Disclaimer: Capcom
The sweet scent of unsettled flower petals floated gently through the wind, caressing Chun Li Xiang's face like a silk rag, dancing on her pink lips hypnotically to a serene beat of music.
"O sweet princess, won't thee look at me?" The self-implied 'prince's voice carried through to her ears, making her turn her head.
"You're reading from that book again, Ryu." She smiled a little, making Ryu appear through the flurry of flower petals.
"I know. Isn't Japan pretty at this time of year?" He said, touching her hand, "I like it here. Let's stay here forever."
"Let the wedding date come first and I'll decide that later." Chun Li reminded him, tapping his face lightly in a child-like manner, "You do remember, right?"
Ryu contorted his face into confusion, "After you tell me your name again."
Chun Li rolled her eyes, "R-yu…"
"Beautiful Spring. Yup. That's your name right?"
"I should be arrested for pedophilia, I'm marrying a child…" Chun Li sighed mockingly.
"No talk of arrests tonight. You have to rest before the big day," He put his finger to her lips, sternly but lovingly, "You are away from work for a reason."
Chun Li cocked her head, "But I'm not sick nor am I in coma."
It was Ryu's turn to sigh, "Because you love me."
"Oh, I see. That's a pretty dumb reason to miss work." She giggled at the expression when she said that.
Ryu grunted with irritation, "Are you saying you're putting work above me?"
"No never…not to your face, anyway." Chun Li shook her head, trying not to break a smile.
"And why won't you say it to my face?"
Sticking out her bottom lip in a mock defiant manner, Chun Li reached over, touching her fiancé's face, pinching his cheeks, "Because you have such a cute face, I can't bear to break it."
Ryu sighed again, "Great…I married a liar and a work-alcoholic."
"But at least you look really cute in the process."
x
"Hell and brimstone," Lord Bison muttered to himself, looking over the papers, "I can't seem to get a decent man to do a job for me."
Bison took a paper and practically crushed it to dust, "Damn it all to hell!" His stress level was practically through the roof at this point.
Grabbing a bottle of pills from a drawer, he threw one down his throat and picked up a pen again, coughing from the after-swallow from the pill.
"If I wasn't so damn sick all the time…"
His intercom beeped, interrupting his annoyed outburst, hitting the button with a forceful touch.
"Yes, what is it?" Bison hid a cough in his throat.
"Sir, my records indicate that a particular fighter from Japan, a fighter from China and a fighter from Mexico has failed to sign up for the next tournament," Bison's henchwoman Cammy droned on metallically, "Do you wish for me to take a look at it?"
Suddenly, Bison was struck with a coughing fit, his chest ready to explode from the excitement of it. His hand clumsily opened another drawer, rummaging around it, taking out a plain white handkerchief, covering his mouth with it.
'I think I need a new dosage of medicine,' He bitterly thought as he felt salvia on his lips, 'Or at least a clean shot to the head.'
Bison was thankful, however, that Cammy was patient enough to wait for his answer, though probably wondering why he was coughing.
Finally, he got it under control, composing himself again in his superior-like manner,
"Look into it briefly…what are their names?"
"Ryu Hoshi from Japan, Chun Li Xiang from China and T. Hawk from Mexico." Cammy said as if nothing even happened.
He sat back, thinking about it, "Send me their files, I want to make sure these fighters are worthless enough not to bother about."
"Yes sir. They will be there within the hour."
"Of course…Cammy?"
"Yes sir."
"Do not tell anyone what has happened in this conversation." Bison instructed, his voice pressured, shutting off the intercom.
x
T. Hawk arrived into Mexico City Airport with a ticket.
As his father told him since he was a young child, fear was the enemy whom he had to be afraid of but not show.
But to go away…it was like a serpent of nervousness coiling up inside of him.
He had to leave, bound to Japan. It would be the first time he-or anyone from his village-would have left the country. For the sake of his people.
x
"Tragedy frolics in Love's playground," Chun Li read out loud, lying on her stomach on her bed in her blue nightgown, "Huh. How depressing."
Tossing the book casually aside, Chun Li rolled over on her back, watching the ceiling with bored fascination.
Within a few days, Chun Li was to become a wife to Ryu Hoshi, bound forever in a love link to him…
"To settle," She murmured, staring up, "How fickle love is."
She did love Ryu…but sometimes, Chun Li wanted more. She knew it was selfish of her to want more from a already perfect man but…
Chun Li really wasn't into perfection.
There was nothing more she wanted than to marry Ryu and have ten thousand babies with him but there was always that cruel fact in her head that if they ever got a divorce or Ryu would leave her at the altar, reality was that Chun Li wouldn't be that upset about it. She would shed a tear for the time spent on their relationship and of course for the lonely periods of time that would occasionally crop up…but she wouldn't be that emotional about it. It was like she and Ryu shared some sort of loving friendship bond-not a passionate one.
Chun Li had always believed that people love people before they actually meet them-that they love a person at birth.
Maybe Chun Li had already loved another man before Ryu came to propose.
x
"There may be an explanation as to why Hoshi and Xiang hasn't signed up for the tournament," Cammy said, looking at Bison who was sitting in his chair, "It seems that they are to be married within a few days."
"Married," Bison repeated to himself, looking at Ryu's picture, "What an odd concept. Who would have thought a man who travels worlds would ever to be locked in that sort of contract?"
"Not I, sir-I don't believe in marriage or true love."
"Of course not," Bison muttered to himself, "For you fail to actually see beyond anything…"
"Excuse me?"
Bison ignored her and flipped to another picture, one with a woman walking along a street with her hair done in buns, "And who is this woman?"
"Xiang, sir," Cammy stated then said under her breath, "Duh."
"Shouldn't mumble, bad for your voice," Bison sharply said before coughing into another fit, "Goddamnit."
Pulling out a red cloth, he said between coughs, "Hand me that glass of water of there."
Cammy gave him the glass and he drank it, shaking his head of dizziness, "Eugh. I should be making another appointment-as I was saying, I want to find these particular warriors. I think they would make a fine opponent to beat." Bison told her, putting away the cloth.
"Yes sir, I will get onto that right away," Cammy promised, about to leave before Bison stopped her,
"Do not speak to anyone of what happened here, White or I will punish you," He said, "I'll keep the profiles."
She nodded-though Bison was reserved; he was powerful enough to kill her-"Of course, sir."
After she left, Bison picked up the picture of the one called Chun Li Xiang and made a small smile of approval.
"If I may say so, Miss Xiang, you are very beautiful," He said to the picture, getting up before coughing a little back into his red cloth, "It seems I have this erratic-yet unpleasant-cough spree that comes up for no reason."
Bison thought for a little bit before continuing, "It stems from a problem of my chest…the doctor doesn't think I will live long with it. But I figure that if I managed to keep this problem silent, I may be able to pull through this with no problem or pain. However, I think this is where you come in,"
He checked himself in the mirror, "I haven't had a lot of excitement around here and I would like to start having some before I boot off…everyone seems to want to please me and do this for me. The world is far too peaceful for my likes. I think I would like it very much if we met. I think if I try hard enough, you would fall for me on the day you marry."
Bison chuckled at the thought of it, "And I hear Japan is nice at this time of year."
x
Read and Review. Because this is a bit Shakespearean and I believe I need to clarify things, I'll start adding overviews.
Overview: Introduction of Chun Li and Ryu who are to be married within a few days. Bison also is introduced within his lair and is also setting up a tournament for street fighters. However, he has a medical condition (which is unexplained at the moment) where he coughs at random moments violently and difficultly. Cammy tells him that three fighters (Ryu, Chun Li and T. Hawk) are not signed up and Bison starts coughing again. He tells Cammy to forget what has happened (which is said later on that he keeps his condition a secret-sign of weakness).
T. Hawk has left Mexico to save his villiage. Chun Li begins to doubt her marriage to Ryu and foreshadows her future. She believes that if they were to break up, she would not be that concerned. Bison sees Chun Li's picture and a sporatic cough session ensures. He decides to woo Chun Li for fun.