Disclaimer: See previous chapter

Chap. 35

Kenya, Africa

The village was a small common one, with several huts scattered all over. Ryu sat within one of these, watching the children play about. It was something he had only seen, but never experienced. Or at least, not that he remembered. It had been a long time since he was a child and much of his memories at that time involved his training and time with his father Gouken and with Ken. Sure, there were playful moments, (mostly through Ken's pranks and practical jokes) but never to the extent of these children.

"There nothing like it, is there? Watching children at play, enjoying their innocence to the fullest, even if only for a brief time to us.

Ryu looked up at the visitor (actually, he was the visitor), an immortal named Mokame. He had known him for a hundred years (more or less) since his first visit to this country. At that time, Mokame was a doctor, traveling across the country in order to cure the sick and ailing. From what Ryu knew, before that time, he was his tribe's medicine man until an invading tribe attacked his village and killed him.

Upon his resurrection, his people regarded him as a miracle worker and began to come to him for all sorts of treatments. But there were things he could not cure and he did not understand what had happened to him. This led to him leaving his village and his search to learn everything about medicine. It was a difficult journey and in this, Ryu could relate to him. But in this particular village, he seemed to have taken a break from that journey

The reason for it being outside, playing with the others.

"Is that her?"

Mokame sat down and looked out, his eyes trained on the young woman, likely sixteen to eighteen years of age. Dressed like the other children and dancing about with the other girls, the only outstanding feature that made her stand out was the medium-length silvery white hair that she had, which waved about as she danced.

"Yes." the African immortal smiled. "My dear little Elena."

Ryu remained impassive. "She's young. Hopefully, she will be an adult when the time comes for her."

"It won't." At Ryu's confused expression, he continued. "I have no intention of letting her become one of us."

The Japanese immortal became silent for a moment, and then afterwards asked. "May I ask why?"

Mokame looked down for a moment, his eyes saddened a bit before they rose up to look at the children outside; Elena in particular. "Look at her. In all my years, I have never seen a happier child. She can lead a normal life, become a normal woman."

"And what of the Gathering?"

Mokame turned back to him. "The others will not want a youngling. She doesn't have any of the power or knowledge they would want. As far as the Gathering is concerned, she is not immortal. Therefore, it does not concern or involve her."

Ryu nodded mentally, agreeing with what Mokame was saying. But he thought that now would be the time to voice the truth. "You are trying to keep her safe from being an immortal."

"My friend. We both know that the life of an immortal is a difficult one. We see such things that many could only dream of. But in return, we see nightmares that none should have to bear." Once again, he turned to look outside. "For her to experience that, she would lose the light that she has now. Her innocence..."

"I understand." He looked back outside, watching them with their expressions of bliss on their faces. The children were without a care in the world. Free... For them, this was...their all. But even so, this world was not so kind. They both knew that for a fact.

"But you know that some things can't be controlled."

"I know. I'm being naive, I realize. But ever since I started caring for little Elena, I knew that the Game was not meant for her."

It was not his place to intervene. Gazing at Elena though, he was compelled to ask his friend a question. "Is she trained?"

"Of course." Mokame replied. "Naive I can be, but not foolish."

Ryu became silent in hesitation and then quietly asked. "If you don't mind, I would like to..."

The African immortal nearly cracked up in laughter. "Test her skills? You don't change a bit, my friend." Standing up, Mokame called to his daughter. "Elena!"

Ceasing from her dancing, the girl came running over to the two, a smile still on her face. "Yes, Papa?"

Mokame indicated to the seated immortal. "My friend here would like to test your fighting skills in a sparring match. Do you think you're up for it?"

"Sure." she chirped. "I'll get my staff."

Ryu raised an eyebrow at her attitude. 'She seems as energetic as Sakura' he thought grimly. Nevertheless, he picked up his katana and followed Mokame to the edge of the village. Reaching a clearing, he stopped to pick up a stick and after holding up his hand to stop Ryu, he traced a circle in the dirt surrounding him. No sooner as he was done did Elena come bounding across toward them. In her hands, she bore a smooth polished staff, tied with several ribbons on one of its ends.

Mokame folded his arms as Elena entered the circle with Ryu. "Are you ready, Elena?"

Elena said nothing at first. Rather, she bent down slowly to the ground and placed her palm on the dirt floor. Her eyes closed and after a moment of silence, she stood back up and twirled her weapon; her eyes reopening with determination.

"Ready."

Ryu slowly unsheathed his sword and held it to the side, pointing upward. He was familiar with the working of staff techniques, so he knew he would have to be fast. Since such a weapon could move in a faster attack sequence than a sword, he would have to start defensively and strike when there was an opening. The only question would be how fast she moved to start with.

That was answered a second later...

"Khee!"

Ryu was surprised when she attacked by kicking the staff off the ground and toward his face. He sword came before him just before the attack could hit, but the added force from the kick pushed him back somewhat. 'She combined a kick with a strike?' He didn't have time to reflect on this however as she pulled her staff back into her other hand and spun around to attack again. Ryu defended as he feared from the start, she twirled toward the opposite direction to attack again.

'Fast...!'

Ryu ducked the attack and rotated around the girl, only to find that she had danced around him as well. Deciding to go on the offensive, Ryu swirled his blade about and upward, coming at her with a high slash. Elena nimbly dodged it and danced to the side, but the Japanese immortal rotated his sword again and repeated the attack in a faster sequence. Elena dodged it once again and jabbed her staff forward. But instead of hitting Ryu, she stabbed it in the dirt, rushed forward and leaped forward in a propelled kick. This hit Ryu hard on the side and almost knocked him clear out of the circle.

Outside the circle, Mokame watched with approval. Despite Ryu's years of training and experience, Elena was keeping him off-balance. Part of the reason for this was due to Elena's unique style of fighting. Both her dancing moves and her use of a staff were throwing Ryu off, as the warrior was often used to sword-to-sword battles. It was good to know that his teaching of her would protect her, whether she became immortal or not.

He hoped for the latter, of course...

Back within the circle, Ryu rose up from the dirt, but only partially. Deciding to take another approach to this, he brought his sword to the side again, this time with the blade pointing toward Elena while held at the side of his head. Elena continued to hop around, staff in both hands as she looked for an opening. Finally, she lunged, whirling her staff overhead before bringing it down on the near-crouching swordsman.

In a snap move, Ryu shot his sword upward, meeting the staff as it came and deflecting it.. He then followed up with a shoulder rush, knocking the young woman back. His blade reared back, Ryu made ready to swing down again. But Elena danced to the side once again, dodging the attack. Both fighters whirled around each other and once again, their weapons met with a loud chop.

"Very impressive, Elena-chan."

The girl smiled as the two separated from each other, the spar officially over. As they did, Ryu examined her weapon. Surprisingly, the staff didn't break upon contact with his sword, nor was it damaged much. Very few wood type materials could stand up to a sword in battle like that and even fewer considering the width of the staff. Of course, there was more to it than that. The way Elena moved meant that she was an evasive fighter. Contact with weapons would be rare in her case and she had the force necessary to floor an opponent quickly, that being seen in her unique blend of weapon and kick attacks, which seemed to resemble caporeia.

"She's good." Ryu said to Mokame and he approached them. "You've trained her quite well."

Mokame nodded. "You give me too much credit. Most of this was Elena's doing. She seems to have an aptitude for it."

"Papa... really..."

Ryu simply looked at the two, the smiles on their faces to match the joy they shared. Ryu had known Mokame for quite a while, yet he had never seen him happier. While such bliss will inevitably come to an end, while they have it, they should enjoy it. That can be the case for both of them. Looking at the child, Ryu hoped that she would live as Mokame hoped she would.

'Elena... I hope you have a long...and happy life.'

Huelva, Spain

Chun Li took in the scenery around her as she took a sip of her tea in the cafe. Spain was one of the few places she had yet to see or visit during her lifetime. Not that she could consider this a vacation. After the near failure in Hong Kong, she and Guile made arrangements and traveled to Spain where the cargo ship would soon arrive. Though they were undercover, they still had to work out their alternative identities. The standard identity for a pair was to go as a couple, preferably married. But that seemed to be the furthest thing from both immortal's minds. So they decided to come in separately, 'coincidentally' entering the same hotel from different times and locations. Afterward, they met up in Guile's room to discuss their next move.

Problem is...they didn't have one...

Or more to the point, they didn't have one right now. They knew they had to wait for the tanker ship to come in with the weapons. What they didn't know was who was to retrieve them and take it to Shadowloo. In fact, aside the location, they knew virtually nothing. It was a bad state to be in and under normal circumstances; it wouldn't be worth following up. But this was Shadowloo and they had to use whatever they had to stop them. If they had only cooperated at the harbor those days ago...

Or now...

She sipped her tea and sighed. In the room, she tried to find a way to work with the man. But it seemed next to impossible to find a common ground of thought with him aside from hunting down Shadowloo and neither one of them felt comfortable discussing their reasons for going after them, although she felt they were probably the same. There had to be some way for her to connect with him

Immortal...

Though her head didn't move, her eyes were in full motion. It was probably Guile somewhere in the area, but she couldn't be too careful. She didn't see the American immortal anywhere, so it wasn't him. But then who?

"May I join you, lovely flower?"

Chun Li swiftly turned to the voice and lost breath for a good minute. A man had come up before her unexpectedly and even though this was the immortal she sensed, she was surprised that he was able to come up this close to her without her seeing him. Even more stunning was the man himself. Strikingly handsome, with a flawless face that would make any woman melt.

Including her at the moment...

"E-excuse me?"

The man smiled, causing her to feel even more nervous and lightheaded than before. Half of her was in disbelief, not wanting to believe that she was acting like a little schoolgirl with a crush and speaking to the guy she had it on.

The other half...was the schoolgirl with a crush and speaking to the guy she had it on...

"I was asking if I could join you, lovely flower."

Chun Li felt like her cheeks on fire. And she wasn't alone. Some of the women that were seated around her were staring at the scene, or rather him, through dreamy eyes. So it would be to no surprise that they would soon be envious of the attention the man was giving her. So it took a great deal of willpower for her to stand and smile politely.

"Actually, I was just leaving. But I appreciate the offer, sir."

"Vega. Vega de la Cruz." He touched her hand in a gentle hold. "And if I can not persuade you for lunch, how about dinner? The Salome?" His eyes softly bore into hers. "Please. It would hurt me greatly for a beautiful flower like yourself to refuse me a second time."

'Persistent, aren't you? Still...' "Well, since you put it that way... I wouldn't want your feelings hurt."

His smile broadened with satisfaction. "Excellent. Tonight at 9:00 then."

"Sounds good."

"In the meantime..." Reaching into his jacket, he produced a single rose. Many of the women who were watching practically sighed aloud as he continued speaking. "...a gift until tonight, lovely flower."

The Chinese immortal simply could not stop smiling as she took the rose. "My name is Chun Li."

"Ah, a spring of beauty indeed." Stepping back, he bowed his head to her. "I will see you tonight."

With that, Vega turned and left. But as he reached a distance, his dashing, lady-killer smile soon turning into a darker, more sinister grin. 'Yes, my dear. We will meet tonight.'

Master's Residence, California

"Shoryusen!"

The body of Ken Masters soared through the air in a burst of flaming ki. It was the middle of the afternoon, which was Ken's usual time for training. Thus, in the back of his mansion just outside the small dojo built back there, the blond immortal dove fervently into his sword arts, his mastery over the Shoryuu principal of his art evident in his movements. His feet softly touched the floor as he landed; the embers of flame dying away from his sword. Becoming still for a moment, Ken closed his eyes to focus in his mind.

'Now...!'

In a swift motion, Ken sheathed his blade and bent down in a crouching stance. His left hand grabbed the sheath, pulled it out of his belt, and held it close under his arm, with the thumb on the hilt of the sword and his right hand. His body became still, with the exception of his breathing, which was slow and controlled. And with each breath he took, bubbles of orange-red energy emerged and burst into the likeness of fire. In no time at all, Ken was surrounded in a circular aura of flame and energy. His eyes suddenly snapped open and the blade at his side clicked as his thumb flicked on the hilt. The swirls of fire spewed away and around him as he cried, unsheathing his sword in full force.

"Shinryusen!"

He soared into the air once again, but far higher this time and with the flames of ki spiraling up along with him like a twister. His ascent soon stopped and he spun as he landed back on the ground in silence. His eyes shut again and he returned the sword to its sheath.

'Not bad. I got it going faster than before.'

He had been working on that technique for quite some time and he believed that he had perfected it. But that didn't stop him from looking for any way to improve on it further. Like the Shoryusen technique, it was a quick, high-rising attack, designed to target the head and neck. Unlike the earlier technique, this one had far greater speed and power, making it near impossible to stop when executed and equally difficult for an opponent to react. He had yet to actually use it in a fight, as this was a move to use only when the situation called for it.

A desperate life-or-death situation...

But there was one flaw. Since it was a battojutsu technique, that meant that if for some reason it missed the target, he would be wide open to his opponent. As unlikely as that seemed, the thought of it was enough to leave it in reserve, at least until he could. Blinking at the sweat that trickled down from his forehead, he wiped his brow. 'Guess I've been at this for quite a while.' Straightening up, he grabbed a towel and walked through the small dojo toward his house, ready for a nice shower and rest. Looking back at the training are, his thoughts drifted to his wandering friend and he smiled.

'Ryu... I wonder what new tricks you're coming up with.'

Hotel, Hong Kong

Leaving his room in the hotel, Guile made his way toward Chun Li's room. It had been a long day for him, not that he had done anything strenuous. Quite the opposite, it was long simply because he had done little. Aside from learning the schedule of the awaited transport and some other such work, he had done nothing that day. He figured now that would be a good time for a break, not to mention check in on his so-called partner. Her presence was felt as he moved close and he knocked on the door.

"It's open."

He felt his face frown. 'Why would she leave it open?' Entering the room, he soon discovered why. Chun Li was about to leave to room alright, outfitted with a beautiful red silk dress, with her hair was tied up in the back in a long slender ponytail. But despite her dazzling appearance, it failed to impress the burly American immortal. In fact, it seemed to have the reverse effect and his face began to scowl further.

"What are you doing?"

She returned his gaze evenly. "Going out to dinner."

The scowl deepened. "We have a job to do."

"I haven't forgotten." she retorted, moving to the side and toward the door. "But since we can't work together, we might as well do what we do best and work on our own. And right now, I'm on my off-time."

Guile's face was in disbelief this. Here they were on assignment and this woman was going out as though she was on a vacation. Immortal or not, such behavior was unacceptable to him. "We don't have an off-time."

The woman moved past him to exit, but not before stopping to reply in kind. "No. I don't suppose you do."

Chun Li exited the room, leaving her partner silent and without words. But neither of them seemed to be aware of the shadowy visage outside their window from the side of the opposite building. A lean, muscular man clung to the shadows of the wall, visible only faintly from the surrounding light. A dark chuckle emanated from the person as he watched the events between the agents.

'This will be easier than I thought. And I can take a great deal of pleasure from this. Starting with you...my lovely flower...Hehehe...'