Disclaimer: Street Fighter II and all of the characters within it belong to Capcom. This fanfic, as well as the created characters within it belong to me.
Part 5: Together Again
by Evil Wild Lex
Seattle, USA
The moment she laid eyes on the place Ken had selected for dinner that night, Chun Li knew she was right to be dressed up as much as she was. Black heels and a black see-through wrap for warmth around her arms completed her dark dress, sleeveless, sparkling subtly of royal blue and silver and reaching to her knees. When the taxi pulled up to the restaurant, she'd paid the driver, and climbed out, Chun Li saw that she would fit right in. Typical Ken. Extravagant, but tasteful.
"Excuse me," she said as she walked past a few people. Some sneered and turned their noses up at her for being so rude as to butt in front of them in the line, but she was already ten minutes late. A snooty looking host, clad in a vest, dress pants, and a tie, was glancing over the reservations, turning away a couple that had shown up without any. Approaching the host, she said "I'm supposed to meet friends here. . the party should be reserved under Ken Masters for seven o'clock." Instantly, the host's expression became welcoming.
"Miss Chun Li, I presume?" He smiled at her graciously. "Right this way."
The lighting of the restaurant was dim and warm, the tables were decorated elegantly with long, white cloth tablecloths, and a thin, clear vase with a single red rose in the middle of each. Soft instrumental music played in the background, and every dark wood wall was decorated with gorgeous prints of famous paintings. The carpet was predominantly dark red, with a subtle pattern woven into it. The lighting was provided predominantly by golden and sparkling chandeliers, the lights kept turned down for a more intimate feel to the restaurant. All in all, it was the very appearance of fine dining.
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Ryu tugged at the collar of his button-down shirt uncomfortably. Ken had insisted he wear the irritating thing and a tie, saying it, black dress pants, and a pair of dress shoes was the minimum dress code for this kind of place. Admittedly, Ken was right, everyone was wearing fancy clothing, but that didn't make this shirt comfortable. With his bulky frame, men's dress shirts never fit properly, and they would never fit as comfortably as Ryu's tattered white gi, no matter how much they were designed for a pleasant fit. To both Ken and Eliza's amusement, he made a disgusted face at the tie around his neck. Yuck. Not his style at all, he thought to himself. If he had his choice, he would have had them meet Chun Li at Ken's place while he hung out in a pair of drawstring pants and a t-shirt.
All personal gripes with the formal atmosphere of the restaurant disappeared when Chun Li stepped up to their table. He tried to stop himself from staring, but it took more restraint than he had to show at the moment. He remembered the fifteen-year-old girl that had been a tour guide for he and Ken in Hong Kong six years ago, but he hadn't been around to see the woman she had become. So far, he was impressed. She had really grown up quickly. Ken had already told him she was an Interpol agent and had relayed the news about Shadowlaw. At twenty-one, that was amazing.
"Hi guys, sorry I'm late," she said sheepishly, her voice still the same cheerful voice, but with a maturity that hadn't been there before. She smiled at Eliza and extended her hand. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Chun Li."
"It's nice to meet you, too," the gorgeous blonde woman replied. "I'm Eliza."
Ken didn't look worried about the Shadowlaw's emergence in the slightest, but it nagged at the back of Ryu's mind. More than likely, Sagat was still alive, and he really wouldn't be surprised if Bison had survived fighting he and Ken a second time, even if they had hit him with a double hadouken. If Bison had adult children on top of everything else, that would be a problem. Chun Li was right, Bison might not necessarily be intent on recruiting them, after he had failed twice already. They had shown their friendship was stronger than Bison's psycho power, and there was a good chance he'd just want revenge. Ryu doubted very much that the despot would forget about he and Ken any time soon, or Chun Li for that matter, either.
After some polite small talk, where Ken and Eliza discussed their engagement with Ryu and Chun Li, Eliza excused herself to go to the ladies' room. They already had their appetizers, and it would be some time before the meal would arrive, but Ryu still took a careful look around the area before bringing up the subject all three friends wanted to speak of. He wasn't a terribly cautious person, but it never hurt to make sure nobody else was listening.
"So what's going on with the Shadowlaw?" he said bluntly.
"I'd like to be able to tell you both everything," said the lovely Chinese woman apologetically, "but it would be a breach of confidentiality with Interpol. I'll tell you as much as I can, though." Ryu nodded. She had turned very professional, but was still a concerned friend.
"The kids were both genetically bred to be used to kill Bison and both have his abilities. They escaped together not long ago from two of our bases. We tracked them down, but Shadowlaw was paying attention to their location, too, and snatched them from underneath our noses. We don't know if they're being held against their own free will or not, but suffice to say, it's not good." She lowered her voice to nearly a whisper, causing Ryu to strain to hear her. "I think there's a spy in the organization....I've got no proof, but it just seems funny how easily Shadowlaw found them." A sigh of exasperation, and her demeanor was professional again. "But that's all I can really tell you at this point."
Ryu nodded. That was enough of a warning. "We shouldn't just sit around on our butts waiting for him, then," he said with determination. "If Bison's going to come back, I want to be ready and waiting for a rematch."
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"I've been looking for the chance to see if I've really improved anyhow," Ken said casually, as if none of this fazed him. Truthfully, he was concerned, for himself, for his friends, and for what might happen to Eliza being around him. It never did help to buckle under stress, so he dismissed whatever threw itself in his face as nothing to be alarmed about. A joke.
He turned to Ryu. "Originally, it was going to be just practicing with you, buddy," he said, facing Chun Li now, "but now that you're here too, the three of us can train, and get a real test soon enough."
"I have work," Chun Li said pointedly.
"No problem," Ken said. He wanted to be as best prepared as possible if that scumbag Bison had really returned from the grave. "Just come when you're available, and train as much as you can. And if you don't actually have to be in an Interpol office, maybe you can do your work at my place. Dad's got several home offices, since he doesn't like the long drive to work. I'm sure he wouldn't mind lending you one." He definitely wanted Chun Li to be safe. She was the closest thing to a sister he'd ever had, and while they'd lost contact for so long, the platonic feelings had been just as strong as ever the moment they'd spoken again.
Eliza returned from her trip to the restroom, and they continued normal dinner chitchat as though that's what they'd been discussing all along. He couldn't afford to bring Eliza into this at all. Ryu and Chun Li could at least take care of themselves.
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A few hours later
It had certainly been nice, getting caught up with old friends. Times like this reminded Chun Li that she *was* twenty-one, and still did need to socialize outside of work now and then. Taking down Bison always came first, but that didn't mean she had to let work get the best of her all the time and entirely neglect her social life. Besides, she justified to herself, she had been working, in a way. She'd alerted two of the people that had taken on Bison (and lived to tell the tale) of the megalomaniac's possible return. That was enough.
No, it wasn't. She was reminded of one more person that should know about this latest development, and angry with herself that she hadn't thought of him earlier. Captain Guile deserved to know. Like her, he had lost someone important to him to that madman. He would want the opportunity to get revenge and protect others from M.Bison. It was ironic that she would neglect to think of him right away, considering that she had been better about staying in contact with him after working with him only a year ago.
She would phone him first thing tomorrow, and also make sure to arrange times to train with Ryu and Ken. As busy as she was, she knew how valuable it was to train against someone that could prove to be a truly challenging opponent.
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The next morning
"Major Guile, sir? There's a call for you."
"If it's my ex-wife, tell her I'll call her back, and that I already mailed the damned cheque over," he growled, curling a hefty weight. His already large bicep became even more defined as he held it there for a moment and slowly lowered it, only to repeat the process yet again.
"It's not your ex, but it is a lady," said the sergeant. He looked curious, but the one Guile's pale blue eyes pierced him with in return discouraged him from asking any questions whatsoever.
"I'll take it in my office," he said, putting the weight back in place. "Tell her I'll be a minute." He couldn't begin to guess who would call him at work in the morning other than his wife. He had a couple of friendly female acquaintances, but they knew to call him in the evening. He walked to his office, deciding he'd rather not have the nosy sergeant busying himself with work around the area so he could overhear bits of the conversation.
"Major Guile." No polite hello, just identifying himself.
"Major? This is new," said the voice pleasantly. She sounded familiar.
"Chun Li?"
"Right," she answered. A faint smile tugged at the ends of Guile's lips. It had been nearly two months since they'd last spoken, and he missed the cheerful Chinese woman, though he'd never outright admit it. "So, when did you get the promotion?"
"Just a month and a half ago," he replied. "They'd been planning on promoting me for a while after the whole Shadowlaw incident, but it took them a while to get around to it."
"Congratulations!" she said enthusiastically. "Um. . ." The enthusiasm had vanished instantly from her voice, and she sounded as though she was having trouble spitting out whatever she had to say.
"What?" Guile demanded bluntly. Chun Li was usually a direct person. He didn't want her to start up with any awkward bullshit now.
"Well, we didn't defeat Shadowlaw the way we thought. . ." she started. Guile's mouth fell open in surprise. "There's no proof if Bison is dead or alive, but there's evidence that other members of Shadowlaw are alive, and Bison's two genetically engineered offspring went missing recently." She sighed. "I thought you ought to know, so you can be on alert. When I get back to work on Monday, perhaps we can arrange to work together again."
Guile swallowed. Bison back? With that scumbag, anything was possible. If he was, maybe Guile would have the chance to rip Bison's non-existent heart out and cram it down his throat. Sounded good. It was no less than Bison deserved. . .
"Yeah, sounds good, kid," Guile said after that minute's pause. "Take care of yourself, Chun Li."
"I will," Chun Li answered, back to the playful woman he knew. "You make sure to take your own advice, Guile. Talk to you soon."
"Right, bye." replied the soldier, hanging up right after. He hated those long goodbyes, filled with cliché expressions and small talk. He walked out of his office, with a dark look on his face that warned everyone to stay a minimum of twenty feet away, stalking over to where the military's punching bags were kept. A few solid punches sunk into the leather bag and the chain protested violently. But none of that mattered to Guile. All he could see was Bison's face on the punching bag. He punched it one last time, sending the bag flying off of its' chain and into the wall with a loud 'smack'.
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Author's note: Gaaah! I'm sorry for taking so long to update this. I'll never take that long to update again. @_@;; I already jotted down notes for the next three chapters after this one, so it shouldn't be too long at all before chapter six is done. ^^ And, as always, please leave a review.