Author's note 10/23/08: I made a number of re-edits to this chapter and extended it out. I would also like to thank all those who commented and left positive feedback as I had taken a LONG hiatus from this fanfic.

Dusk had fallen on the city known as the "New York City of China." Cosmopolitan, refined and sophisticated, Shanghai was known throughout the Far East as a center of Western influence where riches could be quickly made and luxury could be acquired. In the midst of the chaos that was China, Shanghai represented an oasis where one could make a name for oneself and gain status in the eyes of others.

This night however, Shanghai huddled in fear. General Chiang Kai Shek's Nationalist troops had retreated inland from their remaining positions along Suchow Creek, abandoning China's most cosmopolitan city to the Japanese. The little resistance that had been offered by rearguard Chinese militias had been quickly and viciously crushed by the larger invading forces. Now crack Japanese Army units occupied the city's streets with bayoneted rifles at the ready as they crouched behind barbed wire revetments. Machine guns bristled from behind sandbagged emplacements as Imperial Army tanks moved up and down the streets, their gunners leaning against the Nambu machine guns mounted in the turrets. Above all of this, Rising Sun banners, their blood red orbs fluttering in the breeze, flew over the heads of the troops.

The one section of the city that remained unoccupied by the Japanese was the International Settlement, the system of foreign-controlled concessions that remained under the command of the Western Powers. Not daring to provoke a conflict with the West, the Japanese had halted their troops at the Settlement's gates. On one side of the barbed wire divide stood Imperial Japanese soldiers in greatcoats, on the other, sharply dressed Settlement Police in their khaki uniforms, holstered revolvers at their sides. Despite the peace that reigned over these two forces, there was still a general sense of unease.

Inside the Settlement however it was still largely business as usual. To celebrate their victory, the Japanese were throwing a number of gala events at the best nightclubs in foreign-controlled Shanghai. As it happened, Chun Li's own Grand Shanghai Club was among the chosen locations for the Japanese-held celebrations. While she inwardly detested these foreign invaders, there was little she could do other than accept the money she was given, force a smile onto her face and do her best to put on a night of splendor.

She had dressed splendidly that night, choosing a bright red stylishly cut cheongsam that accentuated the curves of her body. Her lips glowed with lipstick, her cheeks flushed with rouge and every inch of her being radiated beauty. Despite this, she felt ugliness inside her, a self-loathing at the fact that she was entertaining the very same men who had pillaged her country, slaughtered her countrymen and murdered her father. In acknowledgment of these strong emotions within her, she had left her hair down, declining to tie it up into her trademark buns. This was her act of mourning.

A knock came at her door as she was finishing up. "Come in," she called out in Shanghainese as she locked her makeup kit away in her bureau. The door opened a crack, revealing the beautiful face of Jing Mei, one of the girls that Chun Li had personally rescued from the horrors of a brothel on the seedier side of town. Despite the fact that she wasn't much younger than Chun Li herself, Chun Li had always thought of her as a daughter and someone she would always trust.

"Mistress, I thought you would like to know that the Japanese delegation is beginning to arrive," spoke the young girl, resplendent in her own stylishly cut cheongsam. "And Mr. Masters has arrived, he's asked for you once already."

"Tell him that I'll be down shortly," replied Chun Li as she took one last look in the mirror. "I'm nearly ready."

"Yes ma'am," said Jing Mei as she closed the door behind her.

Downstairs the party was in full swing as the Imperial Army officers began arriving at the Grand Shanghai Club. Heads turned to look at them as they began removing their greatcoats, revealing their impeccable dress uniforms. Epaulets, braided gold cords and silver marks of rank gave their tan uniforms a sort of martial elegance. Their boots were polished to reflective ebony and a number wore peaked caps with the yellow star of the Imperial Army emblazoned on them. Where they would normally have worn a holster for their Nanbu sidearm pistols and a scabbard for their katana swords, there was only empty air. Imperial Headquarters had issued orders for all officers to leave their personal weapons behind in order to avoid provoking any incidents inside the Settlement and also to display the peaceful intentions of the Japanese Army. Any officer disobeying these orders was to be severely punished.

Ryu stepped inside the foyer of the Grand Shanghai Club, marveling at its magnificence. From the gilded chandeliers above his head to the Italian marble floor underneath his feet, there was a regal majesty to this place that he had only seen once or twice in all his years in Japan. His father's estate had been constructed in the traditional Japanese manner and outside of a few visits to government buildings, he had never seen this kind of luxury.

His admiration was quickly dissipated by the gruff voice of the man next to him. Colonel Masami Ushi was a tough commander, cruel to his own troopers, but absolutely ruthless to the Chinese. It was said that Ushi had served for awhile as an instructing officer at Ichigaya which was where he had picked up his penchant for cruelty and sadism. Ryu had seen Ushi nearly beat two of his own men to death for falling asleep on watch and had also heard the rumors that Ushi had twice issued an order to kill Chinese prisoners during his time commanding troops in Manchuria. He personally detested both Ushi and his methods, but for fear of his career and out of a sense of duty, never said anything at all.

"Take my coat boy!" shouted Colonel Ushi in English, his face already ruddy from the sake that he and several of his staff officers had imbibed in the car on the way over, as he handed his field overcoat to a neatly dressed Chinese waiter. As the man bowed respectfully and reached for the coat, Ushi grabbed him by the collar and hauled him in close, breathing alcohol fumes into the poor man's face. "And if you soil that coat at all, I'll slice you into bits, do you understand?"

The ghost-faced waiter nodded in fear before scurrying off with the colonel's coat. Behind him, Ushi laughed uproariously along with several of his staff officers as Ryu turned away in disgust. Ushi's blatant racism and cruelty were not something he could tolerate and it was hard for him to conceal his outright disgust towards the man and his methods.

Ushi caught Ryu's sickened glance and began to laugh even harder. "What's wrong Captain Hoshi? Something about me you don't like?" he guffawed as he staggered off, surrounded by his lackeys. Calling out to a nearby waiter he shouted, "Boy! Get me some sake!" Grimacing Ryu turned away in disgust and wandered into the opposite direction.

Chun Li descended the stairs that led to the Grand Shanghai's upper levels, looking out across the assembled audience as she recognized some familiar faces. Off to the side she spotted the beautiful Cammy White, a well-to-do British woman who was active in the Shanghai international community, but who was suspected to have ties to the British Foreign Intelligence Service. Chatting with her was Zangief, a White Russian refugee from the 1917 revolution, who was reputed to be connected to various shadowy figures in the Chinese underworld.

Off to the side she noticed Colonel William F. Guile, an aviator with the US Army Air Force, clad in his tan dress uniform with his pilot's wings pinned to his chest. Guile had originally arrived in China as part of a training mission for the Nationalist Air Force and had been a key player in training Chiang Kai Shek's air force. He had made it no secret that he openly distrusted the Japanese military and this virulent dislike of the Japanese had actually gotten him briefly reassigned to a desk job at Pearl Harbor for fear that he would stir up trouble. However since he spoke three dialects of Chinese fluently (Shanghainese, Mandarin, and Cantonese) and knew the local customs, Washington eventually saw fit to send him back to China since no one else could effectively do the job.

"Chun Li!" called out a familiar voice in Midwestern-accented English. Chun Li turned to her right and smiled as Ken Masters reached out to her, a glass of Krug 1912 in one hand. She leaned into his brief friendly embrace and smiled the first real smile she'd put onto her face all day.

Ken Masters was a Shanghai legend, a local playboy whose father had made his fortunes off of a trans-pacific shipping line that ran between China and the United States. He had grown up in one of Shanghai's wealthiest households and his expensive sharkskin dinner jacket and creased trousers reflected his family's wealth and power. Not only was he rich, but he was single and a frequent visitor to the Grand Shanghai. There were many rumors running through the International Settlement that linked him and Chun Li together, but preferring the simplicity of friendship to the messy drama of a romantic affair, they had always kept a platonic relationship.

"How are you tonight Ken?" replied Chun Li in English, a slender arm wrapping around his broad shoulders. "I've missed you in the last few weeks. Where have you been? Haven't found yourself a girl have you?" she asked with a tinge of faux jealousy in her voice.

"There's no prettier woman in Shanghai than you," laughed Ken. "End of story. And by now you should know me far too well to even think that I'm close to settling down."

"One of these days, you'll have to. A handsome man like you is obligated to make sure that handsome men will forever exist by passing on the good breeding that's present in the Masters family."

"Your flattery never does end, does it my dear? Actually the reason I've had to make myself scarce recently is due to my father. The old goat thinks that it's time for me to begin to cut my teeth on the family business and start making my own millions, I guess. He's been trying to get me to leave Shanghai and go back to the States to manage the shipping branch in San Francisco."

Chun Li pouted. "And you're planning on going through with this?"

"Hell no!" laughed Ken as he slugged down the expensive champagne before handing the empty crystal glass off to a passing waiter. "You honestly think I'm going to leave Shanghai when there's so much to do here? Why would I want to go back to the States?"

"I just wanted to make sure," smiled Chun Li. "I just don't know what I'd do without you here," she said with a mischievous grin, rising up to kiss him once on the cheek.

"You know, there's a reason why the whole of the International Settlement thinks that we have a slightly secret sexual affair going on. And it's not all because of me," Ken smoothly replied with a wink. "I could blame you for about ninety percent of the gossip that's circulating around me right now. And maybe about forty percent of the misfortune."

"Only forty percent? Dare I ask what the other sixty is?"

"Matters that are out of my hands," sighed Ken, looking around furtively before leaning in towards Chun Li. "There's a rumor that the Japanese and Germans are becoming quite friendly with each other and that a formal alliance, more solid than the Anti-Comintern Pact, may be in the works."

"What? But the Germans are supplying the Nationalist Army at the same time. They can't be working with the Japanese."

"I know they're supplying Chiang's troops, but they're also working with the Japanese as well and playing both sides against the middle. Have you even noticed the three German officers over by the Japanese? Take a look."

Chun Li craned her head in the direction that Ken was pointing and saw three men, clad in the black uniforms of the SS chatting with the Japanese officers in attendance. Two of them could have been poster boys for the Nazi Party recruitment drive; blonde-haired, blue-eyed, fit and almost resplendent in the ebony uniforms of Hitler's personal troops. The third officer was a dark haired man, slightly shorter than the other two, but his face and persona radiated such a cold cruel aura that Chun Li almost shivered across the room. His frame was muscular, compact, and Chun Li immediately recognized him as the type of officer who doesn't spend much time behind a desk. On his chest, he wore the Iron Cross, signifying that he had done something to earn to earn this decoration and the insignia of a lieutenant colonel in the Nazi hierarchy. In addition, he carried a mahogany pace stick the length of a cane, polished to a killing gloss and topped by the silver Nazi eagle. Although he also wore a Walther pistol snapped at his side, it was clear that the pace stick was his weapon of choice.

"Captain Hoshi," spoke one of the blonde officers in Teutonic-accented Japanese. "If please you, I introduce to SS Lieutenant Colonel Rolento Schugerg."

Setting his glass of champagne down on a nearby marble stand, Ryu quickly snapped to attention, saluting the higher ranking officer. With a more casual motion, the dark-haired muscular German officer returned the salute and then reached out to extend a black-gloved hand to Ryu who took the hand in his own grasp and firmly shook it.

"Lieutenant colonel is very please meet you," continued the blonde officer in his badly-accented and poor Japanese. "He very glad to finally--"

"Hoffmann, shut up," growled Rolento in nearly-accent free Japanese. "Your Japanese is atrocious and I highly doubt the good captain wants to hear you butcher his mother tongue." Turning back to Ryu, the lieutenant colonel snaked a cold smile across his features and continued in Japanese. "I can speak passable Japanese, but I'm afraid I'm still very poor at it. English, French, and of course German are my primary languages."

"I think your Japanese is quite good, sir," replied Ryu in Japanese. "I am honored to make your acquaintance."

"Considering the fact that your country and mine are likely going to wind up as allies, I'm quite glad that you feel this way," smiled Rolento, the same cold expression on his face never seeming to change. "In a few years' time, our two nations will be among the most powerful on Earth."

Ryu took another sip of champagne. "I knew that the diplomats in Tokyo and Berlin were busy, but I didn't know that things would be accelerating so quickly. I mean we just signed the Anti-Comintern Pact last year."

"Oh things will change," said Rolento, tapping the butt of his pace stick against the floor. "Things are bound to change and our two countries will rise together to the top. Against all odds."

"Even if it means a war like the last one?"

"Like I said, my good captain, against all odds."