Chapter Two

The group moved inside of the house as the news of Guerrilla being free left the couple very unsettled. Sakura had been babysitting Mei, who had long since been put to bed. Ryu sent Sakura back to her dorm room, telling her to come by for breakfast in the morning and promising to let her know what was going then. After she was gone and making doubly sure that Mei was sound asleep, the couple went back down to the common room where their friends were waiting. Ryu started pacing while Chun-Li sat down and covered her mouth. She moved to cover her face, letting out a sigh of exasperation.

Ryu stopped and folded his arms, "Are you sure?"

"I talked to the guy, face to face," Guile answered.

"He just walked right up to you?"

"No one is more surprised than me."

The world fighter looked at his wife then back at the captain, "Not so sure about that."

"What is he up to know?" Chun-Li said in a muffled voice since she was still covering her face.

"We don't know yet," Cammy added. "But he is up to something. And he's already making moves."

"And where is Sagat?" Ryu asked.

"No one knows," Ken answered.

"It was already impossible to keep track of him," Cammy explained. "Now… he's in the wind like never before. I just hope he's okay." She paused. "A phrase I never thought I'd use for him but… well, these are weird times."

"And about to get weirder."

"What's the plan?" Ryu asked.

"My partner in MI6 is looking into anything Guerrilla was into prior to his capture," Cammy explained. "Old allies, aliases, that sort of thing. And the H.A.T.E. Company."

"H.A.T.E. Company?"

"He told me about it," Guile said.

"Guerrilla said that they killed Collins in London," Cammy explained.

"Do you believe that?" Chun-Li asked.

"Had to. I was down the street when he was shot. I saw Guerrilla seconds later in car."

Chun-Li exhaled, "God…"

"So… we look into everything and, once we know something, we hunt Guerrilla down."

"How?" Ryu asked.

"With everything we got," Ken answered.

Ryu nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

Chun-Li looked up. "Cammy, have you heard about my brother?"

"Already checked in with Interpol. They have Chow relocated to a safe house for now. So far, though, it seems like Guerrilla hasn't even been targeting him."

"He said wouldn't be targeting our families," Guile advised.

"Just us," Ryu groaned, deducing.

"Right."

"Doesn't matter," Ken said. "We're gonna catch him."

Ryu wanted to believe that as did Chun-Li. But they remembered all they went through the last time they fought him. Despite already beating him and putting him in jail, it was a little hard to accept right now.

That night, while Ken and the others stayed at a nearby hotel, Chun-Li and Ryu lied in bed awake, trying to figure out what was going to happen next. Chun-Li had the biggest burden, self-inflicted but it was there.

Ryu rubbed her arm, lightly. "Hey, are you okay?"

She hated to admit to weakness but this was Ryu. She'd told him everything anyway, so, she could admit to this. "No. I'm nervous." She paused. "I'm scared."

"I know." He exhaled. He didn't like being weak any more than she did. But he felt the same. "So am I." He looked at the ceiling, "I'm worried about Mei and Sakura. And Ken, Guile, and Cammy. I'm even worried about Sagat."

"With Guerrilla… yeah." She remembered his first appearance. "He… changed everything the first time." She stopped. "We need to keep the girls safe."

"We will. We'll figure something out."

She stopped. "I hope so." She felt a tear threaten to fall. "I can't lose Mei again…"

"You won't." He pulled her closer. "We're not gonna let that happen."

She snuggled up to him closer. "I hope so."

He put both arms around her and exhaled. He was nervous too but his best to keep it under control as much as possible. If he worried anymore, she would turn into a nervous wreck. "Did you figure he'd back?"

She closed her eyes for a second then nodded. "You?"

"Yeah. I figured he'd come after us, too."

She paused. "Regrets?"

He looked down at her, "What do you mean?"

She pushed herself up to lean on her arm, looked at him, and sighed. She already had a defeated look on his face. "If you kept travelling… he'd never have been able to find you…" She shook her head, "If you hadn't come here, if we hadn't gotten mar…"

"Stop," he interrupted, pushing himself up as well. "Don't you dare think that way, not for one second. Of course, I don't have any regrets. I came here and I don't want to leave. Ever. And I'm not going to. Come what may."

"Ryu…"

"There is nothing, do you understand me? Nothing that can me ever regret my love for you, for marrying you, or for coming to here to be with you."

Two years together, one year married, and she still could fall for him all over again. She shook her head, "How did you become such a romantic?"

He smiled. "I'm not. I'm being honest."

She stared at him, lovingly. "I know he's coming. I know we have to fight him. But… just for tonight… can we forget about him?"

He gazed into her eyes, "Whatever you want."

She lifted up and kissed him, letting the night belong to the two of them.

Sagat wasn't sure how he was seen but he knew he was when heard shouting about two miles back. He hated running like this but he was on the disadvantage and needed to escape or, at the very least, get a better vantage point to have a fighting chance and on the street was not it. He ran into a warehouse, backing up as he closed the door behind himself. He figured his assailants saw him run into the building and he would have to fight them but, now, he had a controlled area that would provide some stability. He brought his fists up, ready for what came next.

Except for the semi-truck that plowed its way into the warehouse; that Sagat didn't see coming. Literally. He jumped out of the way just before it turned him into a splatter on the wall. He rolled along the ground, getting to his knee as two assailants jumped out of the truck. The men rushed at him and started fighting him but Sagat managed to subdue them both.

Despite winning this struggle, it was a hollow victory; Sagat was exhausted. He had to get some rest. He left the warehouse and saw that there was a fishing boat in a nearby river. He managed to get over to it without being seen by anyone else. He got in the boat and hid himself, needing to get all the rest he could. He worried about Ryu and Chun-Li, to his surprise, but he knew that they were strong enough to fend themselves. He would try to contact them when he could but, right now, he had to get some sleep. He knew he would need it because, with Guerrilla involved, this was nowhere close to over.

The following morning, Ryu and Chun-Li fixed breakfast for their daughter. With the news they were about to give, they felt like they needed to. They didn't want to say it out loud but they weren't sure that would ever get to do it again. They had decided what to do about keeping the girls safe and called Sakura over as they figured the best way to explain this was with both girls in the room. While they all sat and ate breakfast, Chun-Li stared at her adoptive daughter, trying to figure out the best way to approach this. Ryu could see her turmoil and knew she was still contemplating. He knew the best way to handle some things was straight on; but he, also, learned that tact was needed, as well. After all, even though she stuck with calling him "Mr. Ryu," Mei is his daughter, now, too.

"You girls enjoy it?" Ryu asked, after they finished eating.

They nodded.

"Good."

Sakura looked up and saw that the married couple was both wearing battle hardened faces under their parental love. And there was the small matter of the other fighters being at the house last night. She went back to finishing up her plate, "So… what's up?"

The parents of Mei looked at her.

"I mean, why the breakfast?"

"We need to talk to you both," Ryu answered.

Sakura sat her fork down as this sounded serious, even more so than she previously thought. "What's up?"

Chun-Li sighed. "Girls… we're gonna need you to go away for a while. We're going to send you to stay with Aunt Eliza and Miss Julia while me, Ryu, Ken, and our friends…" She didn't even know how to phrase that right away. "…go take care of something."

Mei looked up surprised, way more so than Sakura.

"Why?" the little girl asked. "What's wrong?"

Chun-Li walked up to her daughter. She placed her hands on her arms. She opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it. She couldn't get it out right away. When she could speak, there was a lot of emotion in her voice, "Sweetie… it's… it's complicated."

"Mommy… please," Mei pleaded. "You're scaring me."

Ryu could see in Mei's eyes that she needed to know. And that she wasn't as little as she used to be. "Chun-Li."

She looked up at her husband.

He motioned toward Mei. "She needs to know."

Chun-Li wanted to argue with him, disagree, but he was right. She looked at her daughter. "Do you remember the bad man who took you from me before?"

"Yes, ma'am," Mei nodded.

The warrior woman sighed. "He's escaped from prison."

"Guerrilla's back?!" Sakura screamed.

Ryu shot her a hard stare.

Sakura backed down.

"Is he really, Mom?" Mei asked.

Chun-Li nodded, "Yes, sweetheart. I'm sorry. I thought we were done with him." She paused. "I prayed we were." She stared at her. "But… he's back. And we have to go stop him."

Mei sat quiet for a second, bowing her head.

Everyone started to worry, immediately. For obvious reasons, no one ever brought up Guerrilla around the little girl; even Sakura never made the slightest reference to the terrorist, much to her credit.

Mei looked up, "Go get 'im, Mom."

Her reaction surprised Chun-Li and Sakura but Ryu could not be more proud, he even smirked a little.

"He hurt you and tried to hurt Mr. Ryu." She made a fist. "Just make sure he goes to jail!"

Chun-Li started to laugh. Adopted or not, this little girl was definitely her daughter. "You got it."

"Question: why can't I tag along?" Sakura asked.

"Do I have to list all of the reasons for that?" Ryu replied. "Or would like the top 10?"

Sakura folded her arms and turned her head, "Hmph!"

Chun-Li giggled. She looked at her daughter, "No matter what happens, Mei. I want you to know… I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Mommy."

"I am so very proud of you."

Mei smiled. "I'm proud of you, too!"

Chun-Li's heart felt a lot of relief and happiness at those words.

Sakura smiled. "So, what's the plan?"

"We're sending you guys to go to Eliza and Julia," Ryu said.

Sakura thought back, "Eliza is Ken's wife and Julia is Guile's, right?"

Ryu nodded.

"Okay, I always forget their names. Better watch that. But… you're sending us by ourselves?"

"If we go with you, that's just begging for trouble." He stared at his pupil, "This is where you are very important, Sakura."

"Okaaaaay?"

"I'm trusting you to protect and watch over, Mei. I will never give you anything more important to do for us than this."

Sakura could hear it in his voice. "Ryu… I swear. I'll look for her… with my life. Promise."

"Sakura…" Chun-Li stood up. "We want Mei safe… but we want you safe, too. Take care of yourself, too. Please."

Sakura appreciated their concern. If the choice came down to her and Mei, she already knew good and well what she could choose. But she decided to smile and put on airs for now. "Oh, come on, Chun-Li! I'm the…" She paused. "…like…" she counted her fingers, "sixth strongest woman in the world! I got this!"

The family laughed.

"So… when do we do this?"

A/N: So, Guerrilla's return has everyone being put in danger. But, for now, only Sagat is being actively hunted. How long can he evade Guerrilla's men? What is the team's next move? And who is the H.A.T.E. Company? Be here next time to find out more. See you guys then!

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