Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Chap. 36

Huelva, Spain

"Ah, my lady has arrived."

Upon entering The Salome restaurant, Chun Li turned to the voice to find her dinner date, standing elegantly by the registration booth in a crisp Armani suit. His long hair, now untied, flowed freely behind him like a silk cape. And in his hand was a single red rose, slightly larger than the one he gave her earlier and just as beautiful.

"For you, my spring of beauty."

Chun Li couldn't help smiling as she received the rose in her hands. With a slight bow, he lent his hand out so that she could go on ahead to their table. Afterward, he pulled out her chair for her to sit shortly before taking his own. For a minute or two while they waited for their meal, the two of them talked. Nothing much, just a few things regarding with their past and places they visited.

"I truly find it hard to believe that you have never visited this city before."

The woman smiled, pleased with the attention this man was giving her. She hadn't gone out on many dates in her lifetime, at least not as many as she thought the others have gone out on. She certainly had opportunities, but her pursuit of Shadowloo kept her from taking many of them up. Which comes to the answer of the man's question...

"My work keeps me occupied."

Vega's eyes narrowed and though hidden, his smile became feral. "What work might that be, that keeps so lovely a woman away from here?"

"Oh...Nothing much. Just travelling really." It wasn't a lie really. Just an evasion of the truth. "I've just never came this way until now."

With a nod, Vega motioned to the waiter, who brought two glasses of wine to them. "Saving the best for last, eh."

"Hm. Something like that. Such a beautiful place." Her gaze rose up to take in the scenery. "Perhaps I should have come sooner."

With her sight averted, Vega slipped his thumb against the ring that he wore, opening a slit and dropping specks of powder-like dust into her drink. The dust quickly disappeared in the drink as he passed it to her

"Well then...here's to new discoveries." he smiled as he lifted his own drink.

Lifting her own glass, she smiled in return. "To new discoveries."

His smile darkened as she drank the glass...

Kenya, Africa

In a rented jeep in the middle of a dust road, Dan had his head on the wheel of his vehicle in frustration. The reason? Well, he had just discovered that Ryu had moved on again, much sooner than he expected. He had thought his visit to see his friend Mokame would have lasted longer than a day and a half.

To make matters worse, Dan had no way of knowing as to which direction Ryu had gone. There were a million places he could head to at this point. At worse, he could have marched straight into the Sahara Desert. A crazy thing for anyone to do on their own, but given Ryu's immortality and his seeming ignorance to harsh weather and climate, he wouldn't put it past him to do something like that.

'He'd probably consider it part of his training.'

The only thing for Dan to do now was to ask around town. Hopefully someone would have seen him leaving in a particular direction and he would be able to discern where he was heading from there. Either that or question the Watcher who kept an eye on Mokame.

'That's all I need... For the others to know I couldn't keep track of the guy I'm supposed to watch.'

With this set in mind and a heavy sigh, Dan started the engine and drove off. 'This is going to be a long day.'

Spain

The evening ended well enough for the two immortals as they strode down the streets. Due to the lateness of the hour, the walkways were scarce of people. The pair reached the corner where the hotel was and Chun Li turned toward him, blinking lightly for a moment.

"Well, I guess this is where we part ways, Mr. Vega. I've had a pleasant evening."

The blond-haired man held his lips in smile, as he had done the entire night. Which was more than what could be said for the woman, whose smile seemed to be waning at the moment.

"Ah, but our evening has only just begun...Inspector."

Chun Li blinked as she backed away, but her steps were a bit wobbly. "Wha...?" She tried to move toward the hotel, but her legs became unsteady and she soon collapsed onto a nearby wall. Her eyes were beginning to lid close and the pupils dilated. Vega slowly approached her, still smiling as she voiced what he figured she had just discovered.

"What have...you...?"

Chun Li didn't have a chance to finish as the drug took effect, rendering her unconscious. Vega simply stood over her, his smile rising to its feral shape. Bending down, he caressed her cheek adoringly.

"Such beauty... Such a pity..."

Just then, two men emerged from the shadows just behind him. But Vega wasn't worried about them. In fact, he expected them. As he lifted his drugged prey off the floor, he turned his head to the two behind him briefly before gazing up at the hotel building.

"Take care of him, and bring him to me with his head intact."

Japan

'I never get tired of this view.'

Atop a hill overlooking the city of Tokyo, Sakura stood with a beaming smile on her face as she gazed at the glittering metropolis. Unlike her teacher, Sakura felt more at home within civilization. That didn't mean she didn't like the calm and serenity of the dojo dwelling, but she was much more of a social person than Ryu was and thus enjoyed the bustling light and sounds of city life.

But the old ways remained...

"I wish you could see it..."

Her whispered words seemed to just float in the air, but in reality, the ground she stood on had a great deal of significance to the immortal. The markers had long disappeared as a result of time and conflict, but she would always remember this place.

Her parents resting place...

She remembered the day she returned to her hometown. After years of travelling with Ryu, he had finally decided to let her go out on her own for awhile. She didn't go too far, remaining in her native country until she felt brave enough to venture further. But there was one place she had to go to first.

Her home...

Ryu warned her against going there, even after fifty years. But she just had to go. She just had...to see. Upon returning, she found that things had changed; people she knew from long ago had grown up and old. The only thing that hadn't changed was her, at least in appearance. For that reason, she disguised herself before entering, but even still, there were one or two people who said she looked like the young woman that had 'died' years ago.

One of them being...her father...

"Hello young miss. Can I help you?"

"Oh no. I was just looking around. You...have a nice garden here."

"Thank you. My...daughter made it a long time ago."

"Oh. You even have a cherry blossom tree here."

"Yes, a young one. To remind me of her... My lovely Sakura..."

"Oh. Is she...? I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to intrude."

"It's okay. It's also strange. You remind me of her."

"Well, in any case, it is a lovely garden. Sak...Your daughter would be pleased to know you looked after it."

She left right after that. Any more any she would have blown her cover through emotion. She remembered running away from there; tears threatening to flow from her eyes. She then understood why Ryu didn't want her to return. To have to deal with everything that had happened, everything that had changed, and seeing her aged father while keeping it secret from him that she was his daughter was almost too much. But she didn't regret going. It was something she felt she had to experience, in order to move on with her immortal life.

And here she was now...

"Well, I guess I should be off." A brief smile came over her face. "I was thinking... America." She soon bent down on one knee and bowed slightly. "Mama... Papa... I'll see you next year."

With that, Sakura left a pair of flowers...beneath the now large cherry blossom tree.

"You make quite the portrait, Ms. Li."

In a private room elsewhere in the city, Vega stood over a large bed with the still unconscious Chun Li lying down on it. Glancing at her for a while, he briefly brought his hand up to graze over his ring, the very ring that he had used to drug his current victim with. It wasn't a poison though, but rather a highly potent sleep drug. She would be out of it for another three and a half hours, more than plenty of time for him to accomplish his task. He would have loved to capture such a moment, but no device would be able to do so perfectly. Besides, he had his own mind to work with. His memory would be more than sufficient.

And he could always keep her head on a mantle...

Turning around, he stopped before a small desk on the side. The table was bare, save for two items. One, a finely polished rapier sword, with a beautifully ornamented hilt of gold. Below it was a pale white mask, with only eye slits and a marking of a serpent curved on the left cheek side. Touching it gently at first, Vega grasped the mask fully and slid it neatly over his face. Looking back into his mirror, he smiled beneath the mask. His hand then began to graze over his blade, the instrument he would use to finish the lovely portrait behind him.

A portrait of death...

"Now my dear. Let us..."

Blam!