Disclaimer: I do not own any characters represented in this story that are from Street Fighter. The characters, some places, and some terminology are owned by Capcom.

Note: I am sure I don't have to explain this, but I am one of those over explainers so it's just in my nature. If you read Chapter 1 (I hope so haha) then obviously you know she is in Japan. Since all the Japanese I know is from Anime and Google Translate, all characters in this story magically know English. I will throw in some Japanese references here and there, but remember, magical English (haha). Also, my geography sucks, so I will probably never name actual towns and cities outside of the US. But isn't that the beauty of fiction? Thanks for reading.

03/25 edit: Chapter is virtually the same but added tiny details and fixed some spelling errors.

Chapter 2

"I know you are out there."

*Well, hell* I think to myself.

I see only his back, as he is sitting near his campfire, eating his dinner of rice. He says this to me in a calm voice, not a hint of aggression.

*Time to show yourself, Renee*

I make obvious noise, jumping down from the tree branch I was perched on. I grunt unnecessarily as I land. At this point, I want him to know exactly where I am, just in case he sees me as a threat. Still, he sits and eats, never looking behind to see me walking towards him through the brush. I walk hard footed, crunching branches and leaves as I get closer.

When I get to his area, it is, as usual, clear of any debris from the forest. A small fire burns in the middle of the clearing. There is a makeshift grating, with a small pot sitting on the fire. I move to the front of him, across from the fire so I can see his face. He continues to eat his meal, and doesn't look up at me.

I lay my backpack down, and sit down in his view, the fire burning in between us. I think about how I always view him from a distance. I try to remember his face from the dreams, but it always seemed a bit blurry. But here, I can see his short dark brown hair, the red headband that is always tied above his brow, his eyes, his nose, his mouth.

*Wow, he is actually kinda handsome!*

I study the structure of his face, and can't help but to look at more features. I see his broad shoulders, and then his armless gi, probably self modified, with his muscular arms. The V neck overlap of his gi, down far enough to see part of his insanely well toned chest. He sits with his legs tucked under him, what we Americans would call "Indian Style."

We sit in complete silence, the fire crackling the only noise. It seems like hours. Even as I watch him finish his meal, he takes the time to clean up what he could, packing things away in his soft bag, and still, making no effort to communicate or make eye contact with me. I attempted to show the utmost patience.

*I will not speak unless I am spoken to. I will not speak unless I am spoken to. Come on and talk to me already* I am sure the frustration is showing slightly on my face.

He situates himself again after cleaning up, and finally he looks at me. I see no emotion in his face. He is completely and utterly neutral. His eyes however give him away but only slightly. He has kind eyes. They show a hint of curiosity. If he is angry with me for stalking him, he is showing no signs of it.

"You have been following me for quite some time." He speaks! *Finally*

*Keep your face calm, don't over do it, just keep it simple* "I have," I say to him.

"You have had many opportunities to fight me, if that was your wish. I must ask, to what purpose have you been following me as long as you have been."

"I wish to learn," I reply.

"Learn what?"

"Your fighting style."

"I do not teach."

"You have taught me so much already. Do you know how long I have been following you?" This might be a bad move. He could feel threatened by this. He can kill me if he wanted to. I can feel his power. He can probably kill me in one simple move.

He sits and stares at me for a few moments before answering. His face unchanging, his eyes still mostly neutral, with that slight tinge of curiosity. I do not feel any rage from him. I should know better, since in my observations he is always calm. I have never seem him angry.

"I have felt your presence for a little over 5 months now. At first it was a small feeling, but it has been getting stronger. You say I have taught you already? So then, what have you learned?"

"It has been more than 5 months. And what I have learned I cannot perfect as you have. I am missing something," I say. I notice his eyes have changed. I can tell he is trying to figure out if I am lying about the amount of time. There is a long pause before he speaks again.

"How long?"

"I first found you shortly after you visited Goukens Temple. I found out the name of the place from the locals. I have seen you revisit this temple three times now, and always around the same day of the year." His eyes change again. He looks at me with an eyebrow raised, his eyes a little wider now, a little more curious. I am sure he is thinking that he should have sensed me before, especially if it has been this long. To confirm my truth, I tell him more. "That is the only place I have seen you revisit yearly. Some towns you have only been to once, and some places you revisit after years. I have followed you across the sea when you traveled to China and Thailand. I am actually glad you didn't spend a lot of time there, because I hated it there myself. I have watched you fight many times, but that is not how I have learned as much as I know at the moment."

"I was too weak to sense you."

"I was probably too weak to be sensed. But I know you are much stronger now. I would like to hope that I am too. But there is still so much I don't know."

*I can't give him too much information. If he asks a question I will answer, but I will not freely give him information* My question for him is burning me. *Forget that I want you to teach me, what the hell is your name?*

"Show me what you have learned."

He gets up, dusts his clothes off for a moment, walks over to a clearing away from the fire, and gets into his fighting stance.

*Oh god, please don't kill me* I am terrible hiding myself from him right now. My eyes say it to him. I am showing fear.

He shifts his position to defensive. He senses my fear. This calms me a bit. He just wants to see what I know.

I stand up and get into a fighting stance. I take some time to breathe for a moment. I know that I have to do this to show him what I know. Maybe it will show him my dedication, and he will teach me.

I rush him. As fast as I can, I throw punches in every direction. I want to show that I am not holding back so I attempt to hit him in any vulnerable area. I try to punch, jab and kick. I don't land a single blow.

*He is so fast, he either dodges or blocks everything. I am not looking good.*

I pause for a moment to gather my Ki. I hold my arms to my sides, flexing, my fits clenched, my face screwed up, my mind as clear as I can get it, and I gather energy from my core. I run towards him and jump in the air, and attempt my sloppy version of a spinning kick I have seen him do many times before. My Ki doesn't even glow in the slightest in my flurry of kicks. I pause again to gather more Ki energy from my center, and try the energy ball. I know I have much to learn with this move. I was able to generate a spark at least. I threw it at him, and it hit his arm, and it made a pathetic *bzzt* sound. It sounded like I drug my feet across a carpet with socks on and touched him. I am sure he barely felt it. I am not even going to try the uppercut.

*Go ahead and laugh at me now*

I stop trying to hit him after my embarrassing spark. I stand there, my appearance is of defeat.

His face is still neutral. He shows no signs of wanting to laugh at me for my performance. He doesn't say anything.

"That is as much as I have learned from observation. I am not as fast as you. I can't seem to generate the energy that you do. I need to learn the basics."

"Some things you cannot learn from seeing. Gathering Ki is not easy to do. But your form is good, and you flow into each move very gracefully. I can tell that you watch me when I do my Kata's. When you master your Ki, you will be faster."

"I need you to teach me."

"I do not teach. I believe I have yet to master it myself."

"You can still teach me. You can show me how to start."

I try not to show frustration. His face doesn't change.

"I have been sought after before, by another girl that wished to learn. It was recent, so you should know already that she gave up trying to convince me to teach her."

I remembered her. She was a school girl who witnessed him fight. His opponent was tougher than most, so he used all of his moves. The spinning kick, the energy blast, and finally the flaming blue uppercut.

"She was young, and she only gave up because she couldn't follow you outside the city. I am sure if she didn't have school she would have pursued you."

"Even if she did, it would have been a lost cause. Go home to where ever you came from. There is no point in following me any longer."

Finishing note: I realize as I finish this chapter that I am still on page one of my outline, and only on section 3. While I am glad I have everything all thought out, I realize that this might be a long story. I hope you all enjoy it. As always, constructive criticism is welcome, and please R&R.