A/N: 06.08.2019
Wow, it's almost been a year exactly since I added to this series. That's crazy! Anyway, IT'S FINALLY HERE! RYU AND CHUN-LI AS PARENTS... AGAIN! I mean, ya know... they already have Mei. And, let's face it, Sakura counts as an extra kid. But now it's time for baby Ryutaro to be born!
So, as per usual, let's go ahead and make that timeline clear:
Hearts & Fists
Hearts & Fists –The First Date
Hearts & Fists – Lovers' Sparring Match
Hearts & Fists – The Proposal
Hearts & Fists – The Wedding
Hearts & Fists – A Deal's A Deal
Hearts & Fists II: Retaliation
Hearts & Fists – Fear
Hearts & Fists – Kindred Spirits
Hearts & Fists – Youthful Drive
Hearts & Fists – Motivation
Hearts & Fists – Son (CURRENT STORY)
Alright! Enjoy!
Hearts & Fists – Son
It all seemed to happen in a blur.
That morning, Chun-Li felt pain and Ryu, for one of the few times in his life, started to panic. Sakura rushed over. An ambulance was called. Ken, Guile, Cammy, and Sean were called and were on flights bound for Hangzhou. Cammy arrived first as she was in Japan, finishing up on a case for Interpol.
At the hospital, Sakura and Mei were in the waiting room, trying not to get too worked up. Cammy was sitting calmly reading a magazine. She looked over at the surrogate sisters and laughed as they fidgeted repeatedly.
Sakura looked up at Cammy and asked, "What?" Mei looked up, as well.
"Why don't you both just admit that you're worried?" Cammy asked.
"I'm worried," Sakura said.
"Me, too!" Mei said. "I want Mom and my little brother to be okay!"
"They'll be okay," Cammy reassured. "I promise."
A few minutes later, the doctor came out to the waiting room. "Family of Chun-Li?"
Sakura and Mei jumped up and raced to the nurse, shouting, "Are they okay?!"
Cammy laughed and walked up to the doctor, "This is Chun-Li's daughter," pointing at Mei. She motioned at herself and Sakura, "We're family friends."
The doctor smiled, "Chun-Li and the baby are doing just fine. They came through, beautifully."
Sakura and Cammy let out sighs of relief.
"Can we see them?" Mei asked, calmly. "Please."
"Of course," the doctor said. "Right this way."
The doctor led the three to a room where Chun-Li, lying in bed, was holding baby Ryutaro in her arms. Ryu was sitting in a chair, unable to stop the smile that was etched on his face.
"Oh, my God," Sakura whispered, covering her mouth.
Cammy grinned as tears were beginning to fall from her eyes.
Mei walked up to Chun-Li, her eyes glued to her new baby brother.
Chun-Li looked at Mei, smiling. "You wanna say hi."
Mei nodded, emphatically. She moved closer and looked at Ryutaro. His eyes were barely open as he sucked on his pacifier.
"Hi, little brother," Mei whispered. "I love you."
Chun-Li wanted to cry, immediately, upon hearing that.
Cammy smiled. She walked over to Ryu and patted him on the shoulder. "You okay?"
Ryu looked at her. "I'm… great."
Ken and Guile arrived at the hospital that night, hours later. They rushed into the room to see Ryu holding Ryutaro, pacing around the room.
The smiles on Ken and Guile's faces were almost cartoon-like.
"We can't scream," Ken said. "We're in a hospital."
Guile pulled out his phone, "But we can take photos like maniacs."
Ken pulled out his phone, "Yes, we can!"
The number of pictures that were taken between Sakura, Cammy, Ken, and Guile could already fill a baby book. The pics were complete with group photos, selfies, and candid shots. With Ken and Guile arriving so late, this celebration continued into the following morning. Sagat even called that morning, after getting word from Cammy, and gave them a word of congratulations.
Towards the evening, Ken and Ryu were standing by a window, looking out over the city.
Ken smiled and looked at Ryu, "How do you feel, man?"
"I can't describe it," Ryu said. He looked at his best friend, "I have a son, Ken. My own son."
"I know, man." Ken patted Ryu on the shoulder, "I'm so proud of you, brother."
"Thanks, Ken. And thanks for always being there."
"Always, man. No matter what."
Cammy was holding Ryutaro and walking around the room. She looked up at Chun-Li, noticing a peculiar look in her eyes.
"Still scared about the future?" Cammy asked.
"Always," Chun-Li admitted. "But, suddenly… I'm even more excited for it, too."
Cammy smiled. "How so?"
"I have my daughter, my… son. Ryu. Sakura." Chun-Li smiled. "I've never been more uncertain about what's coming next. And I've never been happier about what could be coming."
"Well, if you want my advice…" Cammy said.
"Absolutely. I don't think I would be with Ryu without your help."
"Just enjoy the ride. Enjoy your life. Enjoy every day. You're always be as prepared as you can be. Let that be enough. Just meet the challenges as they come. And don't forget, you'll always have us. We're your family, Chun-Li." Cammy looked at Ryutaro. "And we're not going anywhere."
Chun-Li smiled. "I know. I won't forget, ever."
Later that night, Cammy, Ken, and Guile took Sakura and Mei back to the house, all of them getting some rest. Ryu was asleep in a chair and Chun-Li was holding Ryutaro, starting her son's sleeping face.
As she held her son, Chun-Li thought about her journey to being a mother and how it began with Mei. Back when she first adopted Mei, Chun-Li was positive that was, also, where it would end.
Now, here was she was: holding her baby son. The son she had, herself, with the man she loved, her husband. Chun-Li's mind went to Mei and how she couldn't have been happier to be a big sister.
Chun-Li couldn't imagine a better scenario. She looked down at Ryutaro. "You will always have me, my sweet baby boy. Always. I love you. So very much."
In the early hours of the morning, before the sun had come back up, Ryutaro had awoken. Both Ryu and Chun-Li awoke at their son's crying, but Ryu elected to tend to him, allowing Chun-Li to get some more rest.
As Ryu paced the floor, carrying his son, he couldn't believe that this was his life. He had a child of his own that he was holding in his arms.
"I didn't have a father," Ryu said to Ryutaro. "Not really. Not one who was… by blood. But you have me. You have my word, my son, I will always be there for you. For your mother and your sister. I swear to you. No matter what happens, you will always be able to depend on me."
Keeping her eyes closed, Chun-Li smiled at Ryu's words. She couldn't agree more.
A/N: Well?! What did you guys think? I loved this! I can't wait to do more.
Now, let's talk about what's coming next. "Hearts & Fists III" is still in the planning stages because I think I'm going a whole new direction with it than I previously had planned. The other problem with that is when I'll have time to write it. I have several other projects in the works so we'll see what's coming.
One small update: if anyone goes to the site, Archive of Our Own, I will updating my own pretty soon. I'll be adding a few stories from here to there, in particular all of my "Hearts & Fists" series will be added there. So, if you see those stories there, with some updates, that's still me, T2 Angel. I'm just under the new name, RavenT2. Now, keep in mind, I'm not removing anything unless an actual admin... AN ACTUAL ADMIN tells me to do so. Just to be clear.
But, to know everything I'm up to, I actually post any new information on my Facebook and Twitter pages and even my personal YouTube channel. All of that information is on my profile page, if you're interested.
OH! And something major, if you didn't know, MY BOOK IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE! I think most know this already but it bears repeating. Tatsu Angelo: Ronin Days. Got order yourself a copy!
Thank you all so much! I love how so many dedicated people have stuck with this series! It means the world to me! Thank you and see you in the future!
