Hado as well as the dreaded Psycho Power. But this was...different. He couldn't explain how, but it was. Something about her vaguely reminded him of Rose, but not so much. If not for the wings, he would have already suspected that she wasn't quite human. While he didn't mind that, he was curious as to her identity.

"Who are you?"

Although her lips held a sultry smile, her eyes were predatory in its gleam. "Will you play with me? I promise to give you a good time."

Ryu blinked at this, but recognized the challenge beneath the seductive tone and innuendo. Dropping his duffel bag, Ryu lifted his fists and readied himself. With another smile, the woman held her hands up in what Ryu assumed was her stance. The restlessness Ryu felt was now replaced with focused determination.

"I accept your challenge."

Her smile widened as she continued to gaze at him and that aura of allure seemed to switch into combativeness. "You're in for quite a night."

In a flash, the woman shot at him, her wings spreading out. On reflex, Ryu's arms tightened in defense, stopping the blade-like kick that lashed out at him. But the wings of the woman let up a single flap, propelling her upward and allowing her to strike downward at him. Stepping back, Ryu watched the blow sweep just past his eyes and he ducked back to the side where he waited. The woman had already landed, but simply kept her back to him, turning around only a bit, slyly.

"Come on now. Don't disappoint-"

Her taunt was cut off when she sensed a surge of ki rising behind her. Turning about, her eyes widened with surprise as the man had his hands cupped to the side, with a sphere of energy in his hands. Eyes glaring fiercely at her (and giving her a shiver), the warrior shot his arms forward, unleashing the energy he held and launching it forward in a blast.

"Hadouken!"

Whipping her body around, Morrigan lifted her arms, with one hand grabbing hold of her arm. Summoning forth her own dark energy, she quickly pointed her energized arm at the incoming surge.

"Soul Fist!"

The bat-shaped energy swooped out and collided with young man's attack, exploding in a flash of light. Blinking, Morrigan was again surprised when the fighter leapt at her through the light and attacked with an aerial kick. One of Morrigan's wings flapped over her to shield her from the blow, but he pressed on with another kick as soon as he landed. Again, her wing blocked, but this time, she was able to reverse by flapping her wing out against his foot and causing him to fall backward. But the fighter managed to turn it into a roll and immediately he was upright again, his stance solid and firm. A smile crossed her lips at this and she purred.

"You're a feisty one. I like that."

Crossing her arms, her wings spread out wide and soon changed shape again, this time into numerous barbed tendrils that all swooped at the fighter. His eyes widened before he quickly rolled to the side, avoiding the first set. But Morrigan was not done with him as the next set lunged at him speedily. Returning to his feet, the man let out a cry as he countered, punching a few of the tendrils away, while deflecting others with blocks. Quickly, she retracted the tendrils and rushed at him. The fighter stood ready for her, but she grinned as the tendrils transformed again, not into wings, but into a booster pack. The surprise on his face made her laugh as she immediately grabbed his shoulders and flew up into the air, taking him with her.

"Here we go."

Rotating upside down, the succubus immediately twirled about as she descended. 'Maybe I got a little overexcited' she thought as the two descended, realizing that her Vector Drive would more than likely put him out of commission. But again, she was surprised when he broke out of her grip and pushing his hands against her, threw himself out before they could slam into the ground. His action also pushed her out of the momentum as well and she slid body wise against the ground.

Rising up, she looked to see him getting back up to his feet as well, slowly returning to his stance. Excitement rushed through her again at seeing him willing to continue. He definitely wasn't an ordinary mortal human. Most would have been done long ago. Hell, most would have fallen just from the sight of her alone. As a succubus, she was, for all intents and purposes, designed to seduce men (and women on occasion) and she knew he was no exception. But he seemed to be forcing away his baser instincts and giving way to a pure focus on the fight.

And that excited her all the more.

With a deep breath, Ryu readied himself for the mysterious woman's next attack. So far, her attacks were...unorthodox to say the least. Her use of ki like him hadn't surprised him too much, but the way she used her wings in a variety of ways of attack and mobility had surprised him. Tightening his fists, he held back the rush of excitement he felt as he realized that this woman was a unique challenger, and not just because of her attacks either.

Her allure...

He was used to fighting women, attractive or otherwise (usually attractive), but whatever aura she was emitting, it required all of his concentration to dispel it and focus on the fight itself. He didn't know if she was doing it on purpose or not (probably was given her state of dress and her wordplay), but it was a true challenge to deal with her attacks while not falling for...whatever it was that she was doing to him. It would prove to be a lesser problem when he starts fighting, but he would not give her an opening in either case.

"Let's go."

The woman's smile seemed to lift more and Ryu wondered if she was enjoying this fight as much as he was. But his thoughts were put on hold as she lashed her hand forward, her wings transforming once again and entering the ground beneath him. Ryu jumped just as a barbed lance emerged from the ground, stabbing upward. He wasn't sure whether she was trying to kill him or not, but he already knew that she wasn't someone to take lightly.

Which is why he had jumped forward...

With her wings diverted, she was wide open and he would take advantage of that as his fist reared back. Surprise flashed across her face as his fist came in, only for her to explode into a swarm of bats. Now it was Ryu's turn to be surprised as he swatted them away and watched them swarm into the woman's form once again.

'What is she?'

With a cry of her own, the woman whirled downward, lashing at him with a bladed kick. Ryu managed to block the attack and return with a kick of his own. Once more, her wing blocked the attack and swatted it aside, allowing her a chance to attack at his exposed chest with a fist. Quickly, Ryu brought his leg to the ground and managed to bring his arm back to block the attack and knock her fist away. But it was then that he realized that her punch was a feint and the real attack was coming in the form of her opposite wing and fist combining into a blade of energy that was now sweeping low and coming up at him like...

Like...

The thought didn't even register in his mind; natural instinct took over his body as his fist tightened and the ki within him focusing into his famed attack. At the same time, the woman was doing the same, her wing-fist swooping up at him, but even she saw what he was doing. She was just too late to do anything about it aside from pressing on with her own attack while he brought his.

"Shadow Blade!" - "Shoryuken!"

The two rising attacks collided together, deflecting her attack from hitting him. The two figures soared high into the air; their fists locked causing them to whirl into the sky together. It was only when they reached their ascent did they begin to break away and plummet back to the ground. Both landed on their feet and Ryu put himself in battle stance once again. This time, he didn't bother to hold back the excitement he felt at fighting this woman and allowed a smile.

'That was a close one. She's good.'

She was passed excited now. She was ecstatic. And that wasn't something that happened to her easily, at least not in a situation like this. This man, whoever he was, was really good. 'Really strong…' Whatever she threw at him, it appeared that he not only could take it, but he could dish it out as well. And if that wasn't enough, it appeared that he still wanted to fight. She even took note of the smile on his face and just knew that it mirrored her own. He was enjoying this fight, just like she was. She began to wonder how much more he can take when she blinked and looked up at the sky. Her smile disappeared as she recognized the sunrise hour was closing in.

'Has it been so long?'

Lowering her hands in disappointment, the succubus sighed. It wasn't long before sunrise and she couldn't stay for that. 'Just when things were getting good too.' Looking up at him, she saw the puzzlement on his face and knew he wouldn't take this too well either.

"I'm afraid our time is up."

The man blinked, but a second look at her and he lowered his fists as well. And as she thought, there was a bit of disappointment on his face at their fight coming to an end, probably more so because he didn't even understand why it had to end. It was odd in a way, to seduce someone in fighting. Probably even odder was being seduced in fighting. She began to turn away when the man called to her.

"You still never told me who you are."

Looking at him from over her shoulder, she simply replied. "Just...a temptress of the night."

The man gave her a strange look, but rather than ask what that meant, he lowered his head in a bow toward her.

"My name is Ryu, and it was an honor to fight you."

'Will this man never stop surprising me?' Slowly, she turned around toward him and slowly strode toward him. Upon seeing her approach, the warrior, Ryu, took a step back, but remained where he was. At this point, she could sense the power within him more and wondered what would happen if she... no. This one was far too noble for her to do that to (even if she would have enjoyed it). And if that wasn't enough, she could sense his purity as well, despite his great power.

"I am Morrigan Aensland. And the honor is mine, Ryu."

Stopping just before him, she lifted a gentle hand to his cheek, watching his eyes wander between confusion and wonder...and perhaps a little bit of desire. Without waiting for his reaction, she quickly eased forward and laid a soft, lingering kiss on his lips. Pulling away slowly, she saw his surprise and giggled, lowering her hand from him and she realized that his breath was caught.

"A memento for the fight."

Leaving the stunned man and moving toward the trees behind him, she soon disappeared into them. But she felt that she had to leave something else behind. After all, this was quite a fight and despite her words earlier, he had given her quite a night. So what better way for a seductress to part than to leave them with the hope for more.

"Perhaps we can play again sometime."

Her words broke through his shock at her kiss and he turned around only to find the woman gone. With the fight over, he felt himself beginning to succumb to her charms, but he saw that she had gotten what she wanted. 'The Fight…' And it was a fight that he had enjoyed as well. But she felt she had to leave and Ryu would leave it at that. Taking another deep breath, Ryu moved over to where he had dropped his duffel bag and began to pick it up, only to stop when he realized two things. One, how tired he felt because, two, he had been fighting throughout the entire night. So instead of picking up his bag, he settled onto the ground and laid his head on it. He hadn't even realized how long the fight had been going. Already, he could see the light of the sun beginning to rise up into the sky.

-"Just...a temptress of the night."-

Was that why she left? It didn't make sense, but then again, she -Morrigan- wasn't exactly his usual, or even unusual, opponent. She tested both his skill and his focus, all the while taking enjoyment from the fight as she was forced by his skill. He could tell. She couldn't hide the moments of surprise on her face when he managed to get through her attacks and return with his own. 'A worthy rival.' But enough musing. His body was weary from fighting and he needed to rest. As the sun rose and sleep began to come over him, his mind drifted to her parting words.

-"Perhaps we can play again sometime."-

'Perhaps.'

AN: It never fails. It's the middle of the night and you're just messing around with some words and thoughts on the computer. Then one word becomes a sentence, then a paragraph and pretty soon you can't stop until you're finished because you're on a roll. I remember a fellow fanfic writer saying something about insomnia and writing going hand-in-hand and they are pretty much right.

We fanfic writers are some strange creatures...

Anyway, this was an idea I was messing around with for a bit that just now chose to bloom. This could had been rated M, but I decided against it, keeping it (mostly) on the fighting, with subtle (at least I hope they're subtle) inclinations. But just to save, it will be rated T. Okay, I've jabbered on long enough. Let me know what you think, please. ^_^