After a shower, Ryu got dressed. Last night's event weighed heavily on his mind. He knew that last night he was at his weakest. He had not known the depths of his feelings for her and did not expect them to have drove him as far as it did. Also he wondered if Chun Li really had feelings for him. She told him her secrets and he told her his, but was it just a lie? Was she really married or did she have children? He was not even sure who that man was and why he was always with her. Was he interested in her or was she interested in him? Just the thought of that man made Ryu angry, but he figured that there would be a simple solution to that conundrum. He wanted to see if Chun Li was with him and what they were doing. Without another thought, he left the cabin. Could she really just be doing her duty? He was not sure how far the cabin was, but since she left ahead of him on foot, he knew it was not too far.
About a fifteen minute hike later, Ryu knew he was there. When he came toward the cabin, he started to feel uneasy. It was quiet, too quiet. Ryu turned the door knob. The door was unlocked and he was ready for whatever was behind it.
"Ryu!" Sagat exclaimed, "What a pleasant surprise. I did not know you were here. Today must be my lucky day."
"What are you doing here?" Ryu asked. "Surely you are not here to challenge me. The Shadowloo has bigger interest than our vendetta."
"Ofcourse not, I am here as a recruiter; Master Bison is interested with you. Your victory at the tournament proves you are worthy to join the Shadowloo. Ryu was skeptical, he walked closer only to see Chun Li passed out in the corner behind him. "When she wakes up, she will have a terrible headache."
"Are you ready to challenge me?" Ryu asked.
"Always," Sagat replied. "I thought you would never ask." Sagat threw a fireball, but Ryu countered with his own. Sagat threw another fireball, then moved in closer. Ryu took that opportunity to do a dragon punch, but missed. Sagat followed up with a tiger upper cut and then another fire ball. They matched blow for blow and fireball for fireball; neither fighter had a clear lead.
"Come on! I have been wanting a rematch for so long and now you have gone soft. What happened Ryu?" Sagat advanced on him again; Ryu countered with a fireball, but Sagat jumped over it. Ryu followed up with a level three dragon punch which made contact with Sagat's chest causing him to be taken up in the air with Ryu. Sagat looked over at the unconscious Vega who was across the room in a pair of handcuffs; he to had underestimated his opponent. Then Ryu finished him off with a super hurricane kick.
After Sagat's defeat he walked over to Chun Li. He started shaking her, trying to make her wake up. She opened her eyes. "My head," she complained. "Did I get him?" She asked, still a bit dazed. "Did I get him?"
"Who?" "Vega," she replied. Ryu helped her up. She then radioed for backup and handcuffed Sagat and Vega together. Ryu only stood observing as she performed her duties. Finally she turned around and broke the silence by asking, "Where is everyone?" Ryu did not answer. "I saw Li's car outside, so it's safe to say he is still here." She drew her gun from underneath her shirt. "Check upstairs; I don't think anyone else is here, but be careful. I'm going to look in the backyard. I know there are more Shadowloo agents outside."
***
Chun Li went in the backyard. Li and a hand full of their cover team mates were awake, but hog-tied. "What happened?" She untied them one by one.
"Early this morning we took a brief hike and when we came back, we were ambushed then tied up."
"How many of them do you think are here?"
"I don't know honestly, it couldn't be no more than fifteen agents. They were lead by a tall one-eyed man and another with a steel face mask and claws."
"I already radioed for back up. Unfortunately since we are so far out of the way, they will be here within thirty minutes."
"That's like ordering a pizza!" He exclaimed.
"We are on our own right now," Chun Li turned to face the men. "I want Sullivan and Ping to secure Ryu. Lock the cabin doors and windows. I don't want anyone or anything getting in or out of there. Is that understood?" The men nodded.
"Why not just drive him out of here, " Li asked.
"They might expect us to do that, but back up will be here long before we could ever drive him to safety. It would be best to just honker down the cabin and ride out this problem." Chun Li then addressed the rest of the team. "Fairell and Byrers, stake out the immediate parameter and secure the prisoners. I'll take the remaining men and look for the enemy agents. If we flush them out and keep them on the defensive, we can gather them up in one final swoop when back up arrives."
"Do you think that is wise?" Li asked, "They are expecting us."
"What do you expect us to do; go cower somewhere?" Li shook his head. "This is the first time you have ever doubted me." Chun Li scolded him. "I out rank you so what I say goes. Is that clear? If you were not away from your post you could have seen them before they struck." Li gave a defeated stare, his pride had been hurt by Chun Li upstaging him.
"Yes," he replied, "I understand." She then lead the team into the near by woods since previously she had heard a sound in the bushes outside the cabin.
***
Two agents took Ryu by the arm and ordered him to have a seat. From the window Ryu saw Chun Li leading a team with Li following her close behind. The agents in the cabin locked the windows and doors. They then drew their guns. One agent took the front door, another agent walked into the other room and covered the back door. Finally an agent spoke. "Mr. Hoshi, don't worry we are professionals. You are in no immediate danger. We radioed for a back up helicopter to take you back to the Interpol office in Osaka."
"What is the status of the mission?"
"We have the Shadowloo agents on the run." The agents replied. "We caught the brains behind this covert scheme in Bombay last night. Since we had already secured the target in India we had no problem weeding out the enemy agents when they arrived on the scene."
"So has Bison been captured?"
"No," the agent replied, "The Shadowloo has many ears and eyes; Bison maybe the main character, but he has others do his dirty work. We did capture four of his top ranking officials." Ryu took a minute to think. The mission was coming to a close, soon he would be leaving.
"Why aren't you out there with the others?"
"We are here to protect you," the agent replied dryly. "We have our orders."
"I can take care of myself. You should be backing up the others. There are only a few agents with Chun Li. She needs more people."
"Detective Xiang," the agent laughed. "She is a one woman army." A shot then rang out. "She got one of them! Detective Xiang is one of the best marksmen in the entire agency." Very soon a few more shots were fired. Ryu got up and went to the window. He only saw the undisturbed trees. Then the agent took out his radio. "Mr. Hoshi, the helicopter will be here in five minutes." Ryu nodded. His thoughts wandered to Chun Li. Was she alright? He knew it all was apart of her profession, but still he wanted to be out there with her. The agent saw him standing at the window and told him to have a seat.
A few minutes passed, then more gun shots sounded, which was soon followed by a long uneasy stretching of silence. Finally the sound of a helicopter broke the tension in the room causing Ryu to lose his train of thought. As the front door was opened, two more agents rushed in and took Ryu. They escorted him outside to a waiting helicopter. He was surprised to see that the area was now swarming with Interpol agents. Then he saw Vega and Sagat being led away in restraints. Ryu looked around but she had not returned. Where was she? He pushed away his escorts and took a few steps, but they took him by the arm again. "Mr. Hoshi," the agent called out to him.
"Where is she?" Ryu asked.
"She will eventually be at our headquarters soon enough," he replied, "Mr. Hoshi, I had told you before, don't worry about her. She has been on many suicide missions and always came back successful and unharmed." The agent then lead him away. "You know she is simply fantastic," he replied. Ryu remained silent and boarded the helicopter. With Ryu inside it took off. As the helicopter climbed in altitude he finally saw her emerging from the woods with her team. She had caught the enemy agents and was unharmed. He was relieved, but then he realized that the helicopter was headed in the wrong direction. He was not headed back to Beijing, but to Japan. The warrior's heart sank since he did not have the opportunity to say good-bye to her. Before she faded out of sight, he saw Li walking over to her.
***
"Congratulations Chun", Li patted her on the back. "The mission would not have been a success if it was not for you." Chun Li blushed.
"You always know what to say," she replied. She looked off toward the cabin. "How is Mr. Hoshi?"
"Fine," Li replied. "He was secured in the cabin as you requested. I then had one of the men radio for a helicopter to take him back to Japan."
"Japan!" Chun Li exclaimed. "Why? He was on vacation." Li shrugged then coolly replied as he slipped his arm around Chun Li's waist.
"Don't worry about it; that man travels the world. I bet he hasn't been home in a long time and I know he is glad to be going there." Chun Li did not reply. Li observed her disappointed expression. They both then went their separate ways so they could pack up and move out.
***
Upon his arrival home Ryu realized he did not have his duffel bag with him, but that did not disturb him. He was still thinking about Chun Li. Ryu had faced a few female fighters, but none of them was like her. She had: speed, power, grace and beauty, but now most of all she had his heart. In such a short time, she had enchanted him. He wished he had parted with her differently. Ryu finally decided to mediate since there was nothing more he could contemplate. For the first time he felt alone. He realized he spent most of his time at the cabin wit her. They hiked and sparred together, they even looked at the sunrises and sunsets and she cooked for them since she referred to his cooking as a disaster.
After he meditated, his mind was at ease. That is when he noticed in the corner by the door, a letter had come for him. Ryu opened it to find a plane ticket to San Francisco, California. It was from Ken Masters; he was congratulating him for winning the tournament. He had hoped to see Ryu since he missed the company of his boyhood friend. Ryu threw down the letter on a nearby table and walked away. She managed to creep back into his mind, but he forced himself to think of a happier time. He remembered back to when he and Ken trained with their sensai. When he and Ken parted, they vowed to be friends forever and that they would always keep in touch. Ryu knew that his quest continued as well as his friendship with Ken, but that did not matter to him right now.
Ryu walked outside and watched the sunset. Its golden rays and the approaching deep purple sky made him think back to when he watched the sunrise with Chun Li for the first time and how her face lit up. He wondered if she could see that sunset. It was not a comforting thought. There was now a sea keeping them apart and probably much more. His heart ached for her; knowing that they could not touch but they can see the same sunsets and sunrises.
***
Chun Li dreaded seeing Li at the dojo. She did not want to keep her promise since she no longer wanted to train with him. Before she went to the locker room, she decided to visit Mr. Wong because she had been wanting to talk with him. On the way she spotted Li in the lobby. Quickly she ran up the stairs leading to Mr. Wong's tiny little room to avoid him. When she reached the top of the stairs, she heard Li's voice directly below her, but she still could not make out any of his words. She then knocked on Mr. Wong's door hoping Li did not plan to follower her. He opened his door and was surprised to see her. "Welcome welcome!"
"How are you doing Mr. Wong?" She asked.
"Same old same old," he invited her inside. "How are you?" He saw that she was troubled by the look on her face.
"Okay," she replied. "I just wanted to tell you that you were right."
"Right, about what?"
"Ryu"
"You learned a lot no?" Mr. Wong asked.
"Yes," she replied. Mr. Wong took her hand in his in an attempt to comfort her.
"What is wrong," he gingerly asked the somber lady. "You look tormented."
"I feel," she trailed off; Mr. Wong gave her a reassuring smile.
"I maybe old, but I do know a broken heart when I see it." He patted her hand. Chun Li took the chair next to him.
"Why does everyone always leave me?" Chun Li held back her tears with a trembling bottom lip. "I must be a terrible person at heart."
"No, you are not a terrible person." He took her other hand.
"First my mother, then my father and then Charlie," she replied. Tears started to flow down her cheeks.
"They might all be dead, but they are in the afterlife looking down on you so you will never be alone." Chun Li wiped away her stray tears. "Your father would be proud of the strong beautiful woman you have become." Chun Li hugged him.
"You always know what to say," she replied. "Do you know, you have been like a second father to me?"
"Your father and I are like brothers. When Dorai passed I felt like you became my child. I looked out for you and made sure that you trained vigorously so that you could be the best because I knew your father would not have wanted it any other way." He saw that Chun Li was crying again. He replied in a coy, but discrete manner, "Li is not a worthy match for you and you know that yourself." Chun Li nodded.
"He changed; at first he was kind to me."
"He only wants to show you off as one of his trophies. He's not about substance only its frills."
"But I'm not crying because of Li?"
"Ofcourse not, your tears are for Ryu," he replied. Chun Li stirred. "I knew when I saw you two together that night, you would either kiss him or kill him or both depending on your temperament."
"Why didn't you tell me," she asked.
"I thought it was not important; besides you didn't let me complete my sentences if I remember correctly." He smiled at Chun Li. "If a man cannot appreciate you then he is not worthy of your affections. Now dry your eyes. You have so much going for you so don't settle for less." Chun Li wiped her tears. "Unfortunately Ryu is one of those men who can wander in search of a dream for the rest of his life and never stop and smell the roses."
"But how did I mange to feel the way I do for him? He also told me he had feelings for me. We have a lot in common, but there are so many differences." Mr. Wong grinned, his face turning red.
"So it is true, a girl will fall for a man like her father."
"My father?" She asked. "Ryu is nothing like him at all."
"On the contrary," Mr. Wong replied. "When your father and I were younger we traveled all of China with just the clothes on our back and a change of underware in our bag packs. That was how we lived after we completed our training with Master Gen." Mr.. Wong shook his head grinning, exposing a mouth full of pearly white teeth. "I thought your father would never settle down when he joined Interpol. Instead of just tramping all of China, he traveled all over the world investigating and fighting crime. It was hard to catch him in one spot. Then one day he met a girl, your mother. He married her and then you were born." He pointed at Chun Li. "He still traveled, but he prized being your father than being one of Interpol's finest."
"I never knew that," she replied. "I always thought Daddy went straight to Interpol after he trained under Master Gen. He never told me that he traveled after his training was complete."
"Well, we did not do much, we mainly drank and ogled at the girl, but in the he end it was clean fun. It taught us a lot about ourselves and about life."
"So what do you have any advice for me? You always seem to have a keen understanding of any situation."
"I suggest you dry your tears and say good-bye to Li Siu." "What about Ryu?"
"I don't know," Mr. Wong shrugged. "What do you think?" "I don't have the slightest notion. I was going to have his duffel bag mailed to his address in Japan."
"Are you going to tend to this matter personally?" "Yes," she nodded.
"Then I want you to send him a small parcel along with the bag." He walked over to his cabinet and took out a bundle.
"What is it?" She asked.
"It's a subtle invitation." Mr. Wong handed her the package. Chun Li saw a picture of a tiger on it. "It is a robe that bears our logo on it so when ever he see this robe, he will remember. If Ryu should return, it will be good for my dojo to have him here, but most of all you will get to see him again." Chun Li sat the bundle in her lap and hugged Mr. Wong.
"Thank you," she replied, "Thank you so much." Mr. Wong smiled warmly knowing he did the right thing and that she was comforted. Chun Li picked up the robe and left his room, shutting the door quietly.
***
A couple days went by and Ryu was still at home. He did not leave to continue his quest or reply back to his invitation. Then he noticed a parcel was sitting outside his door. At first he ignored it, but finally he took it inside. Ryu opened the package to see his duffel bag and another package next to it. He realized it must have been from her. Quickly he opened the other package and saw it was a robe. Ryu did not know what to think of it; the robe was too small for him to wear. Then he saw a not attached; it was in Chinese. He was barely able to read the note out. Its message was a proverb which read, "If you only have two cents with one cent buy a loaf of bread and the other buy a lily." It was then that Ryu understood his gift's meaning. He decided to see his best friend in the United States; so he picked up his duffel bag and walked over to the table to take the plane tickets.
***
EPILOGUE:
***
A month later, Chun Li was at work. It was to early to have lunch and to late for breakfast, but she was restless and she wanted to leave her desk since nothing much was happening. A cup of green tea seemed to be a good idea. She headed to the kitchen and made a cup. On her way back she saw one of the mailroom employees leaving her office. It was not peculiar, but she felt that something was different. When she opened the door, she saw a vase bursting with white lilies. Her heart started to flutter; she did not know who they were from. Quickly she looked for a card. It read, "You will always have a place in my heart." She turned the card over trying to look for a name, but did not find one. Chun Li thought it was odd, but sat the flowers by the window and thought nothing more of them.
The End
Author's note: Okay we have reached the end of this story, please respond and tell me what was good, what was bad, what needed work and so forth. I have a sequel coming up to this story. I read all your reviews and appreciate even the flames because its better to hear something than to hear nothing whatsoever in my opinion!
About a fifteen minute hike later, Ryu knew he was there. When he came toward the cabin, he started to feel uneasy. It was quiet, too quiet. Ryu turned the door knob. The door was unlocked and he was ready for whatever was behind it.
"Ryu!" Sagat exclaimed, "What a pleasant surprise. I did not know you were here. Today must be my lucky day."
"What are you doing here?" Ryu asked. "Surely you are not here to challenge me. The Shadowloo has bigger interest than our vendetta."
"Ofcourse not, I am here as a recruiter; Master Bison is interested with you. Your victory at the tournament proves you are worthy to join the Shadowloo. Ryu was skeptical, he walked closer only to see Chun Li passed out in the corner behind him. "When she wakes up, she will have a terrible headache."
"Are you ready to challenge me?" Ryu asked.
"Always," Sagat replied. "I thought you would never ask." Sagat threw a fireball, but Ryu countered with his own. Sagat threw another fireball, then moved in closer. Ryu took that opportunity to do a dragon punch, but missed. Sagat followed up with a tiger upper cut and then another fire ball. They matched blow for blow and fireball for fireball; neither fighter had a clear lead.
"Come on! I have been wanting a rematch for so long and now you have gone soft. What happened Ryu?" Sagat advanced on him again; Ryu countered with a fireball, but Sagat jumped over it. Ryu followed up with a level three dragon punch which made contact with Sagat's chest causing him to be taken up in the air with Ryu. Sagat looked over at the unconscious Vega who was across the room in a pair of handcuffs; he to had underestimated his opponent. Then Ryu finished him off with a super hurricane kick.
After Sagat's defeat he walked over to Chun Li. He started shaking her, trying to make her wake up. She opened her eyes. "My head," she complained. "Did I get him?" She asked, still a bit dazed. "Did I get him?"
"Who?" "Vega," she replied. Ryu helped her up. She then radioed for backup and handcuffed Sagat and Vega together. Ryu only stood observing as she performed her duties. Finally she turned around and broke the silence by asking, "Where is everyone?" Ryu did not answer. "I saw Li's car outside, so it's safe to say he is still here." She drew her gun from underneath her shirt. "Check upstairs; I don't think anyone else is here, but be careful. I'm going to look in the backyard. I know there are more Shadowloo agents outside."
***
Chun Li went in the backyard. Li and a hand full of their cover team mates were awake, but hog-tied. "What happened?" She untied them one by one.
"Early this morning we took a brief hike and when we came back, we were ambushed then tied up."
"How many of them do you think are here?"
"I don't know honestly, it couldn't be no more than fifteen agents. They were lead by a tall one-eyed man and another with a steel face mask and claws."
"I already radioed for back up. Unfortunately since we are so far out of the way, they will be here within thirty minutes."
"That's like ordering a pizza!" He exclaimed.
"We are on our own right now," Chun Li turned to face the men. "I want Sullivan and Ping to secure Ryu. Lock the cabin doors and windows. I don't want anyone or anything getting in or out of there. Is that understood?" The men nodded.
"Why not just drive him out of here, " Li asked.
"They might expect us to do that, but back up will be here long before we could ever drive him to safety. It would be best to just honker down the cabin and ride out this problem." Chun Li then addressed the rest of the team. "Fairell and Byrers, stake out the immediate parameter and secure the prisoners. I'll take the remaining men and look for the enemy agents. If we flush them out and keep them on the defensive, we can gather them up in one final swoop when back up arrives."
"Do you think that is wise?" Li asked, "They are expecting us."
"What do you expect us to do; go cower somewhere?" Li shook his head. "This is the first time you have ever doubted me." Chun Li scolded him. "I out rank you so what I say goes. Is that clear? If you were not away from your post you could have seen them before they struck." Li gave a defeated stare, his pride had been hurt by Chun Li upstaging him.
"Yes," he replied, "I understand." She then lead the team into the near by woods since previously she had heard a sound in the bushes outside the cabin.
***
Two agents took Ryu by the arm and ordered him to have a seat. From the window Ryu saw Chun Li leading a team with Li following her close behind. The agents in the cabin locked the windows and doors. They then drew their guns. One agent took the front door, another agent walked into the other room and covered the back door. Finally an agent spoke. "Mr. Hoshi, don't worry we are professionals. You are in no immediate danger. We radioed for a back up helicopter to take you back to the Interpol office in Osaka."
"What is the status of the mission?"
"We have the Shadowloo agents on the run." The agents replied. "We caught the brains behind this covert scheme in Bombay last night. Since we had already secured the target in India we had no problem weeding out the enemy agents when they arrived on the scene."
"So has Bison been captured?"
"No," the agent replied, "The Shadowloo has many ears and eyes; Bison maybe the main character, but he has others do his dirty work. We did capture four of his top ranking officials." Ryu took a minute to think. The mission was coming to a close, soon he would be leaving.
"Why aren't you out there with the others?"
"We are here to protect you," the agent replied dryly. "We have our orders."
"I can take care of myself. You should be backing up the others. There are only a few agents with Chun Li. She needs more people."
"Detective Xiang," the agent laughed. "She is a one woman army." A shot then rang out. "She got one of them! Detective Xiang is one of the best marksmen in the entire agency." Very soon a few more shots were fired. Ryu got up and went to the window. He only saw the undisturbed trees. Then the agent took out his radio. "Mr. Hoshi, the helicopter will be here in five minutes." Ryu nodded. His thoughts wandered to Chun Li. Was she alright? He knew it all was apart of her profession, but still he wanted to be out there with her. The agent saw him standing at the window and told him to have a seat.
A few minutes passed, then more gun shots sounded, which was soon followed by a long uneasy stretching of silence. Finally the sound of a helicopter broke the tension in the room causing Ryu to lose his train of thought. As the front door was opened, two more agents rushed in and took Ryu. They escorted him outside to a waiting helicopter. He was surprised to see that the area was now swarming with Interpol agents. Then he saw Vega and Sagat being led away in restraints. Ryu looked around but she had not returned. Where was she? He pushed away his escorts and took a few steps, but they took him by the arm again. "Mr. Hoshi," the agent called out to him.
"Where is she?" Ryu asked.
"She will eventually be at our headquarters soon enough," he replied, "Mr. Hoshi, I had told you before, don't worry about her. She has been on many suicide missions and always came back successful and unharmed." The agent then lead him away. "You know she is simply fantastic," he replied. Ryu remained silent and boarded the helicopter. With Ryu inside it took off. As the helicopter climbed in altitude he finally saw her emerging from the woods with her team. She had caught the enemy agents and was unharmed. He was relieved, but then he realized that the helicopter was headed in the wrong direction. He was not headed back to Beijing, but to Japan. The warrior's heart sank since he did not have the opportunity to say good-bye to her. Before she faded out of sight, he saw Li walking over to her.
***
"Congratulations Chun", Li patted her on the back. "The mission would not have been a success if it was not for you." Chun Li blushed.
"You always know what to say," she replied. She looked off toward the cabin. "How is Mr. Hoshi?"
"Fine," Li replied. "He was secured in the cabin as you requested. I then had one of the men radio for a helicopter to take him back to Japan."
"Japan!" Chun Li exclaimed. "Why? He was on vacation." Li shrugged then coolly replied as he slipped his arm around Chun Li's waist.
"Don't worry about it; that man travels the world. I bet he hasn't been home in a long time and I know he is glad to be going there." Chun Li did not reply. Li observed her disappointed expression. They both then went their separate ways so they could pack up and move out.
***
Upon his arrival home Ryu realized he did not have his duffel bag with him, but that did not disturb him. He was still thinking about Chun Li. Ryu had faced a few female fighters, but none of them was like her. She had: speed, power, grace and beauty, but now most of all she had his heart. In such a short time, she had enchanted him. He wished he had parted with her differently. Ryu finally decided to mediate since there was nothing more he could contemplate. For the first time he felt alone. He realized he spent most of his time at the cabin wit her. They hiked and sparred together, they even looked at the sunrises and sunsets and she cooked for them since she referred to his cooking as a disaster.
After he meditated, his mind was at ease. That is when he noticed in the corner by the door, a letter had come for him. Ryu opened it to find a plane ticket to San Francisco, California. It was from Ken Masters; he was congratulating him for winning the tournament. He had hoped to see Ryu since he missed the company of his boyhood friend. Ryu threw down the letter on a nearby table and walked away. She managed to creep back into his mind, but he forced himself to think of a happier time. He remembered back to when he and Ken trained with their sensai. When he and Ken parted, they vowed to be friends forever and that they would always keep in touch. Ryu knew that his quest continued as well as his friendship with Ken, but that did not matter to him right now.
Ryu walked outside and watched the sunset. Its golden rays and the approaching deep purple sky made him think back to when he watched the sunrise with Chun Li for the first time and how her face lit up. He wondered if she could see that sunset. It was not a comforting thought. There was now a sea keeping them apart and probably much more. His heart ached for her; knowing that they could not touch but they can see the same sunsets and sunrises.
***
Chun Li dreaded seeing Li at the dojo. She did not want to keep her promise since she no longer wanted to train with him. Before she went to the locker room, she decided to visit Mr. Wong because she had been wanting to talk with him. On the way she spotted Li in the lobby. Quickly she ran up the stairs leading to Mr. Wong's tiny little room to avoid him. When she reached the top of the stairs, she heard Li's voice directly below her, but she still could not make out any of his words. She then knocked on Mr. Wong's door hoping Li did not plan to follower her. He opened his door and was surprised to see her. "Welcome welcome!"
"How are you doing Mr. Wong?" She asked.
"Same old same old," he invited her inside. "How are you?" He saw that she was troubled by the look on her face.
"Okay," she replied. "I just wanted to tell you that you were right."
"Right, about what?"
"Ryu"
"You learned a lot no?" Mr. Wong asked.
"Yes," she replied. Mr. Wong took her hand in his in an attempt to comfort her.
"What is wrong," he gingerly asked the somber lady. "You look tormented."
"I feel," she trailed off; Mr. Wong gave her a reassuring smile.
"I maybe old, but I do know a broken heart when I see it." He patted her hand. Chun Li took the chair next to him.
"Why does everyone always leave me?" Chun Li held back her tears with a trembling bottom lip. "I must be a terrible person at heart."
"No, you are not a terrible person." He took her other hand.
"First my mother, then my father and then Charlie," she replied. Tears started to flow down her cheeks.
"They might all be dead, but they are in the afterlife looking down on you so you will never be alone." Chun Li wiped away her stray tears. "Your father would be proud of the strong beautiful woman you have become." Chun Li hugged him.
"You always know what to say," she replied. "Do you know, you have been like a second father to me?"
"Your father and I are like brothers. When Dorai passed I felt like you became my child. I looked out for you and made sure that you trained vigorously so that you could be the best because I knew your father would not have wanted it any other way." He saw that Chun Li was crying again. He replied in a coy, but discrete manner, "Li is not a worthy match for you and you know that yourself." Chun Li nodded.
"He changed; at first he was kind to me."
"He only wants to show you off as one of his trophies. He's not about substance only its frills."
"But I'm not crying because of Li?"
"Ofcourse not, your tears are for Ryu," he replied. Chun Li stirred. "I knew when I saw you two together that night, you would either kiss him or kill him or both depending on your temperament."
"Why didn't you tell me," she asked.
"I thought it was not important; besides you didn't let me complete my sentences if I remember correctly." He smiled at Chun Li. "If a man cannot appreciate you then he is not worthy of your affections. Now dry your eyes. You have so much going for you so don't settle for less." Chun Li wiped her tears. "Unfortunately Ryu is one of those men who can wander in search of a dream for the rest of his life and never stop and smell the roses."
"But how did I mange to feel the way I do for him? He also told me he had feelings for me. We have a lot in common, but there are so many differences." Mr. Wong grinned, his face turning red.
"So it is true, a girl will fall for a man like her father."
"My father?" She asked. "Ryu is nothing like him at all."
"On the contrary," Mr. Wong replied. "When your father and I were younger we traveled all of China with just the clothes on our back and a change of underware in our bag packs. That was how we lived after we completed our training with Master Gen." Mr.. Wong shook his head grinning, exposing a mouth full of pearly white teeth. "I thought your father would never settle down when he joined Interpol. Instead of just tramping all of China, he traveled all over the world investigating and fighting crime. It was hard to catch him in one spot. Then one day he met a girl, your mother. He married her and then you were born." He pointed at Chun Li. "He still traveled, but he prized being your father than being one of Interpol's finest."
"I never knew that," she replied. "I always thought Daddy went straight to Interpol after he trained under Master Gen. He never told me that he traveled after his training was complete."
"Well, we did not do much, we mainly drank and ogled at the girl, but in the he end it was clean fun. It taught us a lot about ourselves and about life."
"So what do you have any advice for me? You always seem to have a keen understanding of any situation."
"I suggest you dry your tears and say good-bye to Li Siu." "What about Ryu?"
"I don't know," Mr. Wong shrugged. "What do you think?" "I don't have the slightest notion. I was going to have his duffel bag mailed to his address in Japan."
"Are you going to tend to this matter personally?" "Yes," she nodded.
"Then I want you to send him a small parcel along with the bag." He walked over to his cabinet and took out a bundle.
"What is it?" She asked.
"It's a subtle invitation." Mr. Wong handed her the package. Chun Li saw a picture of a tiger on it. "It is a robe that bears our logo on it so when ever he see this robe, he will remember. If Ryu should return, it will be good for my dojo to have him here, but most of all you will get to see him again." Chun Li sat the bundle in her lap and hugged Mr. Wong.
"Thank you," she replied, "Thank you so much." Mr. Wong smiled warmly knowing he did the right thing and that she was comforted. Chun Li picked up the robe and left his room, shutting the door quietly.
***
A couple days went by and Ryu was still at home. He did not leave to continue his quest or reply back to his invitation. Then he noticed a parcel was sitting outside his door. At first he ignored it, but finally he took it inside. Ryu opened the package to see his duffel bag and another package next to it. He realized it must have been from her. Quickly he opened the other package and saw it was a robe. Ryu did not know what to think of it; the robe was too small for him to wear. Then he saw a not attached; it was in Chinese. He was barely able to read the note out. Its message was a proverb which read, "If you only have two cents with one cent buy a loaf of bread and the other buy a lily." It was then that Ryu understood his gift's meaning. He decided to see his best friend in the United States; so he picked up his duffel bag and walked over to the table to take the plane tickets.
***
EPILOGUE:
***
A month later, Chun Li was at work. It was to early to have lunch and to late for breakfast, but she was restless and she wanted to leave her desk since nothing much was happening. A cup of green tea seemed to be a good idea. She headed to the kitchen and made a cup. On her way back she saw one of the mailroom employees leaving her office. It was not peculiar, but she felt that something was different. When she opened the door, she saw a vase bursting with white lilies. Her heart started to flutter; she did not know who they were from. Quickly she looked for a card. It read, "You will always have a place in my heart." She turned the card over trying to look for a name, but did not find one. Chun Li thought it was odd, but sat the flowers by the window and thought nothing more of them.
The End
Author's note: Okay we have reached the end of this story, please respond and tell me what was good, what was bad, what needed work and so forth. I have a sequel coming up to this story. I read all your reviews and appreciate even the flames because its better to hear something than to hear nothing whatsoever in my opinion!