Chapter Four - Showdown
Note: There's a reference to Final Fantasy VII in here. I know, I'm being bad. ;)
{...} denotes someone speaking Japanese
While Cammy, Eliza and Chun Li were busy raiding the malls, Ryu and Ken had plans of their own.
After taking a shower and getting a fresh set of clothes, Ryu and Ken went to a beachside bar and grill called the White Lilly, a restaurant which specializes in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Brazilian cusine. The clientele consists of businessmen, tourists, and local folks who enjoyed the food.
Wearing a grey long-sleeved shirt and black pants, Ryu caught the eye of most of the women in the place. As he passed one table, he heard some of the women whispering in a combination of Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese (yes, some Japanese folks reside in Brazil), and giggling.
The two Shotokan fighters made their way to a table, here two other men were waiting for them. The first, was Guile, dressed in a khaki version of his blue Air Force uniform (think what Van Damme was wearing in the live movie...and NOT the combat fatigues) The second was the Hong Kong action star Fei Long. Like Guile, he was dressed down in a white sweater and dark slacks. A pair of eyeglasses were on his face.
Ryu and Ken took a seat. Ryu looked at Fei. "Real inconspicuous outfit, Fei," he said.
Fei removed his glasses. "It's called 'being incognito,' Ryu. Of course, you don't have half of the world chashing you and dogging your every move."
"No. I've been chased by Shadowlaw and everyone else who wants to challenge me to a fight," Ryu replied flatly.
There was a heated rivalry between the Japanese Shotokan fighter and the Chinese superstar. Mainly it was over for the affections of the voluptuous Chun Li Xiang. When Ryu had won Chun Li's heart, Fei wisely decided to let it go and remain friends with Chun Li...lest he should be at the receiving end of Ryu's Shakunetsu Hadouken.
While the men were chatting, a waitress approached the table. "Can I take your order?" she asked.
Fei Looked at the menu. "I'll have the Mongolian beef and house fried rice special, please."
The waitress looked at Fei closely. "Hey, aren't you..."
Fei raised a finger to his lips, silencing the waitress. "Keep it down, okay. I'm on vacation."
The waitress beamed. 'Aaahh! I've just talked to Fei Long!' She turned to Ryu. "And what would you like?"
"I'll have the bulgogi special," Ryu replied.
The waitress winked at Ryu before turning to Ken, who ordered the Japanese rice and sushi special, and Guile ordered the kebob. For the drinks, Fei ordered Chinese wine, Ryu had sake, Guile and Ken both had beer. Giving Ryu a seductive look, the waitress rushed off to get their orders.
Fei leaned back into his chair. "Who would have thought you would be a ladies' man," he addressed Ryu.
Guile folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah. I noticed that at the airport. Every other woman was staring at you, Hoshi. Care to explain?"
Ryu shrugged his shoulders. "It was like that ever since I was travelling. Women from all walks of life use to follow me. Besides, I am a gentleman, to a certain degree."
"So what's your secret?" Ken asked.
Again, Ryu shrugged his shoulders. "What's there to tell? I'm a muscular Japanese guy standing nearly six feet tall who is also a babe magnet for half the women in Southeast Asia and California. There's really not much to that. Besides, all of you know that I only care for Chun Li."
While the four judges were chatting about Ryu's dating habits (mainly whether ot not he wears his headband on dates), a group of people entered the restaurant. They were several members of Shadowlaw, but they were on leave and were undercover. They were Juli, Cracker Jack, Juni, and Satsuki, the last three who were acting at Juli's escorts, at Bison's request.
Juli was dressed in a red tanktop and black jeans. Her hair was done in her usual style. A fedora covered her eyes, thus completing her outfit. Juni was dressed in a simple summer dress, while C. Jack was un his usual attire. Satauki was wearing a black-and-red hakama and a pair of sandals.
The Shadowlaw gang claimed a table and sat down. From their point of view, they caught notice of Ryu and the other three men.
C. Jack nudged Juli. "Look. There's Guile. Ken and the Bruce Lee wannabe is there with them, which makes the last person over there is Ryu."
Satsuki looked over at their table and sized Ryu up. "He's kinda cute."
Juni nodded in agreement. "We could use a guy like him in Shadowlaw," she said in a dreamy voice.
Juli shook her head. "Honestly. Ryu is handsome, that I'll admit, but he would never go for joining Shadowlaw. It's not in his nature."
A waitress came by and took their orders. C. Jack and Juni ordered the Brazilian Beef Special, while Juli claimed the wonton soup. Satsuki had the seaweed sushi special.
Meanwhile, back at Ryu's table...
"You can't be serious!" Fei exclaimed. "You, a guy who enjoys travelling all over the world, plans on settling down? I really can't see you dong that."
Ryu nodded. "I just did. Chun and I found a place outside of Osaka, and we spent the last three months fixing the place up. Chun Li had gotten a transfer from Hong Kong to Japan. It's cozy and efficient."
Guile nodded. "Looks like you have everything planned out, Ryu. Well done."
"Let's hope so." Ryu raised his glass in a toast. "Gentlemen, may I propse a toast." The other three men raised their beverages. "To the pageant...and all of the mayhem that will possibly follow."
"To the pageant," the men said. They clinked their glasses and took a healthy swig of their drinks. The waitress had in the meantime, returned with their food. Ryu, ever the gentleman, helped her.
While the men were chatting and enjoying their dinner, another group of people came in the restaurant. This time, it was the members of England's Delta Red commando unit, Cammy's team, who was in Hawaii to cheer their teammate on. First up was their hotheaded team leader, Commander W. Watson, followed by his second-in-command, Colonel Wolfman, who was to Cammy, a father figure. Next was the half-human, half-cyborg Matthew McCoy. Next came First Lieutenant Lita Luwanda, the blonde who has a penchant for totting one her knives around whever she goes. Last was the diminuitive George Ginzu. The team rodered their food and had tea all around.
NOte: These are Cammy's actual members of Delta Red. How I know this, that's my secret.
The British special forces team found an empty table, which was about two tables away from where the Shadowlaw group were sitting. Thankfully, the Shadowlaw group were still busy scoping the four judges.
Meanwhile at the table where the girls were still checking Ryu out, one of them stands up and ambles over to Ryu table. The woman taps Ryu on one shoulder. "Excuse me," she said in Japanese-accented English.
Ryu looked up. The woman was a mixture of both Asian and Brazilian ancestry, and cute. "Yes?"
The woman almost lost her courage, but got it back. "My name's Kiyomi. What's yours?"
Ryu saw no trouble in giving the woman his name. "Ryu Hoshi."
Kiyomi beamed. "Nice to meet you, Ryu." She paused for a moment. "Um, Ryu...there's a party later on at one of my friend's house, and if you are not busy...I was hoping that you would come by."
Ryu was flattered. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to decline. I already have plans with my girlfriend while I'm here."
Needless to say, Kiyomi was downcast, but seeing as how Ryu spoke to her with respect and dignity, she lit up again and went back to her table. Ryu turned back to his friends, who were all staring at him. "What?"
Guile shook his head. "You weren't lying about being loyal to Chun Li."
Ryu leaned back into his seat. "Of course. I'm not like Ken."
Guile turned to Ken. "What's he talking about?"
Ryu, thankful for the diversion, continued to speak. "Oh, yeah. One time, Eliza caught him flirting with some Scottish woman some years back and Eliza knocked him to the ground. For a woman who can't fight, she has one hell of a strong right arm."
Off Fei and Guile's glances, Ken admitted, "She used to play baseball and tennis back in high school."
Meanwhile, seven men entered the restaurant. They just happened to be members of the karate school whom Ryu had soundly thrashed form the Nagoya tournment. Turns out that Kiyomi's older brother was a member of said karate school back in Japan, and when they found out that Ryu was in Hawaii, they came to settle up with him.
Ryu heard the commotion and turned around. When he saw the furious karate group, he turned back around. "Hey, Ken, what's our going bet for fastest knockout?"
"If it's a group, then I'd say...seven minutes. Why?"
"There was a karate team that I fought in Nagoya. Apparently, their sensei challenged me to a fight, and when I had beaten him, fifteen of his students mobbed me, but were unsuccessful in their efforts." Ryu grinned. "I can bet that I can take them all on in under...five minutes and thirty seconds. If I win, you pay for my suit for the pageant."
"You're on!"
"I'll take some of that action," Fei said. "What about you, Guile? You're a gambling man?"
Guile shook his head.
Kiyomi's brother, a tough-looking guy by the name of Shinji, made his way over to Ryu table. He shoved Ryu on the shoulder. {Hoshi! Get up!}
Ryu stood up and turned around. From the Shadowlaw table, Juli had a clear view of Ryu's face. 'Hmmm...he looks even better in person that in a photo,' she thought.
Ryu recognized the man. {I remember you. You were in Nagoya.}
Ken was acting as translator, since both Fei and Guile couldn't speak Japanese.
Shinji poked one finger into Ryu's chest. {You're not finished with us! You dishonored our school by defeating our master!}
Ryu casually swatted Shinji's hand aside. {Correction. YOU dishonored your school when your master's students attacked me. You obviously came halfway across the globe to settle up with me, so why talk?}
Shinji the swung his fist at Ryu's head. Ryu brought his forearm to block the blow, and responded with a straight fist to the face. Shinji was sent staggering back. The other six men then attacked.
The first guy was armed with a pair of nunchucks. Ryu disarmed him (and tossed the 'chucks to Fei as a souvenir), and after getting him in a headlock, the second fighter lunged, and had inadvertantly knocked the first guy out when he missed Ryu.
'That's one,' Ryu thought.
Ryu dropped the unconscious form and the second fighter attacked again, this time with a spinning back kick. Ryu opted to go low and knocked him to the ground with a power foot sweep. When Ryu got back up, he smacked the downed guy with his foot, knocking him out.
'Two.'
The third and fourth fighters opted to double-team Ryu. Ryu, having experience in fighting handicap matches, deftly block and parried the blows. Some of the duo's attacks had gotten through Ryu's defenses, but Ryu simply shrugged them off. He stunned one of them with an elbow to the face, then grabbed the his partner and slammed him facefirst into an empty table. He then grabbed the stunned fighter and promptly tossed him out of an nearby open window.
'Three and four.'
Fighter number five was armed with a bokken. While Ryu was dealing with him, Kiyomi tried to attack Ryu from behind with a beer bottle. Juli saw this, and with one of C. Jack's trusty baseball bats, rendered Kiyomi unconscious with a blow to the back of her head. Before anyone noticed anything, Juli was back in her seat.
The bokken-toting fighter and the sixth fighter, who was armed with a pair of tonfas, once again tried to double-team Ryu, but to no avail. Ryu disarmed the tonfa fighter and used his weapon against him. He was out in three blows. Tossing the weapons aside, Ryu turned to te bokked fighter, just as he was performing an overhead slash on Ryu.
Ryu sidestepped the blow and grabbed the wooden blade in one hand. He then broke the sword in two with the other. Horrified that his weapon had been broken, the fighter began to back off.
Ryu stared him down and simply said one word. {Run.}
The fighter didn't need to be told twice.. He was out the door and gone.
'Five and six.'
Meanwhile, Shinji, who was wathing the fight in utter dismay, faced Ryu, who was nearly unscathed during the entire melee. Ryu placed his hands into his pockets, and said, {Do you give up?}
{Never!} Shinji bellowed, charghing at Ryu.
Ryu stood his ground. When Shinji was close enough, Ryu simply flipped him over his shoulder. The human projectile went flyng through the air before crashing into a table.
Unfortunately, the table that Shinji had crashed into was that of Delta Red's, spilling foor and drinks all over the commandos. Commander Watson was especially irate, seeing as how his new suede jacket was ruined.
Ken looked at his watch. It read 5:27. "Damn," he said. "Ryu did it."
From the Shadowlaw table, Juli and the others were impressed. C. Jack let out a low whistle. "Nice."
Ryu looked at his handiwork. Then, as he turned back towards his table, someone grabbed his shoulder, spun him around, and Ryu found himself face-to-face with Commander Watson.
"You bloody moron!" Watson bellowed. "Look at my jacket! You ruined it!"
Ryu had no quarrel with this man. He wasn't going to back down either. "It was an accident and I apologize," he replied calmly. "But a jacket is a jacket."
Meanwhile, Colonel Wolfman had noticed Guile, and had recognized him immediately. Seeing Guile's expression made Wolfman act on his behalf. He attempted to insuinate himself between the Japanese fighter and his furious commander. "Umm, Commander--"
In an instant, Watson spun on Wolfman, now far gone in his rage. "Shut up! Sit down in that chair and drink your goddamn tea!" Wolfman backed down, as Watson turned back to Ryu and grabbed a handful of his shirt.
Ryu looked down at Watson's hand, then looked backed up to his face. "I'm not gonna count to three," Ryu stated, his eyes glinting dangerously, "or one, for that matter. If you don't let me go, then you're gonna get on my bad side."
Watson laughed. He really didn't see Ryu as a threat. That is until Ryu slammed his forehead into Watson's in a headbutt. Watson lost his grip on Ryu and was sent reeling back to his table. The other three commandos, Luwanda, McCoy and Ginzu, faced off against Ryu.
"Enough! Stand down!"
This time, the voice came from Colonel Guile. The Air Force commando has seen enough and had decided to intervene. He stepped in between his Japanese comrade and the British commandos. "There is no quarrel here."
McCoy raised one cybernetic hand threateningly, while Luwanda had her knives. "There is a quarrel here, mate. You think you can protect that Japanese fella after what he did to Watson?"
"He needs no protection from me," Guile replied cooly. "As I've said before, there is no quarrel here."
"At ease, lads," Watson said, getting back up, pushing Luwanda and McCoy aside. "You can't protect your buddy, brush-head. He's gonna pay."
"No, he's not."
Having heard enough, Watson swung his fist at Guile's head.
Big mistake.
Guile's hand snapped up and caught Watson's fist in a viselike grip. The pressure on his wrist was so great, that it forced Watson down on one knee. McCoy and Luwanda moved in, but were stopped by Colonel Wolfman.
Through his pain, Watson asked, "Who the fucking hell are you?"
Guile reponds with a foot to the face, knocking Watson to the floor. Guile looked down on the fallen man and deftly intones, "Guile. COLONEL William F. Guile, United States Air Force."
McCoy and Luwanda immediately backed off. Cammy has told them about Guile, seeing as how she, Guile, and Chun Li were working together during the last tournament. Colonel Guile was someone you don't want to piss off.
Watson staggered back. "YOU'RE Colonel Guile?"
"Yes," Guile replied. "And you must be W. Watson, commander of England's Delta Red force...Cammy's team."
Watson gulped. Guile then grabbed a handful of Watson's shirt and hoisted him up to his eye level. Guile then got into Watson's face. "Simply for the fact that Cammy is a close friend of mine, I won't kick your ass. However, you have disrupted our evening. Ryu didn't mean to ruin your jacket, but didn't want to let it go. You now have two choices, Commander Watson: you can apologize to Ryu, and if you don't I have only but one question for you: Are you man enough to fight with me?"
Watson turned his head to Ryu and said, "I'm sorry."
Ryu placed his hand on Guile's shoulder. "Let him go, Guile."
"If you insist," Guile dropped Watson to the ground. Almost immediately, Woflan was there. "Colonel Guile, I do apologize for my commander's behavior. He can be so hotheaded."
Thankfully, Guile have no vendetta against Wolfman. "That I see. Tell Cammy I said hello."
Fei flagged down his table's waitress. "Check please."
***
-Honolulu Imperial Hotel, later on...-
Cammy returned to her hotel later on that night from her night out with Chun Li and Eliza. When she went to report to Commander Watson, she found something unexpected waiting for her: Commander Watson was hetting his injuries bandaged by Lita Luwanda, while Colonel Wolfman, Matt McCoy and George Ginzu watched.
"What happened to you?" Cammy asked as she set her bags aside.
"What do you think?" Watson replied. "Cheap wanker got a cheap shot off or me. When I see him again, I'll settle up with him."
"Who attacked you?" Cammy asked. "Was it Shadowlaw?"
McCoy shook his head. "Some Japanese fella that Watson tried to fight."
At the term 'Japanese,' Cammy paled. "Was he about five-feet-ten, muscular, with dark brown hair and bushy eyebrows? Kind of serious?"
Luwanda nodded. "That's the guy."
In a fit of rage, Cammy was on her commander. "YOU IDIOT!"
Watson looked up. "Wha? What did I do?"
"You picked a fight with one of the judges for the pageant, that's what!" Cammy yelled. "Why did you pick a fight with Ryu, huh?!"
"That was Ryu?" Wolfman asked. "Ryu Hoshi? The same guy that had beaten Bison back in the tournament?"
Cammy nodded. "Yeah. That was him." She turned back to Watson. "What the hell did you do to piss him off anyway?!"
"The Japanese fella had gotten into a fight at the restaurant wth some other karate guys," McCoy explained. "He have some moves on him, I'll give him that."
"For a Japanese guy, he's cute," Luwanda added.
"Anyway," McCoy continued, "The guy single-handedly took out the katate team and as a finale, he had accidentally tossed the last guy into our table, thus ruining the commander's jacket. Then Watson got into the guy's face. The Japanese guy had no quarrel, but Watson wanted to hear nothing of it. That was when Guile appeared."
Cammy went completely white. "Guile was there?"
Luwanda nodded. "Yup. He's exactly how you've described him. He made the commander apologize to Ryu and that was it."
Once again, Cammy was on Watson. "You fucking imbecile! You're trying to get me disqualified from the pageant?!" She then stormed out of the room in a huff.
Wolfman was on his feet. "I'll go and talk to her."
***
Back at the beach condo, Ryu was getting his injuries treated by Chun Li. Ryu had discarded his shirt, so that Chun Li, who was sitting behind him, could apply some salve for his bruises.
"At least you're not hurt too badly," the Chinese fighter said. "I'd hate to see you bruised."
Ryu shrugged his broad shoulders. "That was nothing. I'd had worse." He was then surprised when Chun Li swinged around and sat in his lap. She hooked her legs around his waist and dangled her arms around his neck.
She then leaned in and whispered into his ear. "Fei also told me about your fidelity. Thank you for remaining loyal to me." She giggled. "You could have been with anvbody else, but remained loyal to me."
Ryu smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, who else can put up with your stubborn and egotistical nature?"
Chun Li pulled back, but was still sitting in Ryu's lap. "I do not have an ego! I'm stubborn, at times, but I do not have an ego!" she said in mock anger.
"So what's the whole 'Strongest Woman in the World' thing you always do?"
Chun Li smirked. "This coming from Mr. 'The Fight Is All.'"
"Okay, you got me right there," Ryu chuckled. "I love you."
Chun Li pecked him on the nose. "I love you, too."
The moment, however, was ruined when Ken barged in. "Hey, Ryu, you wanna--whoa."
Both Ryu and Chun Li turned to Ken. "OUT!"
Ken was gone in a flash.
Note: There's a reference to Final Fantasy VII in here. I know, I'm being bad. ;)
{...} denotes someone speaking Japanese
While Cammy, Eliza and Chun Li were busy raiding the malls, Ryu and Ken had plans of their own.
After taking a shower and getting a fresh set of clothes, Ryu and Ken went to a beachside bar and grill called the White Lilly, a restaurant which specializes in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Brazilian cusine. The clientele consists of businessmen, tourists, and local folks who enjoyed the food.
Wearing a grey long-sleeved shirt and black pants, Ryu caught the eye of most of the women in the place. As he passed one table, he heard some of the women whispering in a combination of Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese (yes, some Japanese folks reside in Brazil), and giggling.
The two Shotokan fighters made their way to a table, here two other men were waiting for them. The first, was Guile, dressed in a khaki version of his blue Air Force uniform (think what Van Damme was wearing in the live movie...and NOT the combat fatigues) The second was the Hong Kong action star Fei Long. Like Guile, he was dressed down in a white sweater and dark slacks. A pair of eyeglasses were on his face.
Ryu and Ken took a seat. Ryu looked at Fei. "Real inconspicuous outfit, Fei," he said.
Fei removed his glasses. "It's called 'being incognito,' Ryu. Of course, you don't have half of the world chashing you and dogging your every move."
"No. I've been chased by Shadowlaw and everyone else who wants to challenge me to a fight," Ryu replied flatly.
There was a heated rivalry between the Japanese Shotokan fighter and the Chinese superstar. Mainly it was over for the affections of the voluptuous Chun Li Xiang. When Ryu had won Chun Li's heart, Fei wisely decided to let it go and remain friends with Chun Li...lest he should be at the receiving end of Ryu's Shakunetsu Hadouken.
While the men were chatting, a waitress approached the table. "Can I take your order?" she asked.
Fei Looked at the menu. "I'll have the Mongolian beef and house fried rice special, please."
The waitress looked at Fei closely. "Hey, aren't you..."
Fei raised a finger to his lips, silencing the waitress. "Keep it down, okay. I'm on vacation."
The waitress beamed. 'Aaahh! I've just talked to Fei Long!' She turned to Ryu. "And what would you like?"
"I'll have the bulgogi special," Ryu replied.
The waitress winked at Ryu before turning to Ken, who ordered the Japanese rice and sushi special, and Guile ordered the kebob. For the drinks, Fei ordered Chinese wine, Ryu had sake, Guile and Ken both had beer. Giving Ryu a seductive look, the waitress rushed off to get their orders.
Fei leaned back into his chair. "Who would have thought you would be a ladies' man," he addressed Ryu.
Guile folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah. I noticed that at the airport. Every other woman was staring at you, Hoshi. Care to explain?"
Ryu shrugged his shoulders. "It was like that ever since I was travelling. Women from all walks of life use to follow me. Besides, I am a gentleman, to a certain degree."
"So what's your secret?" Ken asked.
Again, Ryu shrugged his shoulders. "What's there to tell? I'm a muscular Japanese guy standing nearly six feet tall who is also a babe magnet for half the women in Southeast Asia and California. There's really not much to that. Besides, all of you know that I only care for Chun Li."
While the four judges were chatting about Ryu's dating habits (mainly whether ot not he wears his headband on dates), a group of people entered the restaurant. They were several members of Shadowlaw, but they were on leave and were undercover. They were Juli, Cracker Jack, Juni, and Satsuki, the last three who were acting at Juli's escorts, at Bison's request.
Juli was dressed in a red tanktop and black jeans. Her hair was done in her usual style. A fedora covered her eyes, thus completing her outfit. Juni was dressed in a simple summer dress, while C. Jack was un his usual attire. Satauki was wearing a black-and-red hakama and a pair of sandals.
The Shadowlaw gang claimed a table and sat down. From their point of view, they caught notice of Ryu and the other three men.
C. Jack nudged Juli. "Look. There's Guile. Ken and the Bruce Lee wannabe is there with them, which makes the last person over there is Ryu."
Satsuki looked over at their table and sized Ryu up. "He's kinda cute."
Juni nodded in agreement. "We could use a guy like him in Shadowlaw," she said in a dreamy voice.
Juli shook her head. "Honestly. Ryu is handsome, that I'll admit, but he would never go for joining Shadowlaw. It's not in his nature."
A waitress came by and took their orders. C. Jack and Juni ordered the Brazilian Beef Special, while Juli claimed the wonton soup. Satsuki had the seaweed sushi special.
Meanwhile, back at Ryu's table...
"You can't be serious!" Fei exclaimed. "You, a guy who enjoys travelling all over the world, plans on settling down? I really can't see you dong that."
Ryu nodded. "I just did. Chun and I found a place outside of Osaka, and we spent the last three months fixing the place up. Chun Li had gotten a transfer from Hong Kong to Japan. It's cozy and efficient."
Guile nodded. "Looks like you have everything planned out, Ryu. Well done."
"Let's hope so." Ryu raised his glass in a toast. "Gentlemen, may I propse a toast." The other three men raised their beverages. "To the pageant...and all of the mayhem that will possibly follow."
"To the pageant," the men said. They clinked their glasses and took a healthy swig of their drinks. The waitress had in the meantime, returned with their food. Ryu, ever the gentleman, helped her.
While the men were chatting and enjoying their dinner, another group of people came in the restaurant. This time, it was the members of England's Delta Red commando unit, Cammy's team, who was in Hawaii to cheer their teammate on. First up was their hotheaded team leader, Commander W. Watson, followed by his second-in-command, Colonel Wolfman, who was to Cammy, a father figure. Next was the half-human, half-cyborg Matthew McCoy. Next came First Lieutenant Lita Luwanda, the blonde who has a penchant for totting one her knives around whever she goes. Last was the diminuitive George Ginzu. The team rodered their food and had tea all around.
NOte: These are Cammy's actual members of Delta Red. How I know this, that's my secret.
The British special forces team found an empty table, which was about two tables away from where the Shadowlaw group were sitting. Thankfully, the Shadowlaw group were still busy scoping the four judges.
Meanwhile at the table where the girls were still checking Ryu out, one of them stands up and ambles over to Ryu table. The woman taps Ryu on one shoulder. "Excuse me," she said in Japanese-accented English.
Ryu looked up. The woman was a mixture of both Asian and Brazilian ancestry, and cute. "Yes?"
The woman almost lost her courage, but got it back. "My name's Kiyomi. What's yours?"
Ryu saw no trouble in giving the woman his name. "Ryu Hoshi."
Kiyomi beamed. "Nice to meet you, Ryu." She paused for a moment. "Um, Ryu...there's a party later on at one of my friend's house, and if you are not busy...I was hoping that you would come by."
Ryu was flattered. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to decline. I already have plans with my girlfriend while I'm here."
Needless to say, Kiyomi was downcast, but seeing as how Ryu spoke to her with respect and dignity, she lit up again and went back to her table. Ryu turned back to his friends, who were all staring at him. "What?"
Guile shook his head. "You weren't lying about being loyal to Chun Li."
Ryu leaned back into his seat. "Of course. I'm not like Ken."
Guile turned to Ken. "What's he talking about?"
Ryu, thankful for the diversion, continued to speak. "Oh, yeah. One time, Eliza caught him flirting with some Scottish woman some years back and Eliza knocked him to the ground. For a woman who can't fight, she has one hell of a strong right arm."
Off Fei and Guile's glances, Ken admitted, "She used to play baseball and tennis back in high school."
Meanwhile, seven men entered the restaurant. They just happened to be members of the karate school whom Ryu had soundly thrashed form the Nagoya tournment. Turns out that Kiyomi's older brother was a member of said karate school back in Japan, and when they found out that Ryu was in Hawaii, they came to settle up with him.
Ryu heard the commotion and turned around. When he saw the furious karate group, he turned back around. "Hey, Ken, what's our going bet for fastest knockout?"
"If it's a group, then I'd say...seven minutes. Why?"
"There was a karate team that I fought in Nagoya. Apparently, their sensei challenged me to a fight, and when I had beaten him, fifteen of his students mobbed me, but were unsuccessful in their efforts." Ryu grinned. "I can bet that I can take them all on in under...five minutes and thirty seconds. If I win, you pay for my suit for the pageant."
"You're on!"
"I'll take some of that action," Fei said. "What about you, Guile? You're a gambling man?"
Guile shook his head.
Kiyomi's brother, a tough-looking guy by the name of Shinji, made his way over to Ryu table. He shoved Ryu on the shoulder. {Hoshi! Get up!}
Ryu stood up and turned around. From the Shadowlaw table, Juli had a clear view of Ryu's face. 'Hmmm...he looks even better in person that in a photo,' she thought.
Ryu recognized the man. {I remember you. You were in Nagoya.}
Ken was acting as translator, since both Fei and Guile couldn't speak Japanese.
Shinji poked one finger into Ryu's chest. {You're not finished with us! You dishonored our school by defeating our master!}
Ryu casually swatted Shinji's hand aside. {Correction. YOU dishonored your school when your master's students attacked me. You obviously came halfway across the globe to settle up with me, so why talk?}
Shinji the swung his fist at Ryu's head. Ryu brought his forearm to block the blow, and responded with a straight fist to the face. Shinji was sent staggering back. The other six men then attacked.
The first guy was armed with a pair of nunchucks. Ryu disarmed him (and tossed the 'chucks to Fei as a souvenir), and after getting him in a headlock, the second fighter lunged, and had inadvertantly knocked the first guy out when he missed Ryu.
'That's one,' Ryu thought.
Ryu dropped the unconscious form and the second fighter attacked again, this time with a spinning back kick. Ryu opted to go low and knocked him to the ground with a power foot sweep. When Ryu got back up, he smacked the downed guy with his foot, knocking him out.
'Two.'
The third and fourth fighters opted to double-team Ryu. Ryu, having experience in fighting handicap matches, deftly block and parried the blows. Some of the duo's attacks had gotten through Ryu's defenses, but Ryu simply shrugged them off. He stunned one of them with an elbow to the face, then grabbed the his partner and slammed him facefirst into an empty table. He then grabbed the stunned fighter and promptly tossed him out of an nearby open window.
'Three and four.'
Fighter number five was armed with a bokken. While Ryu was dealing with him, Kiyomi tried to attack Ryu from behind with a beer bottle. Juli saw this, and with one of C. Jack's trusty baseball bats, rendered Kiyomi unconscious with a blow to the back of her head. Before anyone noticed anything, Juli was back in her seat.
The bokken-toting fighter and the sixth fighter, who was armed with a pair of tonfas, once again tried to double-team Ryu, but to no avail. Ryu disarmed the tonfa fighter and used his weapon against him. He was out in three blows. Tossing the weapons aside, Ryu turned to te bokked fighter, just as he was performing an overhead slash on Ryu.
Ryu sidestepped the blow and grabbed the wooden blade in one hand. He then broke the sword in two with the other. Horrified that his weapon had been broken, the fighter began to back off.
Ryu stared him down and simply said one word. {Run.}
The fighter didn't need to be told twice.. He was out the door and gone.
'Five and six.'
Meanwhile, Shinji, who was wathing the fight in utter dismay, faced Ryu, who was nearly unscathed during the entire melee. Ryu placed his hands into his pockets, and said, {Do you give up?}
{Never!} Shinji bellowed, charghing at Ryu.
Ryu stood his ground. When Shinji was close enough, Ryu simply flipped him over his shoulder. The human projectile went flyng through the air before crashing into a table.
Unfortunately, the table that Shinji had crashed into was that of Delta Red's, spilling foor and drinks all over the commandos. Commander Watson was especially irate, seeing as how his new suede jacket was ruined.
Ken looked at his watch. It read 5:27. "Damn," he said. "Ryu did it."
From the Shadowlaw table, Juli and the others were impressed. C. Jack let out a low whistle. "Nice."
Ryu looked at his handiwork. Then, as he turned back towards his table, someone grabbed his shoulder, spun him around, and Ryu found himself face-to-face with Commander Watson.
"You bloody moron!" Watson bellowed. "Look at my jacket! You ruined it!"
Ryu had no quarrel with this man. He wasn't going to back down either. "It was an accident and I apologize," he replied calmly. "But a jacket is a jacket."
Meanwhile, Colonel Wolfman had noticed Guile, and had recognized him immediately. Seeing Guile's expression made Wolfman act on his behalf. He attempted to insuinate himself between the Japanese fighter and his furious commander. "Umm, Commander--"
In an instant, Watson spun on Wolfman, now far gone in his rage. "Shut up! Sit down in that chair and drink your goddamn tea!" Wolfman backed down, as Watson turned back to Ryu and grabbed a handful of his shirt.
Ryu looked down at Watson's hand, then looked backed up to his face. "I'm not gonna count to three," Ryu stated, his eyes glinting dangerously, "or one, for that matter. If you don't let me go, then you're gonna get on my bad side."
Watson laughed. He really didn't see Ryu as a threat. That is until Ryu slammed his forehead into Watson's in a headbutt. Watson lost his grip on Ryu and was sent reeling back to his table. The other three commandos, Luwanda, McCoy and Ginzu, faced off against Ryu.
"Enough! Stand down!"
This time, the voice came from Colonel Guile. The Air Force commando has seen enough and had decided to intervene. He stepped in between his Japanese comrade and the British commandos. "There is no quarrel here."
McCoy raised one cybernetic hand threateningly, while Luwanda had her knives. "There is a quarrel here, mate. You think you can protect that Japanese fella after what he did to Watson?"
"He needs no protection from me," Guile replied cooly. "As I've said before, there is no quarrel here."
"At ease, lads," Watson said, getting back up, pushing Luwanda and McCoy aside. "You can't protect your buddy, brush-head. He's gonna pay."
"No, he's not."
Having heard enough, Watson swung his fist at Guile's head.
Big mistake.
Guile's hand snapped up and caught Watson's fist in a viselike grip. The pressure on his wrist was so great, that it forced Watson down on one knee. McCoy and Luwanda moved in, but were stopped by Colonel Wolfman.
Through his pain, Watson asked, "Who the fucking hell are you?"
Guile reponds with a foot to the face, knocking Watson to the floor. Guile looked down on the fallen man and deftly intones, "Guile. COLONEL William F. Guile, United States Air Force."
McCoy and Luwanda immediately backed off. Cammy has told them about Guile, seeing as how she, Guile, and Chun Li were working together during the last tournament. Colonel Guile was someone you don't want to piss off.
Watson staggered back. "YOU'RE Colonel Guile?"
"Yes," Guile replied. "And you must be W. Watson, commander of England's Delta Red force...Cammy's team."
Watson gulped. Guile then grabbed a handful of Watson's shirt and hoisted him up to his eye level. Guile then got into Watson's face. "Simply for the fact that Cammy is a close friend of mine, I won't kick your ass. However, you have disrupted our evening. Ryu didn't mean to ruin your jacket, but didn't want to let it go. You now have two choices, Commander Watson: you can apologize to Ryu, and if you don't I have only but one question for you: Are you man enough to fight with me?"
Watson turned his head to Ryu and said, "I'm sorry."
Ryu placed his hand on Guile's shoulder. "Let him go, Guile."
"If you insist," Guile dropped Watson to the ground. Almost immediately, Woflan was there. "Colonel Guile, I do apologize for my commander's behavior. He can be so hotheaded."
Thankfully, Guile have no vendetta against Wolfman. "That I see. Tell Cammy I said hello."
Fei flagged down his table's waitress. "Check please."
***
-Honolulu Imperial Hotel, later on...-
Cammy returned to her hotel later on that night from her night out with Chun Li and Eliza. When she went to report to Commander Watson, she found something unexpected waiting for her: Commander Watson was hetting his injuries bandaged by Lita Luwanda, while Colonel Wolfman, Matt McCoy and George Ginzu watched.
"What happened to you?" Cammy asked as she set her bags aside.
"What do you think?" Watson replied. "Cheap wanker got a cheap shot off or me. When I see him again, I'll settle up with him."
"Who attacked you?" Cammy asked. "Was it Shadowlaw?"
McCoy shook his head. "Some Japanese fella that Watson tried to fight."
At the term 'Japanese,' Cammy paled. "Was he about five-feet-ten, muscular, with dark brown hair and bushy eyebrows? Kind of serious?"
Luwanda nodded. "That's the guy."
In a fit of rage, Cammy was on her commander. "YOU IDIOT!"
Watson looked up. "Wha? What did I do?"
"You picked a fight with one of the judges for the pageant, that's what!" Cammy yelled. "Why did you pick a fight with Ryu, huh?!"
"That was Ryu?" Wolfman asked. "Ryu Hoshi? The same guy that had beaten Bison back in the tournament?"
Cammy nodded. "Yeah. That was him." She turned back to Watson. "What the hell did you do to piss him off anyway?!"
"The Japanese fella had gotten into a fight at the restaurant wth some other karate guys," McCoy explained. "He have some moves on him, I'll give him that."
"For a Japanese guy, he's cute," Luwanda added.
"Anyway," McCoy continued, "The guy single-handedly took out the katate team and as a finale, he had accidentally tossed the last guy into our table, thus ruining the commander's jacket. Then Watson got into the guy's face. The Japanese guy had no quarrel, but Watson wanted to hear nothing of it. That was when Guile appeared."
Cammy went completely white. "Guile was there?"
Luwanda nodded. "Yup. He's exactly how you've described him. He made the commander apologize to Ryu and that was it."
Once again, Cammy was on Watson. "You fucking imbecile! You're trying to get me disqualified from the pageant?!" She then stormed out of the room in a huff.
Wolfman was on his feet. "I'll go and talk to her."
***
Back at the beach condo, Ryu was getting his injuries treated by Chun Li. Ryu had discarded his shirt, so that Chun Li, who was sitting behind him, could apply some salve for his bruises.
"At least you're not hurt too badly," the Chinese fighter said. "I'd hate to see you bruised."
Ryu shrugged his broad shoulders. "That was nothing. I'd had worse." He was then surprised when Chun Li swinged around and sat in his lap. She hooked her legs around his waist and dangled her arms around his neck.
She then leaned in and whispered into his ear. "Fei also told me about your fidelity. Thank you for remaining loyal to me." She giggled. "You could have been with anvbody else, but remained loyal to me."
Ryu smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, who else can put up with your stubborn and egotistical nature?"
Chun Li pulled back, but was still sitting in Ryu's lap. "I do not have an ego! I'm stubborn, at times, but I do not have an ego!" she said in mock anger.
"So what's the whole 'Strongest Woman in the World' thing you always do?"
Chun Li smirked. "This coming from Mr. 'The Fight Is All.'"
"Okay, you got me right there," Ryu chuckled. "I love you."
Chun Li pecked him on the nose. "I love you, too."
The moment, however, was ruined when Ken barged in. "Hey, Ryu, you wanna--whoa."
Both Ryu and Chun Li turned to Ken. "OUT!"
Ken was gone in a flash.