Author's Note: Greetings everyone. It's been a big pleasure to write this, and while I have been writing other things since this story, I have always come back here for reference. This character study means a lot to me, and my skills have improved much over time. I wanted to revise my first story, and so, here it is... completely revised up to chapter 10.
"Chun! Are you almost ready? It's about time to leave!" shouted a blond woman as she positioned her jade earrings.
"Just a few more minutes," came a feminine response from behind a closed door.
The blond woman shook her head.
"What's wrong anyway," she asked as she leaned up against the door. "Are you having trouble putting on your outfit?"
She could hear some rustling in the room as she looked down at her wristwatch, blowing a strand of golden hair that fell down in front of her face out of the way. Her brow furrowed slightly upon seeing the time. Looking back up from her watch she smiled as she found the door was creaked open with an Asian woman's head poking through. The expression on her face was one of mild annoyance.
"No Cammy, I'm not having trouble with my outfit. I just want to put on some makeup before we head out."
"Makeup? I swear you look just as lovely without it."
Chun-Li felt a blush coming over her and pouted lightly, her eyes darting about as she tried to not look at her partner given her current flustered state.
"W-well, it's not just for you Cammy; it's for everyone else too..."
Cammy let out a dry chuckle and removed herself from Chun-Li's door.
"Alright, but mind speeding up a bit? The wedding reception is going to start soon, and it would be a good idea to get there early for a good table, plus to look around and see our friends!"
Chun-Li smiled.
"You can't rush beauty, Cammy," she said with a wag of her finger. "It's a wedding reception; the least I can do is not go out looking like I've been training all day."
With that, Chun-Li ducked back into the confines of her room, busy with the task of applying makeup.
Cammy sighed looked around her current location. It was a good sized living room with a kitchen connecting to it, standard for the hotel rooms that the two are staying in. She maneuvered around the various couches, chairs, and other furniture of the living room to reach the kitchen. Lying on top of a kitchen counter was a white note with gold sides; the invitation to the wedding reception. Cammy reached out and read the first few lines, not even caring that she had done it twice before.
'Alright... Wedding is at 2:00 P.M at the beach... Well, I missed that. Wedding reception is at 6:30 P.M...'
Losing interest, the note was discarded on the counter. Cammy walked out to the balcony at the far side of the room. Placing her hands on the railing, she turned her gaze to Metro City below, searching for the community center that housed the wedding reception. After much squinting, she spotted the center near the beach, about a half mile north-east from her current position. Cammy placed a hand under her chin and muttered to herself like a commanding officer would when planning.
"The center seems to be a short drive away. Seeing as rush hour is over, there will be a significant decrease in traffic, but stop lights will be a problem, as will parking spaces."
"We could just take a nice brisk walk down there."
Cammy turned to stare at Chun-Li, and she went speechless at the sight.
Chun-Li decided to ditch the ox-horns hairstyle, instead letting her auburn hair flow down to her shoulders. Her brown eyes were trimmed with black eyeliner, with a touch of red at the ends. Her lips had a light red hue applied to them, giving her the appearance that she kissed a pink rose and drained it of its color. Cammy's eyes trailed down from her face to her dress, which was a light blue qipao not unlike the ones she usually wore when fighting. The accents on the qipao were not the same, however. Instead of a golden intertwining design, the qipao now sported many beautiful designs of red and pink roses, complete with light green petals. Her dark brown pantyhose were replaced with a blue skirt, also with more of the rose designs. Chun-Li still wore her long white boots though.
"Chun," Cammy managed to stammer, "You look... gorgeous!"
"Thanks Cammy!" she said, looking down at her boots. "No way was I wearing those high heels again. Good thing you didn't wear yours!"
"Well I was told the wedding was at the beach, so I brought sandals. You're going to have to tell me about it, since I couldn't make it in time."
Cammy had recently arrived from the airport, missing the wedding during the time she spent in a taxi-cab traveling to the hotel. She could only imagine what the wedding was like, and how people reacted to those who were being wed. While everyone would have been overjoyed at the thought of attending, Cammy found herself relieved that she wasn't present. She feared that she would reject their marriage. Chun-Li nodded and leaned against the sliding glass door of the balcony, taking in the sight of Cammy's appearance with a respectable smile.
"…Gorgeous, huh? The same goes for you, tenfold," she cooed.
Cammy's long golden hair was done up in twin braided pigtails that dropped past her lower back. Her face had no markings of makeup; she never really found a use for makeup except for covering up her dark brown scar on her left cheek, which today she left alone. Her attire consisted of a white blouse with a simple tan skirt. Cammy didn't have any other footwear save for her combat boots, but she scrapped that idea in favor of tan sandals.
Upon hearing Chun-Li's coo of appreciation, Cammy became visibly flustered.
"S-so, are you ready to go?" she stammered, maintaining eye contact.
"Yep, I see you're ready as well, so grab your coat and let's head out!"
"Right... You do know how to get there right?"
"Of course!"
Chun-Li bounded out of the room leaving Cammy to grab her red overcoat and run out to catch her before she closed the elevator doors on her again.
The sign changed to a white stick figure, signaling to the two women that it was safe to cross the street. Walking to the community center didn't take too long, as it was only a ten minute walk and the women were aided by signs pointing them towards it. During the walk Chun-Li filled Cammy in on the details of the wedding. Although Cammy and Chun-Li didn't know him that much, or like him very much, it seemed courteous of them to attend his wedding. The woman he married was someone the world knew, and the two enforcers had personally known her for a couple years despite never really enjoying that fact.
But things have changed over the course of four years…
Japan, 1 year ago.
A lone figure crept through the countryside, moving like a jaguar in its rainforest home. His hands, covered in white wrappings, gripped the landscape as he took the path less traveled. The path that was more traveled was littered with wooden posts and lanterns, and since it was daylight, he didn't want to be seen. Normally one for making himself known, Adon Montri wanted to know just what he would be getting into before he opened his mouth.
He had traveled to a mountainous region of Japan to watch a small dojo owned by a young Rindoukan karate fighter, Makoto. When he got to an elevated position, he saw her walking the path towards her dojo. She had changed since the last time he had seen her. She had grown her hair out to fall to her shoulders, not for beauty, but as a means to identify herself to others as a woman (She hated when people mistook her for a boy). Her feminine curves had finally shown through her well built body, further disapproving the idea that she was a boy.
Adon moved further along the hilltops to keep up with his moving target. She was completely unaware of his presence, and that gave him a proud grin. He had the upper hand here for once in what seemed like an eternity, but he wasn't here to pick a fight… at least not at the moment. That pride was short-lived, however, with the sound of a door closing rather loudly. Adon had pried his eyes away from Makoto long enough for her to slip into her dojo. He silently cursed himself and leaped to another hilltop directly overlooking the dojo.
Anyone within a mile radius of the building could hear several noises coming from within, including loud smacks, yells, and finally a very shrill scream. Adon raised his eyebrows upon hearing the scream, feeling a tinge of remorse for the poor sap who decided to face Makoto in a fight. Soon the door to the building opened again and a man in a bright pink gi was roughly thrown out by the owner. All pity was erased from Adon's mind as he scowled at the sight of the man.
Dan Hibiki, the man in the pink gi, had been coming to Makoto's dojo a few times each year to pit his own dojo against hers. Of course, neither of the owners had any students to show off or fight against. Dan was an overconfident, arrogant, yet utterly feeble character, unintentionally driving away potential students, while Makoto enforced a rather counterproductive policy of rejecting aspiring ones who were unable to defeat her first, and so far none have.
Adon leaned up against a tree and folded his arms as he looked down at Dan. He tearfully picked himself off of the ground and began to limp away from the building, muttering something about a stubbed toe and insurance. There was always something about that man that either brought a scowl or a smile to people's faces, whether it be his arrogance or his immaturity. Adon just couldn't stand him, and he wondered how anyone in the world could put up with him.
'I can understand Ryu defeating Sagat, but you? Pathetic.'
Soft footsteps were heard near the hilltop Adon was situated on. He avoided the urge to look behind him, instead opting to ignore whoever it was.
'Hibiki's only student should be not too far behind him,' Adon thought, twitching an eyebrow. 'Best pray she leaves me alone up here. Although I prefer the student more than I do the teacher, I can hardly stand either of them.'
The sound of footsteps was getting closer. Obviously the person creating them had spotted Adon against the tree. He sighed and slowly slid down into a squatting position with his arms draped over his thighs like a jaguar lying in wait. He maintained his gaze towards the landscape in front of him as the footsteps stopped to his right. He felt someone give him a soft poke on his shoulder, and he twitched it in response.
'The pink plebian's stupidity must have rubbed off on his student…'
Whoever this person was, he or she -Adon was fairly certain it was Hibiki's student, Sakura- was very persistent. Another tap on the shoulder and he had enough. He broke off his staring contest with the countryside by lifting his head up and turning it to the right to look at his persistent poker. Where he expected the person to be, he found that whoever it was had slinked away before they were seen. From his position, Adon leaned out to his right to get a look behind the tree. He let out a grunt when he could not find the one who touched him.
Adon shook his head before he resumed looking down at Makoto's dojo. Anticipating another encounter with taps to his shoulders, he focused on the sounds around him, hoping to hear the person approach again so he could drive her off. Birds chirped nearby, a plane flew overhead, running water could be heard from a nearby stream, and most amusingly the whimpers of Dan Hibiki were still within earshot. However, Adon did not hear any more sounds from his tormentor. He sat focused for a few more minutes before he tried to convince himself that the person had sneaked away. The sudden weight on his left shoulder and the feeling that someone was using his head as an armrest told him otherwise.
Jerking his head to the left Adon was greeted with the sight of someone's baggy white pants and purple tights resting on his shoulder. Looking up past the flash of ivory he could see a woman's slender figure, covered by a small, purple breastplate supported by straps of ebony. The woman's skin was a light peach color, darkened by the shade of the tree. Her raven hair was styled into two horn-like ponytails that rested upon her head, giving her a menacing appearance. She also had small purple rings to maintain them; two per horn. What really caught Adon's attention were the woman's bright violet eyes, which were fixed on Makoto's dojo, just like his have been.
Adon sat silently, looking intently at the woman that sat on his shoulder as her hand lazily ran through his red hair. He couldn't place his finger on it, but he swore he had seen the woman before. He frowned. Now was not the time to be polite to this pest, but neither was it the time to pick a fight, at least not now when the violation to his personal space was small.
"Must you use me as your own personal stool?" he growled, twitching an eyebrow.
The woman looked down at Adon and giggled.
"Aw… The jaguar's all angsty today..." She leaned in close to his face and continued with a luscious, hooded gaze. "What's the matter baby? I thought you would have loved my company."
Her face was inches away from his, which was too close for comfort. Adon was able to get a better look at this woman's eyes though. At a distance her eyes, although an unusual violet color, seemed almost normal to him. Up close, however, he found a strange design embedded in the pupil of the left eye. It looked spherical, with half of the sphere sporting a dark color while the other half held a much lighter one. A yin-yang symbol. His own eyes widened when he realized something about the eye.
He had seen it before, and he had fought its bloodthirsty owner before.
"Wait just a minute... I believe I remember you..." Adon shifted away from the woman, causing her to sigh and stand up with him. "Juri Han, the woman with the legendary eye!"
The woman sighed and placed her hands on her hips.
"Is that all I'm known for, my eye? Baby, I'm hurt! I'm surprised you even remember me after three years." She waved her hand forward in a nonchalant fashion. "I thought you would have had trouble remembering me after that beating I gave you in that tournament."
"I never forget an opponent," Adon stated, folding his arms, "especially one that got lucky."
"Lucky?" Juri repeated, not really believing what she was hearing. "Oh please, you're still mad about that fight on the cruise ship? You were jumping around like an idiot, just as smug as ever after your little victory over Sagat. It felt fantastic to wipe that grin off your face, but knocking you around the deck with everyone watching was the icing on the cake!"
Adon scowled at her attack to his pride. A few years ago, such an attack would land one in the hospital with the retaliating strikes. If she continued wasting his time, he would have no choice but to take matters into in own hands. He wanted to strike her down, but now was not the time to pick a fight, especially with a dangerous individual such as Juri.
"What are you doing here? Just passing time before you pick your next victim?"
Juri was taken back at his question. He should have flown into a rage after her attack, but instead he held his ground. She leaned back and looked up at the sky thoughtfully.
'Maybe he's changed, just like I have...'
She walked towards him, her left hand busy twirling the black and purple belt that hung from her trousers while she pointed at him with her right.
"Well, what are you doing here?"
"I asked first, but since I'm so polite, I'll answer yours." Growling, he answered, "None of your damn business."
"Party pooper!" she said with a smile before she raised her hands in a calming, if not sarcastic, gesture. "Alright, alright, I'm just here to see an old friend of mine."
"We are not friends, Juri," Adon muttered. "I doubt you came here to just see me or that girl."
"But I did come here to see Makoto. We are actually pretty close friends now, ya know." She stopped in front of him and looked up at him. He was at least 6 inches taller than she was, much to Adon's relief and Juri's curiosity. Her belt slid from her hands as she added in a seductive tone, "Maybe we're a lot closer than… friends."
Adon scoffed at her statement.
"What makes you think that Makoto would want to be associated with a murderer such as yourself?"
"Ha! What makes me a murderer? You don't know anything about me, jaguar boy," Juri said with a playfully sad undertone, as if she was disappointed with Adon.
"On the contrary, I do." Adon sneered and looked down his nose at Juri. "After that fight on the ship I was stopped by that Chinese woman working for Interpol. You had quite the posse after you, Juri. Along with that Chinese woman, you had an American Air Force Major and some Englishwoman after you. I told the woman what I could about you, and she enlightened me to who you are: a murderous wench working for the same organization that hosted that tournament three years ago."
Juri frowned and furrowed her brow.
"So you talked to Chun? Well aren't you mister sociable! You did change after that beating! Is that all she told you?"
"No. She also told me about that little massacre you committed before the tournament."
She crossed her arms and backed away from Adon, trying to conceal her discomfort on the subject.
"So what? Stuff happens in that line of work. What did you think S.I.N did, take candy from babies?" To herself, she thought, 'I've already gotten over my regrets. You're not going to drag me back…'
"You are still working for them, aren't you?"
Juri smiled and looked away.
"Not anymore. I've turned over a new leaf, jaguar boy. Where have you been for three years?"
Adon reeled his head back, laughing.
"Please! The day you quit S.I.N is the day El Fuerte gets better at cooking! You'll never change!"
The Korean scowled and looked back at Adon, whose ignorance was getting on her nerves. Was he really stupid, or did he just not pay attention to newscasters, newspapers, and local chatter? He needed to be enlightened, and Juri was just the person to take on the task. By the time Adon had stopped laughing, she was in front of him again, dangerously close. She glared at him while he stared back with a confused and slightly terrified expression.
"You know, I think there's a reason why you're being so thick-headed at the moment."
"Me? Thick-headed? What makes you say that, you witch?"
"Perhaps your little headband thingy is too tight. I hear they cut off circulation to the brain." Juri smirked and reached up to his head. "Here, let me fix it for you!"
Adon was taken aback by what he thought was an attack. He closed his eyes as he flinched, anticipating a slap to the face. He felt something slide from his head and through his hair, and he opened his eyes. Juri was standing farther away from Adon with a smug look on her face. In her hands was his yellow and blue headband.
She waved the article of clothing in front of his face, proud of her accomplishment.
"You want this back kitty?" She retracted it quickly with a giggle when he swiped at it. "If you want it back, you'll have to catch me!"
Juri giggled again and turned to run down the side of the hill, leaving a flabbergasted Adon in her wake. He quickly shook his head and took chase, cursing her name as he did so.