Street Fighter: Hopelessly Lovesick
Chapter 1. Awake
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Her breathing had been slow and steady as had her pulse. She could hear faint beeps from the monitor in the background and with each one followed a violent flash of memories. Now she could actually make out clear faces…words…sights…sounds. These memories weren't all too distant; they seemed to have only happened yesterday but, how far away had yesterday even been? When was now even?
Water coursed down her body. She had started showering after talking with a fellow friend…Guile. "Take care of yourself Chun-Li. We should do this again soon." "Of course."
He wished her a good night at that time. She couldn't remember much else. Who came that night after she had returned? All she could recall had been painful stabs from a weapon, from a blade. Suddenly and unexpectedly for that matter, a tongue licking blood from a blade had accompanied that brief memory; spiraling an out of control torrent of further trauma in its wake. Everything came flooding into her sub-conscious at once, every single thing from that night.
She went out for an afternoon joy-ride with Guile for a change thinking Vega had been long gone at that point, only to nearly lose her life to him that very night. She came home, relaxed, took a nap, woke up, got a call from Guile, showered and then he came back. Vega came back to have his revenge. He didn't take rejection well, that was for certain.
Her pulse had significantly increased, alerting a fellow nurse. The woman gasped upon noticing her patient gripping the sheets with sheer intensity, enough to practically tear the fabric. Unsure of what to do in that moment, she simply stood by.
"I know what to do with little disobedient rabbits- skin them. Haha." He lunged after snidely remarking, nearly causing her delicate night gown to fall off that she had carelessly thrown on after showering. That scum more than likely had enjoyed the show. She tried everything to dodge his attacks, yet could only manage dodging a few; much less countering them in her then current state.
It all seemed to have happened so quickly, so violently and quickly. The next thing she knew, he readied his bladed claw above her, then she caught him off guard by kicking with all her might and pushing him out of the window. She heard shattering glass, his screams and then Guile's voice after her door had been forced open. Then silence.
'I'm still here though, I'm still breathing. I want to wake up now…That's all I really-'
"Li, wake up, please. Chun-Li."
She felt her right hand being squeezed firmly and what sounded like a male's voice. Her eyes violently opened as she clutched her hands around the unknown man's neck, squeezing with what little strength remained. The figure looked to be a blur. All she could think of was stopping her attacker…killing him once and for all, until a strong, yet gentle, friendly pair of hands had removed hers from his neck. He held her hands in his own, speaking in a reassuring tone of voice.
"Chun-Li, it's me, Guile. Don't you remember me?"
Her eyes blinked rapidly as she slowly regained focus, the unknown masculine blurry silhouette and garbled voice now clearly revealing and belonging to Guile, sitting before her. Her mouth slightly gaped open, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She let out several gasps before hanging her head low while Guile pulled her into a friendly, comforting embrace. He gently patted her back, speaking softly.
"You must be very frightened after that traumatic experience. It's all right now though, you're safe. I think you kicked that bastard to kingdom come and defeated him once and for all."
She relaxed at these words then chuckled raspily, tension leaving quickly. He gave a small chuckle himself, releasing his comrade and gently laying her back onto the hospital bed. She noticed a petite brunette nurse standing at her left side, bashfully stating, "I'll give you two some privacy…" as she hastily exited the room after discovering he meant no harm.
Guile handed her a cup of water from the night stand, stating "They sure have taken good care of you these past two months. Ryu, Ken, Abel, Cammy and a few other visitors have dropped by to pay you a visit. You sure are a popular woman, Ms. Li." He chuckled again as his gaze wondered over to a table placed beside the window covered with flowers, cards and balloons. There were even items placed on a couch taking up half its space. Her eyes followed there soon after, staring in awe. There wasn't much room on either items surface.
She slightly bushed upon realizing how close Guile was, averting her gaze. The two were in kissing distance when their gazes met again after a few seconds. He leaned back in his chair upon realizing this, loudly clearing his throat and hiding a brief blush of his own while doing so.
As soon as her mouth had slightly fallen open and tears formed, he wanted to take her in his arms and do more than just comfort her but he forced himself not to. He always had to restrain himself when it came to revealing his true feelings; especially around her.
'I've lost too many good people in my life both on and off the battlefield…including the woman who nearly became my wife. I don't think I can ever do this again. It's too painful to love.' Always would he remind himself of that hurt. Never did he wish to experience that pain again.
"Two months…? That's how long I've been unconscious for?" She asked this while taking a grateful sip of the water, shaking her head in dismay.
"It is. I've stopped by to see you when I could, as did the others. There has always been someone watching over you, only allowing privacy for five minutes per visitor. I've noticed they were also very good about changing your water three times a day, in case you woke up. I just…I felt so guilty for having left you Li. I should have known better since it was a vulnerable time for you. I hope you can forgive me."
She downed the rest of the water, finishing the glass in three large gulps. "I never hold grudges against others. Although it doesn't necessarily mean that I don't dislike them, bitterness just isn't for me."
She set the water back down on the night stand, sighing.
"I don't think I could ever feel bitterness towards you, let alone dislike you, Guile. Neither of us could have known that would have happened. There's nothing to forgive; you saved me after all, didn't you? I should actually be thanking you."
He gave her a small smile, replying "Yeah, I suppose so."
This caused her usual stern expression to soften once more. He heard footsteps approaching the door along with that same nurse from before and a doctor entering the room.
"On cue as always." He gave them a small smile, standing.
"Sir, visiting hours are over. Please come back tomorrow." The nurse checked her vital signs while the doctor asked if she had any appetite, felt dizzy or dehydrated.
"Yes, no and no."
"I'll come back tomorrow morning. It'll be Sunday then. Hopefully you'll be well enough to leave."
She returned his small smile, replying "I hope to see you then, Guile. Take care of yourself."
"Yeah, thanks. You too, Li."
He gave a small wave as he made his exit, feeling a sense of relief wash over him. All she could feel was anger. Anger and the urgent need for justice.
As she sat there listening and responding to question after question, the sun began to set in the sky. Her dinner consisted of gelatin, chocolate porridge and rice. She didn't bother looking at the selections right away as the nurse placed the plate on the rolling cart, adjusting the items to her level. All that was going through her mind now was leaving this place as soon as possible, recovering and bringing her attacker to justice…bringing Shadaloo to justice.
For once in her life, she truly wanted blood. It seemed that time after time, she couldn't defeat her two sworn enemies. To her, this occurrence, this near death experience, was a wake-up call. She would be the one to find Vega this time. She would nearly kill him- along with his other accomplices- one by one, no matter how long it took, no matter what it took. After all, there certainly is more than one way to skin a rabbit.