Here's another 2-chapter instalment of my sf2 fan fiction. Once again, I 
hope that you enjoy it and comments are, of course, appreciated.

Chapter 5

"I keep telling you I don't give interviews," he answered, irritably.

They were seated at a small table in the middle of the newly built
virtual reality theme park in the city of Hong Kong. The air was dark,
somewhat musty, and it reeked of plastic and metal. The woman seated
opposite to him could barely hear him. The volume setting of each arcade
machine had been set to maximum, and the roar of voices, coupled with
the blaring heavy metal music on the speakers, made having a
conversation difficult. It was with some effort that the woman sitting
opposite heard his answer.

"Okay. I guess I've given it my best shot. You do realise that I'm still
going to have to follow you around, ask a million questions and make a
pest of myself, don't you?" she asked, sweetly.

"I know," he said, glumly.

"Well let's start then. How much do you know about this next guy you're
going to face?"

"I know his name."

She nodded, pen poised over a pad she had procured from her purse.
"And?"

"That's about it. Gen isn't someone who volunteers too much about
himself. All I know is he has a bit of a reputation. That's about it."

"Did you know he was a paid assassin?" she asked, cocking her head
forward. "He used to work for a major crime organisation up until a few
years ago, when the new crime boss took over during a coup. The rumours
are Gen disagreed with the new doctrine and left. Know anything about
that?"

"Not a clue."

Sakura joined them, setting herself down onto the one remaining stool.
She was carrying a giant stuffed animal, a giant bear, and various other
prizes she had won. She dumped it all on the table and grinned. "Look at
this haul! The people here really suck and the games are so easy! I
mean, it only took me $10 dollars to win Fluffy."

"Fluffy?" asked a very perplexed Ryu.

"She means the stuffed bear," explained Chun, with a smile on her lips.
"So, how much do you want?"

"Another $20," answered Sakura in a rush of words. "I really want to try
that new game over there. They call it Super Virtual Turbo Homicidal
Maniac III. You get to carry this big huge gun and put on the armour
and..."

"Here," interrupted the reporter, holding out the precious bill.
"Enjoy."

"Thanks!" beamed Sakura. Standing, she turned back and joined the crowd,
running in her haste.

"She's supposed to be practising right now."

"Is she? I'm sorry about that," replied Chun, feigned remorse on her
features. "If I'd known I wouldn't have taken us here."

Ryu sighed again, shaking his head. "Oh well. I suppose it's all right.
She's been working hard on improving her technique and she's already a
lot stronger than she was a week ago. She's still got a long way to go,
though."

"So who exactly is she anyway? A sister? Your girlfriend?"

"Sakura? I helped her a few years ago. Somehow she got the impression
that I was a great martial artist and teacher. She thought I'd be able
to make her into a martial artist. I'm really worried that she's going
to be disappointed."

"About becoming a martial artist?"

"About me being such a great person. She's got the speed and agility for
it. Certainly she's enthusiastic and she works hard, when she remembers.
She also has this thing about eating and reading comic books but she'll
grow out of that, I hope. That's not what bothers me. What bothers me is
I'm just not sure I'll be able to teach her anything."

"You?" she asked, wonder crossing her features. "You were trained by
Gouken, you have an undefeated tournament record, and you went on to
beat Sagat. Not too many people could claim the first two things and no
one else can claim the last."

Ryu shook his head and he answered, "I'm still learning and I got lucky
against Sagat. If he hadn't slipped I would have been the one lying on
the ground." He looked up at her, eyes narrowing as he considered her
words and questions. "You know an awfully lot about me."

"I just did my homework. It's a part of my job," she answered. "You
don't survive too long in my profession if you don't know what you're
dealing with."

"How much do you know?"

"Oh I know quite a bit. For instance, you're now 20 years old, and
you've been training since you were about 6. You don't have any family:
your parents died in a car accident and your father and mother, like
you, were only children. You had a friend, an American, by the name
of..."

"Okay, okay," he said, holding up a hand and grinning. "You've made your
point. Peace?" he asked, holding out his hand.

"Peace," she said, smiling. They clasped hands.

Sakura came waltzing back, a golden medallion bouncing on its ribbon
around her neck. "That wasn't as great as I thought it would be. It kind
of gets boring after you kill the umpteenth demon with a few hundred
rounds." She paused, her stomach grumbling loudly. Flushing, she said,
"Um, I'm kind of hungry. Could we get a bite to eat?"

Ryu sighed and Chun Li laughed as Sakura asked, "What's so funny?"

* * * * * * * * * *

"It's dark here and it's pretty wet. Just look at the size of those huge
puddles."

"Sakura..." said Ryu in a warning tone.

"I know, I know. One can't always choose one's battle ground and one
must adapt oneself to the demands of the environment. I just wish the
battle ground were less wet and less stinky," she said, sighing.
Brightening, Sakura asked, this time of the reporter, "Chun, what does
that writing say on the walls? It looks pretty interesting but my
Chinese isn't very good. Actually it's kinda non-existent."

"Do you really want to know?" answered Ryu. "It says 'Call Lynn for
a...'"

"You can stop," interrupted Sakura. The young woman was blushing
furiously, her cheeks taking on a deep rosy hue.

The trio continued walking down the dark alley, Sakura staying very
close to her teacher. Overhead the clouds lazily crossed the sky and
blotted out the night sky, the yellow moon and the stars. A cool breeze,
which had been blowing since the morning, steadily cooled as it swept
trash and other detritus around the pitted streets and dirty sidewalks.
Somewhere a cat meowed and a siren began its shrill wailing, only to
fade into silence moments later.

They reached the meeting place that was lit only by a single, lonely
street lamp that flickered intermittently. A closed variety store with
boarded-up windows was the only other notable feature of the alley. It
stood on the corner of the street and was surrounded by piles of rubbish
lying all around. Faint squeaking could be heard over the quiet
whispering of the wind as a rat, its sinister red eyes glowing in the
night, scampered off into the dark. Leaning up against the lamppost was
the same robed man who had judged the earlier match. The light wind
caused his dark clothing to flutter about his feet, the sputtering light
throwing weird shadows on the wet ground.

"This looks like the place," said Sakura. "Looks deserted. Ryu, there
wouldn't happen to be a fifteen minute rule regarding these matches,
would there?"

"Fifteen minute rule?" asked the perplexed martial artist. He set his
duffel down onto a relatively dry patch of cement and withdrew the white
cotton ribbon, tying it gingerly around his forehead.

"It's a school thing," responded Chun Li, withdrawing a camera from her
bag. Dissatisfied with the camera settings, she fidgeted with the
controls in the dim light and continued, "If a teacher is late more than
fifteen minutes the students aren't obligated to wait."

"Oh. I see. A fighter has 10 minutes after the scheduled starting time
before he is 'late.' Fighters who are late are disqualified. It doesn't
quite work the same way as your 'fifteen minute rule' but it does work.
There are few people who want to lose before they have even met their
opponent: there is no honour to be found in being disqualified for
tardiness."

"He really does know how to take all the fun out of life, doesn't he?"
asked Sakura.

"That he does, Sakura," answered Chun absentmindedly. "That he does."

Frowning, Ryu stepped within the circle of dim light and waited. The
robed man mechanically stated the rules of the match and signalled that
it should begin. Yet there was still no sign of Ryu's opponent, the
enigmatic Gen and so, faced with no other alternative, Ryu waited.

And waited.

Finally the black robed man signalled the end of the contest,
unceremoniously declaring Ryu the winner as a result of Gen's
disqualification. Without another word he turned and left down another
alley, his black robes fading into the darker black of the night. A
disappointed expression on her face, Sakura stepped into the spot
vacated by the robed man and sat down at the base of the lamppost.

She said, "This really sucks. I was really looking forward to seeing you
whip another guy around."

"Gen isn't just another guy," said Chun. "He's been fighting for decades
and I've never heard of him backing down from a battle: his honour is
much too important to him. I think something's wrong. Otherwise he would
have been here."

"Maybe," Ryu answered, doubtfully. "It doesn't matter anyway. The match
is over and we should get back to the hotel. It's late and Sakura needs
her sleep."

"Hey!" shouted Sakura, jumping up from her seat.

The three gathered their belongings and quickly made their way from the
darkened alley. Minutes after they had left, a soft thudding sound
echoed through the alley as the body of an old man was dropped
unceremoniously to the ground. His robes... Rather, the shreds that were
left of them had been a deep purple in colour. Now they were a dark
reddish brown and the pale, mutilated flesh beneath was stained the same
dark brown. A thick white beard that had become matted with drying blood
covered his neck, which was bent at an awkward angle.

There was a sudden rush of air and a quiet thud as a tall killer landed
beside the corpse. The perfect play of his slim and perfectly formed
muscles was readily apparent underneath his dark clothing, as were the
tens of bladed knives secreted around his waist. A large, three bladed
claw was affixed to his right hand. It was stained. He casually ran his
tongue over one of the razor sharp blades as he tapped the communicator
affixed to his belt.

"It is done. Gen is dead and the primary target has been sighted."

"Good. With Gen no longer an impediment I can now begin to concentrate
on my future plans." There was a long pause, punctuated only by a long
slurping sound that came from the blade carrier's lips as he licked his
claw clean. "Was the target with anyone?"

"Yes, Master. He was with two women, one very young and the other is the
operative. Do you want me to kill her?"

"No."

"But what if she should...?"

"What if she brought him to me? So much the better! Return to Spain and
continue your training. I will send another agent to track his progress
in America."

"As you wish. Is that all you require of me?"

"Yes. Return to Spain at once. You will be summoned when your services
are required."

"Yes, Master."

* * * * * * * * * *

"Oh man!" he thought to himself, glancing at his watch. "This sucks!
First, you nearly lose to some bozo and second, you're going to be late
on your first date with the most incredibly gorgeous woman you've ever
met."

Hastily giving the pimply-faced valet the keys to his Porsche, he strode
into the restaurant. A quick conference with the maitre d' and he was on
his way over to the table. Already seated there, and looking not at all
amused, was his date, all 5 foot 6 inches of her. Her wavy blond hair,
normally allowed to frame her face naturally, was draped across her
shoulder in a thick, gold braid that revealed her large blue eyes to
devastating effect. The dress she wore, which would be considered
conservative on normal women, could not be considered so on her person.
Such was the nature of her beauty that he, unflappable in the face of a
400 pound opponent, was flabbergasted and rendered speechless, drawing a
small smile to her scarlet lips.

"You're a bit late," she said, tapping a single clear enamelled
fingernail against her watch. "A few more minutes and I would have left.
I'm not the type who'll wait forever, you know, not unless the guy's
worth waiting for."

"Um, er... Sorry about that; I kind of, well, took a bit longer than I
thought I would."

"In your match?"

He nodded, signalling for the waiter. "I didn't fight very well today.
He nearly beat me. Waiter, bring a bottle of wine--something white."

"I see," she said. "So, you're saying the match was more important than
seeing me?"

"What?!? No," he denied, shaking his head violently. "It's only my job,
right? And of course you're a lot more important than a job."

"So you'd give up your job to see me, is that it?"

"Well, yes... Wait a minute, I mean no... I mean..."

She was smiling, two rows of white and shiny teeth nestled between
scarlet. "It's okay. You don't have to choose between fighting and me...
Not yet anyway."

The waiter arrived, bringing with him a bottle of the restaurant's best
white wine along with the beginnings of their dinner. After two entrees,
the main course and dessert, the majority of the other patrons had left
for home, leaving the small cosy restaurant empty except for a few
couples. He was enjoying a last mug of coffee and she a glass of tea.
The restaurant's band had started a quiet piece, the crooning of a
saxophone weaving seamlessly through the air enmeshed in the rhythmic
strumming of the bass.

"So, tell me about yourself. You must have trained for a long time."

"Yeah, I did actually. I lived in Japan for a while, training under our
sensei for a bunch of years. He taught me just about everything I know."

"Our?"

"Oh. I had a friend at the dojo."

"You two keep in touch?"

"Not really. I haven't spoken with him for a long, long time," was his
answer. Warding off the next question with a shake of his head, he said,
"Not that I haven't tried. He's a hard man to pin down sometimes: he
just moves around too much."

"He doesn't sound like that good of a friend."

"Well he is," was Ken's answer, a hint of defensiveness in his tone.
"Sure he isn't particularly social and couldn't have a good time if his
life depended on it and doesn't bother to ever call but that doesn't
mean he's a bad friend. He's been there for me when I needed him and
that's what counts. Besides, he's been a bit busy lately. He's actually
a bit of a celebrity now and I'll probably see him in the tournament."

"What tournament?"

"Oh, my promoter signed me up for this big 'street fighting' tournament.
Winner gets a big wad of cash and is declared the champion of the world;
that sort of thing. It'll be a load of fun to see him again. We can go
over old times, talk about what's happening and stuff. I can see what
he's learned in the past few years. Who knows? He might have learned
about the opposite sex by now."

"That's great. He must be a really good friend. Oh, look at the time,"
she said, smiling sadly. "I really have to get going. I enjoyed the
evening. Maybe we can do this again sometime?"

"It's a date," he replied.

She stood up, rose on her tiptoes, and gave him a brief kiss on the
cheek before leaving, her scent and the memory of the feather light
touch of her lips burned into his memory.

* * * * * * * * * *

"Wow!" exclaimed the young woman, dancing about in the terminal. "Just
smell the air! Isn't it different? Exotic, rich?"

"It's stale, probably recycled, and full of hundreds of chemical
pollutants," sighed the man, shaking his head.

"Ryu!" shouted Sakura, exasperated. "Do you always have to be so
negative? Anyway, I won't let you ruin my stay here in the U.S. Do you
have any idea how cool this is? I mean, big actors live here and they've
got the best music and stuff."

"The actors live in Hollywood, California," said Ryu, picking up their
luggage. "We're here in Seattle, Washington, which is a few hundred
kilometres north of California. Anyway, let's get to the hotel. It's
time to train," said Ryu, ignoring the dirty glare directed his way and
hailing a taxi.

"Do we have to? I mean, we just got here and already we're heading to
the hotel? Couldn't we like, go shopping and stuff? Maybe we could catch
a Mariners' game. The newspaper said they were playing the Blue Jays:
it's supposed to be Clemens versus Johnson."

"I don't know..." said Ryu, uncertain. The taxi had pulled up to the
sidewalk and the driver was impatiently waiting for them to get in. He
was a short, overweight man and he was smoking a large cigar, even
though a large sign with the words 'No Smoking' was displayed only a few
metres away. His hands were buried in his pockets and his expression was
becoming more irritated by the minute.

"I'll go with her," volunteered Chun, handing her bags to the cabby.
"I'll keep her out of trouble and everything. When you want us back give
me a call at this number. If you don't call we'll be back at around 8."
The reporter scribbled her cellular number onto a scrap of paper and
handed it to the warrior. Then she turned and hailed another cab, taking
the excited Sakura in tow. "Don't worry. I'll take care of her. She'll
be fine."

"Okay," replied Ryu with a sigh. He turned to the cabby, waved to the
two women, and left.

Meanwhile, the two women had acquired their transportation and were now
off on their ways to site see and tour the city. The cabby, an old but
amiable fellow, answered their questions with practised ease, pointing
out the various attractions and even got into a spirited discussion of
the Mariners' chances against the rejuvenated Toronto baseball team.

He finally dropped them off downtown, thanking them, and drove off to
find other customers. Chun and Sakura looked around for a moment, just
enjoying the sites and being in a large, American city. The weather was
beautiful. The sky was clear and the warm sun was more like a gentle
caress then a beating hand. A cool breeze blew off the ocean, adding an
occasional and refreshing coolness to a warm summer day.

"Where do you want to go first?" asked Chun, turning to face the younger
woman. "Shall we go shopping? Or maybe we'll take in that baseball game.
What shall it be?"

"I don't know," said Sakura, looking around excitedly. "There's so much
to do and so many shops and places to go to. I'm not really sure what to
do. Hey, I know! Why don't we go to that arena down the road, a block
that way."

"What arena?"

"That one: the one with the big sign that  reads 'The Martial Arts
Finals.' That should be cool and it would be something for you two write
about, right? Maybe you'll even see one of your fellow reporters."

"Maybe. Anyway, let's go."

The two women approached the front gate, waking the sleeping ticket
collector. He was initially very surly, but became extremely polite,
even eager, upon seeing the two women and the large bill that had been
placed in front of him. He waved them in, a smile on his face as he
pocketed the bill and gave them their tickets.

The arena was very busy and was full of noise and lights. People crowded
most of the aisles and there wasn't enough room to sit anywhere, except
near the very back and one couldn't see a thing from back there, anyway.
Chun and Sakura made their way through the crowds and down the aisle, to
their seats. They had to push and shove through the loudly cheering
throng of people.

As they arrived at their seats, the announcer's deep, basso voice came
on to introduce the next fighter. He entered the ring area a few moments
later, having taken an absolute eternity to travel the distance between
the locker room and the square ring. A tallish man, his body, which was
almost fully revealed by his skimpy trunks, was heavily scarred. He
leered around the crowd, flexing his muscles for his, rather than their,
benefit.

The announcer, a disgusted look on his face, took the microphone to his
lips again to introduce the next fighter. Over the roar of the crowd, a
single loud note played and was followed by a virtuoso guitar solo. The
arena grew dark as the music crescendoed and then a single bright spot
of light appeared off in the other corner of the ring, opposite to that
which the man currently in the ring, who went by the nickname 'the
Terror.'

Within the circle of light approached the other fighter, introduced as
Ken Masters, dressed in a red _gi_. He wore something of an arrogant
expression on his handsome face, his golden blond hair in stark contrast
to his jet black eye brows. He made his way fairly quickly down to the
ring, however, and climbed gracefully into the square ring. The
announcer had exited the ring area and been replaced by a referee in a
white and black striped shirt and pants. With a wave of his hand, the
referee started the match.

The Terror rushed towards the smaller Ken with a roar, his arms
outstretched. Ken, a calm expression on his face, ducked beneath the
larger man's arms and struck multiple blows along the Terror's stomach,
chest and sides. Ken, a little slow in retreating, was caught by his
opponent's retaliatory kick and sent flying into the ring ropes. He
recovered quickly though, and used the momentum he had been given by his
opponent to leap and somersault towards the Terror, landing a flurry of
blows to the Terror's face and upper chest.

The Terror, clearly shaken by the number of blows he had sustained,
jumped at the smaller man, a beefy fist ready to lay waste to Ken. The
blond was ready for the attack and seemed to be expecting it, coiling
and collecting his strength within himself before releasing it with the
word, '_Shoryuken_!' He leapt up to meet the bigger man, his extended
fist catching the other man on the chin.

Ken landed soundlessly on his own feet, instantly shifting into an
offensive stance, though he needn't have bothered. The Terror landed a
few feet in front of him, his jaw broken and bleeding. The referee,
dispassionately taking in the extent of the damage, called for the match
to end. Ken relaxed and raised his arms in triumph, a wide grin on his
face. The lights dimmed and fireworks went off within the building as
Ken's theme music began playing.

"He was incredible!" said an exuberant Sakura, shouting to be heard over
the din. "I mean, this Terror creep only touches him once and he wasn't
even fazed by the blow."

"He is good," agreed the reporter, eyeing the blond fighter closely.
"His technique looks very familiar, too."

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked the younger woman.

Then the lights came on and the announcer was once again in the ring.
Ken was standing beside him, waving to his legions of fans. The Terror
had already been helped away from the ring, though his blood still
stained the ring mat where he had fallen, and the announcer was waiting
for some degree of quiet before he began. Sakura, puzzled by the
proceedings, looked to Chun for explanation but the reporter appeared to
be just as lost.

Finally the crowd noise had settled to a buzz and the announcer raised
his microphone to his lips and said, "Thank you ladies and gentlemen for
having attended _Martial Wars II_. We hope that you have enjoyed the
martial arts action today and will come to our next event in November,
right here in Memorial Arena. Now, the moment that you have all been
waiting for is here. Please take out your ticket stubs and listen
carefully. If you are sitting in E57 and are a member of the gentler
sex, you've won a date with Ken Masters."

Sakura excitedly looked at her ticket stub, her face falling when she
saw the number. "E56," she said, turning to face her companion.
Realisation dawned on her face when she turned to face Chun, who had a
bemused expression on her face. "You won! You won!" shouted Sakura,
excitedly jumping up and down. "You won!"

Chun looked somewhat embarrassed, even more so when a bright spotlight
shone down brightly upon her. "I guess I should head down there..." said
the Chinese reporter, scarce heard amidst the deafening cheering and
clapping around her. She looked towards Sakura who smiled encouragingly
with a slight hint of envy.

Sighing, she made her way through to the aisle where she saw a small
group of security men, wearing official looking badges, ready to escort
her down to the ring. As she moved through the crowds, she heard
catcalls, was touched, was tapped and received some vocal encouragement.
Finally, almost an eternity later after all the prodding, she had
reached the ring. The ring announcer was impatiently tapping his foot
upon the ground, waiting for her to arrive so he could start heading
home. Ken was quite the opposite, his demeanour cool and calm, as if he
had all the time in the world.

"This is not a good situation," thought Chun, as she fixed an empty
headed smile upon her face and gushed when she was finally in the ring.

Then the announcer raised the mike to his lips again. "Here's the lucky
winner of our 'Date with A Master Contest,' though I'm not so sure that
she's the lucky one, eh Ken?" Masters smiled indulgently while Chun Li
blushed. "Anyway, what's your name, Miss...?"

"Li. Chun Li"

"So there you have it folks. Miss Li is the winner of our contest. Thank
you for coming to _Martial Wars II_ and we hope that you enjoyed
yourselves." The announcer waved to the crowd, tersely whispering that
she should do the same. They stood for a few moments as the crowd began
to thin and finally the announcer turned to her again.

"Okay, Chun," said the announcer, a serious expression on his face.
"Like the contest rules say, Ken will take you to dinner at Makoto's and
then out to the Fire Bomber concert. Anything more than that is extra
and up to him, understand?"

"I understand."

The announcer smiled, wished them both a good time, and then left the
ring, following the crew of technicians, photographers and ring
officials. Chun watched him leave and was a bit surprised when she felt
a gentle weight on her shoulders. Turning, she saw that it was Ken, who
now wore a more relaxed and certainly more likeable smile than that
filled with arrogance earlier.

"Hi. The name's Ken but I think just about everybody here knows that.
Your name's Chinese, right? I remember a bit of it and it's supposed to
mean spring."

She nodded, a bit surprised that he knew. When she asked how he knew,
Ken answered, "Well, when I was a lot younger I trained a bit under a
master in Japan and I was sort of the one who wound up doing a lot of
the errands. As it turns out, one of the guys we bought supplies from
was Chinese and had come from Hong Kong. I learned a little bit of
Cantonese from him."

"Chun!" shouted Sakura. She had come to the front, right outside the
ring partitions, and was waving frantically to get their attention.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to Ken?" demanded the young woman.
Security personnel were moving towards the young woman, angry looks on
their faces. "Hey! Chun, are you going to do something about these
guys?" she asked, an annoyed expression on her face.

"She with you?" asked Ken. Chun nodded and the blond fighter waved to
Sakura, asking her to come and join them.

Sniffing disdainfully at the security, Sakura hopped over the steel
partitions and climbed into the ring, slipping in between the ring
ropes. She quite literally skipped towards Ken, her face dominated by a
giant smile. "You were incredible back there," enthused the teenager. "I
mean, those moves you pulled on the Terror were fantastic, almost as
good as my Master, and you don't even look tired!"

"Thank you," replied Ken. "I take it you two enjoyed the match, then?
Well that's good. It's what I'm paid for, after all. Anyway, the contest
says that I'm only supposed to take Chun out but I think we can bend the
rules a bit here. So what would you people like to do after dinner and
the concert?"

"Oh man! I mean, this is like so cool! Fire Bomber is really famous in
Japan and dinner sounds great!"

"Sakura... Shouldn't we give your 'Master' a call?" said Chun, very
quietly. "I mean, he should probably know about this."

"Oh, right..." said Sakura, her face falling. "Um, I guess I'll tell him
when we get to the hotel."

"So you're just visiting Seattle, huh?" asked Ken, interested. "And you
say that your Master is staying at the hotel? Well that's okay. I'll
send the limo to pick you all up. Which hotel is it?"

"He said the Radisson Hotel," answered Chun.

"The one on Second?"

"That's the one. When will the limo be by?"

"Around 7. Be ready to go. You don't want to miss the food. It's really,
really good."

Chun Li nodded and waved as Ken left the ring, escorted by the
inevitable security. She watched him go and turned towards Sakura. The
young teenager was falling into the same stance that Ken had used and
was busy trying to emulate the blond's fighting technique. With a start,
Chun realised why she'd thought his technique was familiar.

Chapter 6

"This is absolutely out of the question. You can't just go traipsing off
with some guy you don't know, even if you won a contest. I mean, you
don't know what the guy is capable of and you say it was at a martial
arts tournament? He's probably dangerous. I forbid it."

"But Ryu...!" pleaded Sakura.

"No. You're not going and that's final."

"I'm sorry but I really have to disagree, Ryu," said Chun, just entering
the room. She had changed into a clinging red dress and the sight of her
drew his breath away. "He seemed to be an okay guy. I don't think you
have to worry about anything. Besides, I'll be there to make sure that
Sakura stays out of trouble and if you like, you can come, too."

He took a moment to recover, looking away before mustering the courage
to look at her again. "I don't know. I mean, a contest where the winner
goes out with some guy? That doesn't seem right to me."

"Regardless Ryu, he's not the type to do anything without permission and
like I said, it's okay for you to come along."

"Yeah, Ryu," chimed in Sakura. "He knows a whole bunch of moves and he's
just incredible, almost as good as you are."

"Really?" answered Ryu, interested for the first time. "He's sounding
more interesting every minute. What's his name, anyway?"

"Ken," said Chun. "Ken Masters."

"Ken?" asked Ryu, his interest growing. "Is he blond? Sort of my height,
same build?"

"Yeah," answered Sakura, wondering where Ryu was going with the train of
thought.

"I guess this means I am going with you," replied Ryu, a rueful grin on
his face. "I wonder how he's been all these years."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you recall that conversation we had earlier, when we met? You'd
asked how I could afford to outfit my house with all those appliances."

"Is he your American friend?"

"He sounds like him."

"Cool! Now you two can have a match to prove who's the better fighter
and settle all those old scores and decide who inherits your Master's
secret techniques!"

"What?" asked Ryu, mystified.

"You know? Like in all of those old _kungfu_ movies?"

"What?"

"You are so hopeless, Ryu," sighed Sakura. "Do I have to teach you
everything?"

"What is she talking about?" asked Ryu of Chun.

"You don't want to know, Ryu. You don't want to know."

* * * * * * * * * *

A look at his watch told him that it was a quarter after seven.
"Fashionably late I guess," was the thought passing through his mind as
he waited, somewhat irritated, as he leaned back against the limousine
that would take them all to dinner. The gorgeous blond creature that had
deigned to go out with him had called him earlier in the day and he had
been forced to say no to dinner. At her place.

He gritted his teeth angrily and then forced the anger away. This was a
part of his job and, like it or not, working was better than simply
living off his parents. If the job made him miss a night of heaven every
once in a while, well, that was life. Anymore than that, of course, and
the choice between the job and heaven would be readily decided.

Anyway, his 'date' was extremely attractive; she was easily one of the
more beautiful women he had ever met and her young friend wasn't too
bad, once you got by the irritating teenage social clumsiness. He heard
footsteps and he looked up, smoothing out the front of his shirt. Sakura
led the way in a blouse and slacks with Chun following in an extremely
devastating dress. Ken coughed, bringing up images of the woman who had
called earlier.

"We ready to go?" he asked of Sakura, after he had complimented both on
their appearances.

"Almost. My Master's just talking with the hotel clerk. He'll be with us
in a bit."

True to her words, a few seconds later, Ryu arrived. He said, "Okay.
Let's get going. I've heard from both of them that the food at this
place is supposed to be wonderful and I've heard rave reviews of this
Fire Bomber group. Let's get to it."

"Ryu?" asked Ken, wonder on his face.

"That's me. You're Ken."

Ken leapt at the other man to hug him, at the last minute attempting
throwing a punch to his face. Ryu caught the fist just inches before it
would have struck him, twisting it and throwing Ken through the air. The
blond landed on his feet, laughing, and came forward to take the other
man's hand in his own.

"You've kept yourself in shape," said Ken. "I see that you still train a
lot."

"And you don't train enough," said Ryu, seriously. "I saw that coming
when you started moving towards me. _Sensei_ would take his staff to
your head right now if he were here."

"And then he'd wrap us both in a hug and tell us that we could take a
break. So how have you been? It's been a long time since we last saw
each other. Like the house I built you?"

"It's great," answered Ryu. Directing his gaze to the two women,
however, he said, "I think that we should talk about it in the car."

"Good idea," said Ken, following the other's gaze. The women were the
ones now leaning impatiently against the side of the car and their
faces, especially young Sakura's, were perfect examples of feminine
irritation.

Climbing into the limo, Ryu was momentarily taken back by the spacious
interior, which was as big as his king sized bed in the hotel. A
rectangle of the roof was slightly darker than the surrounding roof and
he realised with a start that it was a moon roof, closed at the moment.
Ken entered the limo and sat down across from him and beside Chun,
pulling the door shut behind him. The driver pulled slowly away from the
hotel and smoothly accelerated to join the other traffic, the only signs
of movement visible through the window as the limo rapidly passed cars,
parked or driving.

"So what have you been doing with yourself, Ryu? Met a girl, yet?"

"No," answered the other, looking in wonder at the small refrigerator
built into the armrest. "I haven't had much to do with anyone, much less
any women."

"How do you explain these two lovely creatures, eh? Are you trying to
hide something?"

"Chun and Sakura?" asked Ryu, puzzled. "Sakura is traveling with me to
learn about our art and Chun is a reporter. What else do you want to
know?"

"Same old Ryu," sighed Ken, exchanging knowing grins with both Chun and
Sakura. "Anyway, what brings you to Seattle? A tournament, right?"

"Yes. You must have been invited to it, as well."

"If you're speaking about the big Street Fighter tournament, I have. So
Chun, you're covering Ryu's involvement?"

She nodded and said, "It's my first real story and I'm pretty lucky that
my editor assigned me to Ryu. After all, your friend has a pretty good
chance of winning."

"Naw, not really," replied Ken, shaking his head and grinning. "He'd
have to face me and I'd beat him, like I've beat him the past 10 times
we sparred."

"He really beat you that many times in a row, Master?" asked Sakura,
surprise evident on her face. "Is he really that good? That much better
than you?"

Ken answered for Ryu and said, "You bet. Who did you think taught Ryu to
do all of those moves of his? I mean, _sensei _was always coming to me
and asking me to help Ryu out and what are friends for, after all? So I
helped him out and that's how Ryu's as good as he is."

"Wow!" said Sakura, her eyes wide with admiration for the blond fighter.

Ryu listened in silence, his eyes bright with amusement though he didn't
argue the point.

The limo came to a slow stop and the driver announced that they had
arrived at _Makoto's_. Ken unlocked and opened the door, presenting the
large restaurant with a flourish. Built like a traditional Japanese
noodle house, the building stood in the middle of a large rock garden. A
large pool filled with shining golden forms beneath its surface was
spanned by a small, wooden foot bridge: the only means to reach the
restaurant without having to resort to acrobatic jumps across the pool.

"This is a great place," said Ken, already crossing the bridge. "The
food is excellent and the service is great, too, even though the
restaurant is only a year or so old. The owner of the place, Makoto
Kino, is a really good friend of mine and she said she'd prepare a
traditional meal for us. Anyway, _Makoto's _is usually packed with
people at this time of night but tonight's special so there won't be too
many people here."

"Is she related to Naoko Takeuchi in any way?" asked Sakura.

"Who is she?"

Sakura flushed in embarrassment and said, "Well, um, Naoko is the
creator of _Sailor Moon_ and Makoto Kino is the name of one of the
sailor _senshi_, so I was wondering if she were related or knew Naoko
personally."

"Tell you what. We'll get Ryu and Chun settled, so that Chun can do her
reporting in private," said Ken with a smirk, "and I can introduce you
to Mako."

"Oh really? Cool!"

Sakura exuberantly took Ken's arm and together, followed by both Ryu and
Chun, the two crossed over the rest of the bridge and into the
restaurant. A sign by the door showed how traditional the restaurant was
as it proclaimed that no shoes were to be worn inside the premises.
Instead, a young boy took their shoes and handed each of them a pair of
cotton slippers.

When they had finished putting the slippers on, the boy slid the _shoji_
open and gestured for them to enter, respectfully bowing his head. The
interior of the restaurant was pleasantly, if dimly, lit by several
paper lanterns whose paper shades were decorated with painted images of
dragons, carp, phoenixes and Mt. Fuji.

A waitress dressed in a silk _kimono_ showed them to a low table on a
balcony overlooking the garden and a small pool. The table was made of
lacquered cherry wood and several small, dark cushions were placed along
its sides. The waitress withdrew short, pointed chop sticks and bowls
from a small cupboard near the balcony and placed them on the table
while another waitress placed a steaming tea pot and a pot of warm sake
on the table as well. A can of coke was surreptitiously placed alongside
the teapot and pushed towards Sakura, who nodded in thanks.

"Okay. That's the table," said Ken, looking towards the teenager. "Come
on, Sakura. Let's go pay a visit to Mako. I think that dinner will be
arriving shortly and we'll be back a bit before then. Don't wait up for
us."

Ken and Sakura walked to the back of the restaurant and disappeared from
sight. True to Ken's earlier prediction, the restaurant was empty and
Ryu and Chun had it pretty much to themselves. One of the waitresses who
had brought them their eating utensils earlier now brought them copies
of the menu. After reading the menu for a few moments, Ryu said to the
waitress, "I think I'll have a small dish of the steamed vegetables and
I think some of your noodles."

"Which dish of noodles would that be, Sir?"

"Surprise me," was Ryu's answer, to which the waitress nodded.

"And what would you like, Miss? Perhaps you would like to try one of our
sushi dishes?"

Chun nodded, adding, "Could you also bring me some beef chow mein? I
know it's not Japanese but I miss having Chinese food, even if it's only
pseudo."

"Of course. Please, if you need or want anything I would be pleased to
help you. Enjoy yourselves. I will have our _koto_ player perform for
you. Are there any particular pieces that you would like to listen to?
Kenji is familiar with most of the classic Japanese compositions and
much of the newer music as well. "

"I don't really care," said Ryu, Chun nodding in agreement. "He can play
anything he likes."

"Very good of you. I will return in a few moments with tea. If you'll
excuse me?" She bowed to them and made her way to the kitchen to get
their order, her _kimono_ swishing softly against the wooden floor.

"It's a very nice restaurant, isn't it?" commented the reporter with a
glance around the room. "It really looks as if it were a Japanese manor
house. What do you think, Ryu? Do you think so?"

Ryu took a moment before answering, looking over the interior himself.
"It does have an authentic feel to it," he replied. "But to look outside
and see giant buildings seems somehow to be very wrong. I would prefer
to see a copse of trees, hills--anything other than those buildings."

"I think I understand what you are saying," she replied. "It's like a
very well crafted lie. Most of the lie is actually truth but there are
parts of it which are false and that is the same impression that this
restaurant is giving me and perhaps you as well."

"Yes," replied Ryu with a nod. Then he directed towards her a very
piercing gaze, his dark eyes boring into her own. "But you would know
more about that than I."

"I... I'm not sure what you mean," replied Chun, her cheeks colouring
somewhat. "Please explain what you mean by that."

"How many times have you contacted your editor since beginning this
assignment? Have you sent them any documents, any notes or at least
spoken to them on the phone? Why do you have a password security system
on your computer?" asked Ryu, speaking the last sentence very carefully,
as if to pronounce every word correctly.

"I... I haven't sent anything because there really hasn't been much to
send. You've fought exactly 2 matches thus far in the tournament, one of
which you won by disqualification, and I didn't feel that I had enough
material to hand in or speak with them about. As to my notebook... What
business did you have trying to access my files?"

"I had none," answered Ryu. "Little cherry blossom did. It was after a
training session while you were out. I'd allowed her to take a small
break and she headed to your room where she found your computer on your
bed. She wanted to look around for something called 'solitaire' but she
couldn't figure out what your password was."

"Oh," replied Chun, her anger leaving in a rush.

"Chun," said Ryu, leaning towards her on the table. "What is it you're
hiding? What is your true purpose in following Sakura and me?"

"I..."

The reporter was saved from answering by the return of Ken, Sakura, the
waitress and another woman whom neither Ryu or Chun recognised. She,
they deduced, was Makoto Kino. Tall and willowy, she had bound her dark
hair in a small ponytail that trailed down her back. She smiled when she
saw them.

"Ryu and Chun, I presume. I'm Makoto, Mako to my friends. Ken has told
me much about you two already, especially you, Ryu-san. Any friends of
Ken are friends of mine." She grinned and made sure that they were all
seated comfortably as the waitress returned with their dishes. A while
later, after they had sated themselves upon the succulent and delicious
cuisine, they relaxed to the eerie dissonance of Kenji's _koto_. All of
them, that is, except for Sakura who began to fidget after the first few
notes. Ryu, noting the young woman's impatience directed a stern look in
her direction, after which she sat perfectly still, a hurt expression on
her face.

Finally, Ryu relented and asked, somewhat embarrassed, "Makoto-san,
would there be some sort of... Amusement area near here?"

The restaurant proprietor and owner looked in Sakura's direction and
smiled. "There is a small arcade down those stairs. If you'd like to go
you can play for free, just this once."

"Really?" asked Sakura, her eyes bright.

"Really," replied Makoto. "Mind the time. I think the concert will be
starting soon and you don't want to miss Basara and Mylene."

But Sakura was down the stairs before she could finish her sentence.
Ryu's eyes followed her, the martial artist shaking his head in shame as
his companions smiled at the young teenage girl's exuberance. Makoto
shook her head in wonder then, and turned towards Ken.

"How much longer before the Fire Bomber concert anyway?"

"Anxious to get rid of us already?" asked Ken in mock pain, his face
taking on an exaggerated frown. "We have to leave in half an hour,"
replied the blond warrior. "That'll give us enough time to go back stage
and give you people a chance to meet the band. They're nice people,
actually. Basara's a bit of a loner, though, and sometimes he can be a
jerk but he's okay."

Ryu frowned and said, "Actually, Ken, I won't be able to go with you to
the concert. Some business came up during the time that Mako was showing
you around and it can't wait. I'll have to return to the hotel. Sorry
about that."

"I have to go with him," said Chun. "It involves me, too. I'm sorry."

Ken looked from his old friend to the woman and it was clear by the
expression on his face that he didn't believe either of them for a
minute. The gears in his mind were all but visible, however, as the
blond came to a quick conclusion. He looked at both slyly, finally
patting Ryu's hand in congratulation. "Okay, then. I'll leave you people
alone to your 'business.' I'll have Sakura back by one so I hope you
people will be 'done' by then. Do you want me to call you a cab or
something?"

"Yes, that would be helpful," said Ryu, a slightly wild expression in
his eyes. "Thanks."

A phone call and a few short and uncomfortable moments later found Chun
and Ryu in a cab bound for the Radisson Hotel. The ride was brief and
quiet, punctuated only occasionally by the cab driver's questions. Faced
with two reticent and quiet passengers, however, the cab driver
eventually gave up his attempt at friendliness and settled into the same
unpleasant silence.

When they finally returned to the suite that they'd been sharing, Ryu
was first to speak. "You could have gone on to the concert," he said,
not looking at her.

"I couldn't risk leaving you here alone in the suite with my things,"
she replied, putting her purse down carefully beside her.

Ryu turned around sharply, an angry look in his eyes. "What do you think
I would have done? Do you think I would have gone snooping through your
things? Maybe I'd have gone through your suitcases or maybe I'd have
tried to access your computer files."

"Exactly," said the reporter. "There are things that are far too
personal for you to be nosing around through and my suitcases and my
computer are definitely included on that list."

Ryu sighed, settling himself down into an armchair. "First of all I
could never have gotten past the security system on your computer. I
don't even know how to turn it on, let alone find a way past that
password. Secondly, you locked your room and, since I don't know how to
pick a lock, I'd have had to break the door down. That would be a little
too obvious, don't you think?"

"Well, yes," she admitted with a frown. Looking up, she asked, "If not
to go snooping through my things, what exactly did you come back here
for?

"I felt sick," was the warrior's abrupt and too quick answer. He rose
from his seat and made his way to his room, stopped by the reporter's
hand on his shoulder. "What is it?" he asked. "Why are you stopping me?"

"That's not the reason, Ryu. I know you're not telling the truth."

"Does a liar deserve to hear the truth?" asked Ryu, turning to face her.
"Why should I tell you anything of any value if all you're willing to do
is feed me a steady diet of badly formed lies? Why should I?"

"Because..." she started, her voice trailing off. Finally she released
her hold of his shoulder and turned away. "There is no good reason. I...
Can I trust you?"

"I don't know," was his response, coming after a few moments of thought.
"Are you doing something illegal? If so, I would prefer not to know. On
the other hand, if it is something else, something that could make a
difference later on... If it has anything to do with how much you knew
about Gen and how much you know about me I think you should trust me."

"I... I'm not a reporter. You know that already. I'm actually an
investigator working with Interpol. I was told to find you and gain your
trust in order to infiltrate this tournament. The main sponsor of the
tournament is an organization known as Shadowlaw. They're not a very
nice bunch of people, if you know what I mean. At any rate, we've been
trying for months to infiltrate their ranks and get enough evidence to
put all of them away in prison for a very, very long time."

"So this is some sort of, what do you call it, an undercover operation?"

"Exactly," she answered, nodding her head. "So, how do you feel about
this?"

Ryu didn't answer for a bit. Instead, he leaned over against the wall
and sighed. "I'm not sure," was his reply. "You've lied to us from the
beginning and now I find out that I've been placing Sakura in danger
without even knowing about it. What am I supposed to think?"

"Ryu, the likelihood is you won't be in any danger at all, aside from
that normally incurred by the tournament."

"I'm not worried much about myself. I know what can happen to a person
in a tournament like this. I'm worried about her safety, what with this
Shadowlaw that you mentioned. What if they find out that you're a part
of Interpol? What then? Is she going to be put in danger?"

"I promise that she'll be safe," said Chun, her hand over heart.
"Scout's honour."

"At the first sign of danger..."

"I'll get you both out safely," finished Chun. "I promise."

"Thank you," said Ryu, much relieved. He turned away from her and opened
the door before she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder again.

"You haven't held up your part of the bargain, Ryu. Why didn't you go
with them to the Fire Bomber concert?"

"The truth?" asked Ryu. She solemnly nodded. "Well, I don't really like
rock music that much and I didn't want to rain on Sakura's parade."

"There's more, isn't there?" asked the investigator. "I mean, Ken is
your friend and you haven't seen each other in a long, long time. I'm
sure that you would have liked to spend some more time catching up with
one another."

"I would have, yes. But I had to talk to you in private. This was as
good a time as any. Besides, I have a match to fight tonight and I
didn't want Sakura tagging along."

"You've got a match tonight?" asked Chun, the surprise evident on her
face as well as in her tone. She pulled her cellular phone out of her
purse and began rapidly punching in numbers as she said, "I didn't know
about this! When did you find out? Who's your contact?"

"While you two were away on your sightseeing tour of the city I received
a telegram telling me that I was to head off to the docks. That's all I
know."

"When are you heading out?"

"Right now, actually. I was going to head into my room to change."

"Hold on and give me some time to change out of this dress. I'll go with
you."

So Ryu waited and a few minutes later the two were seated in a taxi and
on their way to the docks. Night had descended upon Seattle with a
vengeance, leaving the sky a black void pricked by the twinkling lights
of the stars and the bright luminescence of the street lamps. Dimly
outlined by all this light were the few boats in the harbour. They were
tethered to the docks with thick, coils of rope and bobbed gently in the
water, their keels dipping and rising a few inches with each heart beat.

The cab driver let them off outside a bait shop that had closed for the
night and said that he would wait for them there. The dock side streets
were deserted, as had been the alley in China that they had visited just
a few days ago. The street was in slightly better repair than the Hong
Kong alley and an effort had been made to keep it clean. There were only
a few traces of graffiti here and there on some of the walls and none of
it was as vulgar as that of the Chinese alley. More puzzling in meaning,
perhaps, but certainly not as vulgar.

At the far end of the dock, a light flashed on and a door opened wide.
Within the doorframe stood another of the shadowy robed figures. This
one raised a single arm and gestured with a finger for Ryu to approach.

Following the sign, the two strode into the dark warehouse. The lights
were off, but rays of moonlight, streaming in through the dirty old
windows high above their heads, painted rectangles of yellow and white
on the warehouse floor. Standing in the centre of the room, amidst many
wooden crates, was the figure in the shadowy black robes. Ryu's
opposition was nowhere in sight.

"I don't like this much," said Chun. "What kind of a tournament do you
fight in the dark?"

"I've done it before," said Ryu, trying to reassure his companion.
"Don't worry about it. The warrior who depends only on his sight is
destined to lose any battle in which he is blind."

At the far end of the warehouse, they both heard a door slam open and
the sound of men moving in. A large shadow moved forward, coming slowly
into view as a dark mountain behind the black robed referee. He was
draped in a robe too, but his robe was much more elaborately decorated
than the referee's comparatively simple garments. The hem of the new
arrival's robes was white and he wore large gloves upon his hands. These
were bone white and he moved them now with astonishing speed, his fists
blurring into ghastly streaks.

"Ryu," intoned the referee, "versus the Balrog. The fight will begin in
one minute."

"Balrog?" said Chun.

"Yes," confirmed Ryu. "He was an incredible boxer. Only, very
undisciplined and brutal."

"He's also suspected to be a member of Shadowlaw!" whispered Chun in an
excited tone. The investigator reached into her purse for her cellular
phone and dialed... And tried to dial again. Shaking her head, Chun
said, "The phone's dead..."

"Begin!" said the referee and immediately the boxer rushed forward, his
fists a white blur.

Dropping the duffel bag, Ryu headed towards the boxer, his breathing
even and quiet. He made no other moves but listened as the boxer was
upon him, throwing punch after punch towards the martial artist's body,
groin and head. Ryu dodged the blows, ducking and side stepping Balrog's
powerful fists as the boxer swung his fists wildly. Ducking under a
flurry of jabs, Ryu struck a multitude of blows to the boxer's chest and
stomach, his fists and elbows hammering into the larger man.

Balrog stumbled back, wheezing as Ryu moved in to kick the boxer's side.
At the last moment, however, the boxer caught the smaller man's blow on
his own arm and landed a heavy blow on the leg that the martial artist
was precariously balanced upon. Ryu went down with a grunt of pain as
Balrog drove his fist down into the other man's chest and stomach with
blows that had toppled boxing champions to the mat. A few more blows and
Balrog backed away, his glove encased fists slick with Ryu's
perspiration.

He raised a fist high, prepared to crush the smaller man's skull as Ryu
rolled to the right and sprang up. Ryu's fists caught the boxer in the
side and the back of his skull. Balrog was sent lurching forward, off
balance, and blood began trickling its way down his jaw from his ear.
Ryu, not letting up with his attack, stepped forward and launched a kick
to the base of the boxer's back, slamming the boxer down to the ground.
He did not rise as the referee began his count and he had still not
risen when the referee had declared the match a victory for Ryu.

"Are you all right?" asked Chun in concern. She had seen the white
gloves descend upon Ryu's white cotton _gi_ and in the dim light she
could see the dark stains the martial artist's blood had left as it
trickled down from his chin.

"I could be better," said Ryu in answer, a hand held across his chest.
He gingerly touched a few of the ribs that had been struck and winced.
"Definitely a lot better but I'll live."

"I still haven't been able to get anyone on my phone and I'm starting to
worry. This is a new model and it's not supposed to be affected by any
sort of materials in buildings."

"Do you think something's wrong?" asked Ryu in a serious tone.

She nodded. Neither of them heard Balrog rise from the ground and rush
towards them till it was far too late. The boxer's expression, which had
been cruel and sadistic before, was now maddened and the whites of his
eyes bulged from his dark skin, giving him a horrendous appearance as he
ran towards them, his fist outstretched.

In a split second, Ryu came to two distinct conclusions. Firstly, the
boxer was moving with such incredible speed that his forward progress
could not be stopped and there was no time to execute any last minute
sweeps or counters. Secondly, the boxer had put all of his remaining
energy into this one blow, this one punch, and meant to use it against
Chun. It wasn't clear to Ryu what the reason for this was. Perhaps
Balrog had become so enraged that his target no longer mattered. Perhaps
Chun had been found out and was to be eliminated. Regardless, Ryu made a
decision in that split second.

He placed himself in the path of the blow.

The punch caught him square in the chest, knocking him back and into the
air on a trajectory that would drop him on a wooden crate. All of it
happened in only a few seconds but to the surprised Balrog and Chun Li,
the event seemed to crawl forward at a snail's pace. The impact of the
boxer's fist upon Ryu's chest sounded like a sledgehammer striking
flesh. Ryu's own strangled groan of pain was stretched out, the notes
dying in the martial artist's agony. The shrieks climaxed in the loud
cacophony of shattering planks that Ryu made as landed on the crate.

The sound galvanised the investigator. Balrog, who was now staring
stupidly at his fists, was unprepared for the ferocity of her attack as
she drove the heel of her hand into his chin and smashed a stiffened
fist into his solar plexus, driving the air out of the big boxer. All of
these blows had been sufficient to knock the boxer into peaceful
oblivion but the woman whose name meant beautiful spring was not be
satisfied.

Leaning forward, she attacked using one of the ancient techniques of
_wushu_, striking Balrog with the fabled lightning kick. Kick after kick
struck the boxer's head, chest and stomach until, finally exhausted, she
flipped forward and landed a final kick that landed upon the crown of
the boxer's head, sending him down to the floor with a heavy thud.

Chun Li stood over the prone body of the boxer for some time after, her
breath coming in short, fast gasps. Her heart was still filled with a
rage that needed to be quenched. Slowly, she reached into the purse that
she had not bothered to take off and retrieved her weapon: a regulation
magnum loaded with 6 regulation bullets. She cocked the weapon back and
lowered the barrel of her gun until it was pointed towards the boxer's
head, a scant foot away.

Then she heard Ryu's tortured breaths.

Coming to her senses, she replaced her magnum in her purse and rushed to
Ryu's side. Fortunately for him the crate that he had landed upon
contained stuffed children's toys which had cushioned and absorbed some
of the shock of his landing. The warrior's eyes fluttered open and
closed and blood trickled in a steady stream down the corner of his lip.

Taking his arm, she lifted the warrior to his feet and was forced to
half carry and half drag the man outside. The cab driver was still
waiting outside the bait shop, happily munching away on a poppy seed
covered bagel when Chun Li came out of the darkness with Ryu supported
on her right shoulder and the warrior's duffel hanging from her left.

"Sweet Jesus..." whispered the cab driver.

The drive back to the hotel was frantic and quick, the driver realising
the gravity of the situation and co-operating to the best of his
ability. He helped Chun carry Ryu all the way up to the room, past the
curious and shocked gazes of the hotel staff and its guests. He only
departed at the door to the suite, only accepting payment when it was
pressed upon him.

Her hands full, the investigator could only kick against the door. A
slightly tired looking Ken Masters, still dressed in his finery,
answered it after the third kick, narrowly avoiding the fourth with a
shuffle of his feet.

"Well, I stayed around because I didn't think Sakura should be left
alone but I didn't expect to have to wait this long for you two to... Oh
my God! What happened?"

"Not right now," replied Chun Li in a terse tone. "Help me get him to
his bed."

Working together, the two lifted the wounded warrior and laid him down
gently upon his bed, the blond shaking his head in disbelief. "What
happened? You have to explain it all to me and how exactly he was
injured."

Chun related the information, skipping her revelation. As she recounted
her story, the light went on in Sakura's room. Sleepy eyed and still
thinking of Fire Bomber_'s_ performance, she had come out to find out
the cause of the commotion and fainted dead away when she saw her
teacher and saviour lying near death upon the bed.

"Damn it!" swore Ken, catching Sakura and laying her gently upon the
carpeted floor. "I'm going to have to try a technique. Only, I'm not
sure that it will work."

"A healing technique?" asked Chun.

Ken nodded, baring Ryu's battered chest. "_Sensei_ taught us this but it
was always meant as a first aid sort of treatment and this... This is
something that's going to kill him."

"But are you sure that this will work?"

"Hell no!" he replied, pounding his fist upon the bed in frustration.
"But it's our only chance to keep him alive long enough to get him to
some one who can heal him."

"Who?" asked Chun as Ken feverishly began performing the healing
technique.

"_Sensei_."

To be continued.

Regards,

DucThe Truong
DWC @ <http://welcome.to/dwc>
Thinkin' different.