"Phase one accomplished," Wolfman said gruffly into his walkie-talkie. "The civilian is with me." Kenny was perched on boulder jutting out of the cliff face, his face in his palms, forcing himself to calm down. He had literally been one step away from death. If Wolfman had decided to cry out a split second later, it would've been too late for him, and he'd now be a bloody mess on the forest floor thousands of feet below. The adrenaline was leaving him, but it was painfully slow. He focused on his breathing and kept his eyes shut so nothing would interrupt him.

"The rest of the squad is on their way to pick you up," Wolfman said, turning to him. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'll be okay," Kenny replied. "But you can't stay here. There's another."

"I'm aware," he said, nodding, "two others to be exact. And they're somewhere in that gigantic base." He turned his chin to face the door that led into the compound, with an awe-filled expression on his face.

"I know where they are," Kenny offered.

"You're staying here," Wolfman insisted. "We're not having you in anymore danger than necessary."

"You have more important priorities than keeping me under watch," Kenny pushed. "I am Shadowlaw waste. Now that they think I supposedly died three minutes ago, their attention is off me. Wagner's in there and I don't know what they're gonna do to him. But I know you can't waste anymore time!"

"We wait until the others arrive and get you out of here."

Kenny grunted in frustration and looked away, turning his back to Wolfman. He looked down at the ground below him and suddenly felt the urge to back away from the edge. It was odd. He had a fear of heights, and it was very apparent right now. But minutes ago, he would've gladly taken the plunge when he considered the alternative. It wasn't like he didn't know what it was like to be shot. It happened to him back when he was training in the military establishment of Rockfort Island just a few months ago, making a desperate escape from a mysterious, underground laboratory.

With barely help, he was able to survive a city infested with cannibal murderers, trained intensively for three months on Rockfort, and escape an underground lab in the Antarctic. And now they were afraid of putting him in danger? Kenny figured that if he could handle all that, Shadowlaw must be a cakewalk for him. But why had he allowed himself to be fought over like some possession?

Because they'd given him a painful spinal tap and drugged him up, that's why.

But he wasn't under the influence of any drugs right now. And his mind was certainly clear, albeit a little shaky from his most recent brush with death. Gathering up his nerve, he launched himself off the boulder and sprinted to the door, careful not to lose his footing on the cliff ledge.

"Hold it!" Wolfman ordered, but like the stubborn teenager he was, Kenny didn't listen and forced the Colonel to follow him into the base.

XXXXX

Cammy was able to breathe a sigh of relief when Wolfman contacted her. He had just taken a load off her shoulders with Kenny's rescue, but there was still Wagner and Julian to worry about. The walk back to her hotel suite didn't seem to take very long at long, despite the place being a few blocks from the Osaka Dome, where the preliminary rounds were being held for the newcomers.

She was still dressed in her combat attire – a green sleeveless contraption that might as well have been a one piece bathing suit. Cammy was aware that she might've looked odd prancing down downtown Osaka like that and had brought a trench coat to shield herself from any prying eyes, and to protect herself from the chilly night. But it didn't do anything for her uniform riding up her ass. Cammy winced, reaching the small of her back and tugging the material outward. She was fully convinced that whoever designed that uniform did not have feminine comfort in mind. Besides, her butt cheeks weren't that nice to look at, were they?

She swiped her card into the reader, positioned right beside the door and entered the room. Something smelled good in here. Cammy took another sniff – it smelled like bacon and eggs, and her mouth began to water. It reminded her of the happier times when Guile wouldn't bother waking her and Wagner up. Instead, he'd prefer to let the aroma of his cooking do the job. She remembered sitting around the dining table with Guile, Wagner, and Guile's family, talking and laughing like any American family with the white picket fence, the little dog gobbling up scraps off the floor, and the 2.5 children. Only they had three kids and no dog …

Cammy took another sniff as her stomach growled after a full day of fighting and barely any eating. It was the same smell, but a whole different slew of memories came to her, these ones much more recent. Cranky had offered to cook her breakfast before – and being the emotional wreck she was back then, Cammy was never in the right mind set to enjoy his food, but her stomach told her that she liked it.

Cranky … Cammy was jolted out of her trip down memory lane to the present. Was he still here? But all the lights were off! Did he make her dinner and just leave? Why in the world would he make her dinner after the horrible things she said to him earlier today? She bit her lip, feeling the stab of guilt. Cranky had come to her to tell her the news about Julian when he could've let her find him brainwashed and about to kill her. But she had already known and under her anger at him for cheating on her, decided to turn the conversation around and attack him for not being a real man, reminding him that he was depending on her to get his brother back.

She leaned against the wall with the surge of guilt, growing more intense with every new realization and let herself sink to the ground. How could she be feeling so badly about her actions when just a few hours ago, those same actions had put her in vengeful-bitchiness heaven? Cammy didn't bother turning the lights on and just sat at the doorway of her suite, cradling her belly – the same belly that once held life.

"Cammy?" a familiar voice called from around the corner. She didn't need to hear it again to know who it was. Thank God he hadn't left, that there was someone there to hold her as she went through another emotional attack.

Cranky emerged from the washroom off to the right with a shy smile on his face. "I took care of your place like you told me to…"

He was putting himself to her level. He felt horrible for cheating and it all made sense to her now. It didn't when he first told her – she was too blinded by rage at the time. But now, after a physically testing day, she realized just how much she missed coming home to him.

"Look," Cranky continued, "I want you to know that I'll always be sorry for …"

Cammy threw herself at him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and neck and leaned her head against his chest. Cranky's mouth moved – she could feel his jaw against the top of her head – but no words came out. She was glad. She wasn't exactly sure what she wanted to hear from him either, and they both unanimously decided that this loving silence was best.

XXXXX

"Where the hell do you think you're going!" That's what Wolfman wanted to say, but he noticed Kenny quietly sprinting just a few paces in front of him. The key word would've been "quietly." Wolfman decided to honor that possibly smart move and not called out for Kenny to get back here.

The hall that he was being led through was well lit with fish-eye lights set deep into the ceiling, not the cheap fluorescent bulbs he'd imagined them to be. The ground was cement and did a pretty good job of keeping the clicks of his rubber boots down to a minimum.

Wolfman's instincts were telling him to get out of there now. It wasn't wise to proceed on a mission with backup. But Kenny had been so insisting, so urgent, like he expected something to happen to the others right away. If he in fact did, then the youth was more in the loop than Wolfman was.

The only intelligence Delta Red was able to gather was that Shadowlaw was busy kidnapping people for a rumored project, one along the same lines as the infamous Shadow Technology and the Doll Program. The intelligence hit closer to home when it turned out to be a close friend of Cammy's who was taken – ironically enough, the same man that killed her unborn child – Julian Marquez. It hadn't been very long ago when Wolfman suggested they try and hide Julian in the hopes that Shadowlaw would never get to him. But they'd already found him.

"Holy shit!" Kenny cried out, breaking the silence.

"What the matter?" Wolfman asked, catching up. Kenny was positioned in front of a door, his face pressed into a small window set in it.

"This was my cell – where they kept me and Wagner. He's not here anymore."

"Well, who is?"

"Nobody. I don't know what happened after Bison knocked the daylights out of me, but I just assumed they'd take Wagner back to the cell they kept us in."

"This is why we wait for backup and not rush headlong into such dangerous matters," Wolfman said, glaring angrily at Kenny.

XXXXX

"I don't get it, where are you taking me?" Cranky asked, his eyes wide with childish excitement. Cammy kept the smug smile on her face. She couldn't wait to reveal it to him either. The drove along the highway, to a small, residential area on the outskirts of Osaka. Houses here were built in the traditional Japanese style curved, tiled roofs, tatami mats and rice paper walls. They were built fairly close to each other, making any foreigner wonder how they managed to live in such cramped quarters. Cranky had grown up on the streets of downtown Osaka, so even this was a new experience for him. There was more vegetation in the area, giving it a nice country feel. But the question was still nagging at him from the back of his mind – why was Cammy bringing him here?

The rented car pulled up in front of one of those traditionally built houses, nothing about it standing out from the rest of them. A small wall separated them from the property with a wooden gate leading into the garden. And judging from the size of the house as it stood behind the wall, depth perception told Cranky that there wasn't much garden.

Cammy led him to the gate and rang the doorbell. As they waited for someone to tend to them, she looked at him and smiled mischievously. Cranky shook his head.

"Now I can't wait to see what you're all excited about."

An elderly woman approached the couple, her gray hair tied neatly into a bun at the back of her head. She wore a blue summer kimono decorated with an elaborate flower motif. She looked a little surprised to see two tall, light haired, paled skinned individuals, but managed to keep it somewhat subtle.

"Tell her we're looking for a man named Wolfman," Cammy whispered. "Sorry, but you know my Japanese is a little rusty." Cranky smirked, thinking that must've been the understatement of the year.

"Sumimasen," Cranky said in perfectly accentuated Japanese, "bokutachi wa tomodachi ni au yotei desu ga, Wolfman ga irashaimasu ka?"

"Hai!" the woman replied excitedly. "Kochirae douzo!"

Cranky took a step onto the property and looked at Cammy, who returned him a hesitant expression. "She's telling us to come in," he explained. Understanding this, Cammy followed closely behind Cranky. They were led into the small but cozy looking house with the straw mat flooring, the simple yet elegant white walls adorned with limited shelving.

The pair took their shoes off at the entrance and continued further into the house, their host shuffling just ahead of them. She dug her fingers into a random corner of the building and pulled, revealing that the wall was actually a rice paper sliding door. Cammy seemed delighted at seeing such strange contraptions, yet they seemed somewhat functional.

Wolfman was sitting on his knees at a low table drinking from a small teacup resting in his large hands and he looked as if he was having some trouble. Sitting across from him was a Japanese couple. The man had a youthful face, but looked as if he had seen some troubling things in his lifetime. He was dressed in a white karate uniform, ripped at the sleeves, and a scarlet headband wrapped around his head. The woman wore a blue shirt with gold lining, looking like it was from Chinese origin, rather than Japanese. Her hair was tied neatly into two buns, one on each side of her head.

"You called us, Wolfman?" Cammy asked.

"I'm glad you were able to find the place without much hassle," her superior replied. "It's a good thing we have a place to stay, thanks to Interpol's efforts." Wolfman motioned to the woman sitting beside him. "This is Agent Chun Li, from Interpol's Chinese branch. And this man beside her is the champion street fighter, Ryu."

Cranky looked at Ryu and instantly recognized him. Not much about him had changed in the last nine years. His mouth was filled with a bitter taste. It was Ryu that had taken Kenny away from him when they were just kids. It was Ryu that had pursued Cranky down the narrow Osaka alleyways and threatened him to spill the beans on Kenny's childhood – Cranky ended up looking out for him. Cranky didn't want to tell Ryu at the time, afraid that doing so would put his little brother in danger. But now was not the time to start something. Cammy had brought Cranky here for his sake, and he wanted to find out what it was.

"I called Ryu and Chun Li here because apparently, they're on our side," Wolfman explained. "And I've got good reason to believe them. I've just updated them on the situation with Shadowlaw's captured civilians." Upon hearing those words, a smile of relief washed over Ryu and Chun Li's faces. He continued. "And I believe the only one left to tell is you, Mr. Crankurt."

Cranky wasn't sure he wanted to hear what Wolfman had to say. He wasn't giving off any clues as to whether his news was good or bad, until he said, "there's someone I'd like you to meet." Wolfman turned around and called out into the garden outside. "Alright, you can come in now!"

"Thank fucking God," a bitter voice said from the garden. "What the hell kind of hosts are you guys anyway, leaving me out in this heat while you guys sit on your asses and drink fucking tea … HOLY GOD SHIT!"

"Watch your goddamned mouth …" Cranky said wanting to sound stern, but his own relief was too much for him to bear.

"Kenny!"

"Cranky!"

The adoptive brothers collided into an embrace, Cranky ruffling Kenny's hair as his eyes watered. "Don't you ever pull a stunt like that on me again!"

"Sorry, I won't try to get held hostage anymore."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You got a scratch on your cheek. Who's the fucker? Just name him and he's dead."

Cammy sat back with Wolfman, Ryu and Chun Li and watched the reunion with a deep smile of satisfaction on her face. It seemed like the perfect ending for her. She and Cranky had rekindled their love for each other in a wordless conversation, and he had now been reunited with his adoptive brother. They had spent nine years apart and met for only five minutes last week when Shadowlaw took Kenny. But he was back now and Cammy and Cranky were in love – again. A part of her wanted it to remain like this forever. But …

XXXXX

"I'm sorry I couldn't stay you with any longer," Eliza said as she held Ken's hand in hers. "I'll be leaving for home in a few days. I'll be seeing you in a couple of weeks after that anyway, right?"

"As soon as the tournament's over and we accomplish our mission," Ken replied, running his hand through his blond hair. "It would've probably bored you to tears if you stayed. Just get back home and keep an eye on the stocks. I don't want my investments to backfire on me, and I can't make sure they don't and compete in this tournament at once."

"You just focus on finding Kenny and Julian," Eliza insisted. "I'll take care of things on the home front."

"Do you need any help packing?" Ken offered, but she waved it off.

"You know I pack light."

"I also know how you shop."

"Well since you asked," she said with a coy smile on her face, "there are just a few shopping bags in the bedroom that need to be emptied into your suitcase."

"MY suitcase?"

"Oh, honey, you won't be bringing much home, will you? I figured you wouldn't need it and …"

"Just take it!" Ken said, pulling his wife close to him. Since the night Kenny was taken right in front of them, they hadn't had any intimate time together. And now he was determined to squeeze in some romantic time with her, especially when she was about to return to the States in a couple of days.

The moment was ruined – shattered along with the door to their suite as in fell to the carpet in a pile of splinters. The room was suddenly filled with choking smoke that seized their lungs and clouded their vision. Through his coughing fits, Ken could barely hear Eliza crying out for her husband.

"What's going on?" she called through the smoke, her voice panic-ridden.

He tried to answer, but upon opening his mouth, found himself choking on the mysterious gas. Someone grabbed him by the arm – and it wasn't Eliza. The grip was firm, rough, and Ken felt himself single-handedly pulled to his feet with impressive strength.

The smoke was still thick and the facial features of the intruder were vague at best except for the cerulean blue eyes glaring back hatefully at him.

XXXXX

"I think I owe you an apology," Ryu said, switching his view between Kenny and Cranky. The brothers sat across the low lying tea table facing him and Chun Li, the latter wearing an apologetic expression reflecting Ryu's words. Cammy and Wolfman sat at either head of the table and watched the conversation with interest. "On behalf of Ken Masters," Ryu continued. "You weren't meant to be dragged into this, Kenny. The memories of the past nine years were supposed to remain a mystery to you. We didn't think it was worth …"

"What happened to me after the explosion at the Mount Fuji Shadowlaw Base?" Kenny interrupted. His voice was stern, with a no-joking tone to it. He had been pursued for the past half year by two completely different organizations, both of them horribly evil, for something inside of him that he didn't understand, didn't want, and didn't remember having. If he was going to be chased across continents then he at least had a right to know why. And he was sick of not knowing.

"We thought you'd died in the explosion," Ryu answered. "We all did – Ken, myself, Guile, Maki, Cody, Guy … everyone. Only Sakura and Chun Li disagreed."

"That's because we saw you," Chun Li continued, "as Sagat was carrying you from the base. You were alive, but not in any shape to walk on your own."

"Sagat dropped you off at Ken's home soon after, with all of us still believing you were dead," Ryu added. "Ken found you alive and well and notified me. But the two of us didn't want to risk alerting Shadowlaw to your continuing existence in fear that it would endanger you again. So we let you go."

"Back to the streets," Kenny said, with bitterness lining his words.

"Ken comes from a prestigious family," Ryu defended. "They are in constant eye of the public, if not because he's running his multi-million dollar business, it's his acting career or his status in martial art competitions. Shadowlaw would've caught on quickly. And Shadowlaw is after me, so you wouldn't have been any safer if I'd taken you under my wing. Ken at least ensured that you had enough money for food and shelter."

""There were some inconsistencies with reports of your existence," Chun Li said, taking a sip from her tea cup. "Officially, you were declared dead, having passed on in the Mt. Fuji explosion. But your activities in America raised the government's curiosities. Your name, age and nationality matched that of the officially deceased Kenneth Feng, and that raises the question of how you got your VISA to the United States."

"I paid my way in," Kenny answered, nonchalantly.

"You don't just pay for a VISA!" she insisted. "You need to have a criminal history check done, your birth certificate must be shown as ID …"

But Chun Li trailed off after she noticed Ryu shaking his head subtly at her. Of course Kenny wouldn't have had to go through the traditional route of getting an overseas VISA. With Ken Master's funding his entire life, there were plenty of people willing to succumb to their own greediness in the form of a bribe.

Cranky elbowed Kenny lightly in the ribs, whispering into his ear, "I've taught you well, you little thief." But Kenny seemed oblivious to the fact that he had done something wrong.

"I'm glad you decided to join us in this fight," Cammy said, changing the subject towards Ryu and Chun Li. "Wolfman says you were sent by Interpol and I'm sure they only send their best. But I hardly think two people are enough to …"

"I'm with Interpol, not him," Chun Li interrupted, pointing at Ryu, "but I'm not on duty right now. I am doing this on my own free will, with the intention of solving Kenny's mystery."

"Since you've got that checked off now, will you be preparing to return home?" Cammy wore a worried expression on her face. She was relieved to know that help had finally come for her to find Julian and Wagner, and now was not the time to have that relief taken away, should Chun Li announce her departure.

"I'm not leaving, not yet," she said. "I've been drawn too far in. This started out as a mission to find Kenny, but I'm so close to getting my hands on Bison …"

"I take it you've got your own problems with the man?" Cammy asked.

"My father," was all Chun Li could say, as she broke eye contact with the other woman. That was all she needed to say for Cammy to understand, having lost her own father, and mother too, to Shadowlaw.

"And you, Ryu?" Cammy asked, directing her attention to the Street Fighter champion. "I don't suppose I have to ask what you're doing here, in your native land, competing in a street fighter competition no less."

"I'm also here on Ken Master's behalf," Ryu replied. "He hasn't had a decent day with his wife since arriving in Osaka, so I'm giving him the opportunity to take some time off. Although, I'm sure finding out that Kenny is alright would've made the trip worth it for him – with Julian missing and all …"

"Although I must ask," Chun Li said, remembering something. "Wolfman has informed us of your intentions to take Shadowlaw down from the inside. That would involve becoming an official participant of the Street Fighter tournament circuit. I haven't seen you around before."

"I'm with the newcomers," Cammy said, "though I'm not sure whether I've been accepted yet or not. If I don't get in, Wagner will …" Cranky took Cammy's hand into his and ran his thumb over the back of her palm soothingly.

The name caught Kenny's attention. "That's the guy that helped me break out of my cell," he said to her. "You know him?"

"He's my brother," Cammy continued, looking sadder and more worried with every word.

"Hey …" Kenny tried comforting her, "he broke us out of our cell, shouldered me as were making our escape, and he took on Bison by himself. Shadowlaw's bitten off more it can chew, I'm sure of it. You should be proud."

Cammy covered her mouth and leaned her head onto Cranky's shoulder, who put his arm around her and squeezed her shoulder. There was little else he could do. Kenny shot uneasy glances between Ryu, Chun Li and Wolfman. Had he said something wrong?

"She is proud," Wolfman said, nodding his head, "she just misses him, that's all."

XXXXX

The sound of crashing glass was all Ken could hear, sharp pains as his skin was pierced by needle thin shards, all he could feel. There was a deep gash over one brow, spilling blood into his eye, temporarily blinding him. Out of his one good eye, he thought he saw Eliza lying face down in the carpet in a pool of her own blood. It was hard to tell – the blood could've been her shadow on the red carpet. He hoped it was.

"Julian, please stop!" Ken begged, but only found himself sailing through the air, landing on the concrete balcony outside. The glass door had broken awhile go, when Julian had first attacked Ken without him expecting it. He landed in a pile of tempered glass. It hurt like hell, having those little cubes cut into him, but it was better than having razor shards open larger, deeper wounds.

Either Julian couldn't hear Ken, blinded by some mysterious rage that hid behind his eyes, or he was completely ignoring the man. Aside from the fear Ken felt for Eliza, he was confused as to why Julian would be doing this, of all people. He was the heir to a notorious Latino mob, Ken knew that – but that was back in the States. What in the world would they be doing in Japan? Secondly even if the Latin Kings had managed to expand their illegal dealings over the Pacific, Ken knew Julian would never intentionally hurt him. The two had worked together, busting Cammy out of Shadowlaw headquarters almost a decade ago. They were soldiers, friends, brothers in arms, why would Julian be attacking him after seven odd years of no contact?

Ken forced himself to standup as he felt Julian approach and put his hands up, as if he were surrendering. "Please, Julian, tell me what's going on at least, if you want to continue this." Julian responded with a sharp back fist, throwing Ken's upper body over the edge of the balcony. The realization that he planned on throwing Ken over the edge created a surge of panic in him. He didn't want to hurt Julian, but right now, there was no choice. If he chose to keep back and not attack his friend, his life would end.

Ken's hands gripped the railing, trying to keel his centre of gravity from going over the edge. Pushing the strength in his arms, he pushed himself back through the door, nearly tripping over the frame and launched his body into an uppercut so powerful, his feet left the ground. Julian reared his head back in an attempt to avoid the strike but Ken had begun the move lower that he'd anticipated, catching Julian in the ribs, throwing the large man up towards the ceiling.

"Something's wrong with him," Ken said to himself, noticing Julian's reaction to being struck. Come to think of it, the man hadn't spoken a word since breaking into the suite. He didn't even grunt in effort as he knocked Ken and Eliza around like toys, and didn't cry in pain as Ken retaliated and struck him back. He was more violent that Ken remembered, but what struck him most were the eyes. They weren't angry, nor were they sad or happy. They were so … indifferent. And that was definitely not the Julian that Ken remembered. The man he'd met in the Shadowlaw army back then was a brilliant boy, a few years older than him with a deep seeded hatred for his father and his surroundings, a pessimistic outlook on life, but heart of gold.

Julian seized Ken by the collars and lifted him up into the air, letting him take a good look into Julian's eyes, before casting him off, throwing him against the wall, smashing a framed picture up on the wall. Just before Ken's body hit the carpeted floor, he could've sworn he heard a distant, far off ringing. He attributed it to his head spinning after eating wall and floor so many times.

XXXXX

"That's odd," Ryu said with furrowed brows as he listened intently into the cell phone. After taking so long to figure out how the little mechanical device worked, he'd be damned if Ken wasn't home to pick up the call. The only thing that could make Ken's private day with Eliza would be the good news of Kenny's safety.

As he waited for an answer, he gazed at his own reflection in the pond in front of him. His face still had the glow of rugged youthfulness, though the few lines he had were pretty deep. Looking at his chin, he noticed a few hairs of a beard poking out. He would need a shave soon. Just beyond his reflection, he could see the orange, red and white bodies of carp swimming contentedly through the water. He never understood how the creatures could live in such close quarters with one another. Being a wanderer his whole life, Ryu never fully developed a true understanding of companionship, except with Ken Masters.

An awful, chemical stench assaulted Ryu's smell, forcing him to cough violently once. Staring across the shallow pond, he spotted Kenny lying flat on his back, his knees bent and pointing skywards. From Kenny's mouth, Ryu could see a plume of white smoke rise and disperse into the humid air. Kenny shook his bare foot to a silent beat, and hummed along to a silent song – and was very off key, whatever the song was. The youth's eyes were closed and there was a smile of complete satisfaction in his face as he brought the cigarette to his mouth and took another puff.

"Kenny," Ryu called out in Japanese, "I don't think this is the most appropriate place to be doing that."

"Did you know," Kenny replied without even opening his eyes or even turning to face Ryu, "around forty eight percent of the Japanese population smoke? Have you ever been to the train stations in the city? Down there, they have a glass cage for non-smokers while the rest of us get the whole world to exhale to."

"We're not in public," Ryu said.

"I've asked the grandmother of the household, and she said it was alright as long as I disposed of the butt appropriately. And why in the world are you speaking Japanese? We're in the company of foreigners. It's rude."

"To save you from embarrassment," Ryu replied, switching to English, "of me having to lecture you in front of the good Colonel about manners while other people are playing host to you."

"And what makes you think you're in the position to be lecturing me?" Kenny challenged. But Ryu's composure never faltered. He opened his mouth to speak, but was promptly interrupted as Cranky approached the Shotokan master, clapping a hand onto his shoulder.

"Is he giving you a hard time?" Cranky asked.

"Hardly," Ryu replied with a smirk.

Cranky walked around the pond to where Kenny sat on the grass, reached down and pulled the cigarette from between the youth's fingers and stomped on it.

"What the hell …?"

"These are the people who went far out of their way to get you to safety, Kenny," Cranky whispered harshly. "And I'm not going to tolerate you disrespecting them like this." He held up the cigarette butt inches from Kenny's nose. "Now get rid of this … PROPERLY."

Kenny scowled and took the butt from Cranky's fingers and stormed off, muttering curses under his breath. Ryu watched him pass, mentally shaking his head.

"I must apologize on his behalf," Cranky explained to Ryu, finding a spot close to where Kenny sat up to a few moments ago. "He means no harm and … I was the one who taught him to not take shit from anybody. That was a few years ago, though, back when we were still on the streets. Things have changed since then, but his attitude hasn't."

"From what I gather, he has a tough time respecting anyone," Ryu noted. "But I also notice he doesn't talk back to you."

"He wouldn't dare."

"I'm impressed with what you've done to him."

"You're impressed that I helped raise that?" Cranky laughed, jokingly. "If that's what you think I did, then I don't want to have anything to do with the brat!"

"Oh no …" Ryu said, staring down at the cell phone that lay in the grass beside him. "I don't think I turned this device off!" He scooped the phone up in one hand and began frantically pressing buttons, and holding it up to his ear.

"Is there someone on the other end!" Cranky asked.

Ryu's expression faded to a worried stare. "It sounds like a battle going on …"