Disclaimer: I wish I owned it but I don't… wishing gets you nowhere in the writing life huh?

Author's Note: Well here ya go! Hope it's worth reading so far and I hope you will continue reading it cause it's going really well. Actually, I didn't think it would go this go. Told you longer chapters and there will be more action and stuff in the upcoming chapters. Now, enough of me…read and enjoy!

Chapter Five:

The Speech and Running

            Ken sat silently and couldn't help but to yawn a little as the master of the tournament gave his long and boring speech. He was explaining the rules and going over some of the other stuff like that. Stuff that Ken already knew. He glanced over at Ryu and saw that he too, looked rather bored. Preoccupied rather was his choice after noticing the far off look in his cool black eyes.

            "Have I missed anything?" Cammy's voice sounded weak and defenseless even though she had been released earlier from the doctor. She slid in a seat and quietly focused her attention onto the man directing the speech. He seemed like a gut that she already knew in some odd way though she couldn't quite figure out how or why yet.

            "Nothing at all Cammy. Where've you been? And where on earth is Chun-Li? You two are roommates aren't you?" Ryu replied as he looked over Ken and to the blond girl who seemed to almost cower at the mention of the girl he so longed to be with.

            "I didn't go back to the room until after the speech had begun and she wasn't in there then so I assumed she was here. I haven't seen her ever since that scene earlier." She replied with a hint of her accent as she sighed deeply and closed her eyes tightly then reopened them.

            "Cheer up girl." Ken's voice soothed as he slid his arms around Cammy and gave her a tight and warm embrace. "That whole Chun-Li deal from earlier must be a phase she's going through. But whatever the cause, you still got us… me and Ryu here that is." He added as he beamed down at her and then realized that Ryu was nowhere near the same reality that he was in.

            'This is so confusing. I wish this speech would hurry up and end so we can find out who is going up against who.' Ryu thought as he scanned the crowd of some bored faces and then there were some that were actually listening to the man on stage. He assumed they were all beginners until his eyes fell upon a sumo wrestler that was chatting animatedly with a young Chinese woman with long brown hair that was pulled back into a single braid. "Chun-Li." He mumbled quietly as he saw the young woman turn around and there was a dark glaze over her warm brown eyes.

            "Hey buddy what's wrong with you?" Ken's voice brought him back to his two friends and he could tell that Ken was actually getting slightly worried about him.

            "Nothing's wrong Ken. Don't worry about me too much. You know I can get preoccupied and stuff but I think I'm going to go over here for a minute and get away from all of these people." He replied as he started to walk away not even waiting around for a reply from Ken who was just staring after him in confusion.

            Out of the corner of her eye, Chun-Li saw Ryu's handsome figure moving along in the crowd. 'Where is he going? Doesn't he know that they're telling matches as soon as this guy is finished with the speech?' she thought as she watched him leave out of her sight and then she turned back around and faced her new friend Ehonda.

            "What's wrong?" He demanded letting his eyes follow hers and landed on Ryu.

            "Oh nothing really. Just thinking is pretty much all. Wait a second…"She said as she suddenly got a glimpse of Bison walking up on the platform to continue the other man's speech. "Is that Bison?" She asked mostly to herself though her friend answered her happily.

            "Of course it is. He's the one that's going to be telling us what to do and who we face." The man replied as he smiled warmly at Chun-Li as a sign of affection.

            "Right." She agreed as she quickly turned and fled deeper into the crowd so she could get closer to the man that she longed so much to kill.

            "How strange." Her friend mused as he turned and looked for Ryu. 'I know this young woman likes you sir but if I must, I will defeat you for her love.' He thought once he spotted him and then turned his attention back to where Chun-Li should have been standing but found her just about up to the platform.

            'That is her. What is she doing getting so close to Bison? Doesn't she know who he is? Then again, I can't say anything about that…I don't even know who I am anymore. She has my mind so confused and twisted. Even though I hate to admit it, I sort of wish that I never met her…then I would know exactly who and what I am. I am a warrior and ever since I met her, I don't act like one. From this day forward…I'm going to start sticking to my training. She's not worth the time I give her. Not to this warrior anyways.' He decided as he pushed all thoughts of Chun-Li to the back of his head and concentrated on the rules that Bison was stating.

            Later that evening, Chun-Li was training in the arena when she stopped to go get her a bottle of water. She had been practicing for hours on end and now she was just wore out. She had gotten so much anger bottled up inside of her from Bison's speech about fair play and everything that she had to let some of the tension out with each swift move she countered. As she drank her water, she closed her eyes and rested her head back against the wall until she felt someone's shadow fall over her.

            "So what's wrong Chun-Li? Are you avoiding me now?" It was Ryu's voice and Chun-Li cursed it the moment it entered her ears.

            "What's it to you? It's not like you don't have other people to be with. Why come and choose to bother me while I'm trying to train?" She retorted with a clip of ice in her voice that she hoped would send him off.

            Not today. "Get off your high horse Chun-Li. I don't know what's gotten into you but I can tell you this much, you're running from something…from somebody. I'm not that blind!" He almost shouted.

            The anger in Ryu's voice only made the fire burn wildly inside of Chun. She leapt to her feet and without thinking she brought her wrist across Ryu's face leaving a trail of blood behind it. Once she saw what she had caused, she flinched but kept her cool all the same. "You just stay out of my way buddy. Next time, it won't be a simple scratch on the cheek. Is that understood? I mean business. Stay away from me." She ordered as she stared deep into his eyes that were full of hurt and anger all at once.

            "You won't have to worry about that my lady. You will never even think of me except as your worst nightmare if you even attempt to bring those spikes across my face one more time." He replied coldly as he stared hard into the heartless eyes of the woman in which he thought he loved. He took a step towards her as if to prove his point but found Chun-Li turning and walking away from him as calm and collected as possible.

            'That was a mistake you foolish girl!' She scolded herself as she looked back at Ryu through the corner of her eye but kept on walking with her head held high until she was way out of his sight.

            Ryu was sitting down now and he calmly placed a hand to his cheek and wiped away some fresh blood that seeped through the gash made by her spikes. He honestly couldn't believe that such a fragile girl could carry so much on her shoulders that she would take it out on anyone that opened their mouth to her. 'Maybe it was a mistake to try to talk to her. But still…I feel it in me that there is something that she is hiding from me and I want to know what it is. Why must she run? I only want to be her friend.' He thought as he stood back up and then began to train himself for his battle less than a week away.

            Cammy was in the cabin when Chun-Li arrived home that evening and didn't even turn to face her. She was brushing her hair and humming a little song as she sat down on her bed thinking about the days to come and their events.

            Not exactly interested in talk, Chun-Li went into the bathroom and changed her clothes then took her own hair down. It was long and fluffy but there was still something missing in her. As she studied her reflection in the mirror, she realized how dark her eyes had become. That's when it dawned on that the thing missing from her was her soul. She had been doing what was expected of her instead of doing what she wanted. Sure she loved her job and all but not so much as to let it run her life. As she thought on these things, they soon changed and she was back to thinking about how she couldn't wait until she got her revenge on Bison. That was the one day that she longed for now. That was the day she lived for.

            When she came out, Cammy was laying down looking up at the ceiling. "Would it kill you to try?" She asked in her accented voice without even looking over at the young Chinese woman as she sat down on her own bed and looked over at her.

            "Leave me alone Cammy. I'm not in any mood to talk." She said as she took her spikes off of her wrists and laid them down on her nightstand. Soon, she had closed her eyes and given in to the deep sleep that longed to calm all of her fear and confusion. She was doing an excellent job at acting with everyone but in her heart she knew Ryu had been right when she slapped him. She was running…running from him and everyone else. From her past that wouldn't let her go, running just from everything.

            Cammy nodded at the girl and then grinned inwardly to herself. She knew in due time that she would be able to have worked Chun-Li back to being the friend that she had made only a couple of days before. But as she cuddled her pillow and closed her eyes, she allowed her thoughts to venture away to Ken and Ryu. They were the best two things to ever happen to her and she was glad to have them. Though she couldn't help but feeling that the meant more to her than just friends. Why yet she couldn't figure out but she knew one day she would. With those thoughts in mind, she drifted on off to sleep.

            Meanwhile, the boys where in there cabin and Ryu had just finished explaining what had happened him with Chun-Li. "And so that brings me here. I have to fight some guy named Guile here in a few days and yet my mind is centered on that foolish woman. What should I do Ken?"

               "I have no clue what to you buddy. Just let timework things out I guess. There really isn't anything more to say is there?" He replied as he looked over at his friend.

               "Yeah. What do you think about her though? As a person that is?"

               "I really liked her when I first met her and I still do. I just don't know what has happened to her that has turned her into some heartless beast. Maybe she'll be fine after her first battle. She really seems to be training a lot for something and her training isn't simple techniques either. I mean the kind that you use." He answered as he gave his friend a knowing look and then turned over on his side and closed his eyes. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get some sleep."

               Ryu nodded his agreement. Sleep did sound good at that moment but he knew he would never be able to have a settled sleep with his thoughts on Chun. If she was using the same fighting style that he was then that meant that she was hiding something. That was how Ryu trained himself. Perhaps he should start spending more time studying her training instead of trying to talk to her. If he could figure out what got her so wired up then he could find a way to help her. And with that, he closed his eyes and gave in to the dream in which he dreaded so long to meet.

End Chapter Five

Author's Note: Well, what did you think? I'm REALLY starting to get into this story and there's going to start being some major twists once I get into the battles, which will start in the next chapter or two. I hope that the wait is well worth it and that you are enjoying this story as much as I am. Well, I better not talk your ear off so I'll fly now. Review and tell me what you think will happen and I'll see who is the closest to thinking like me. That's scary… Oh! And thank you to all of my faithful reviewers out there! Sorry if there are spelling mistakes or anything like that cause my spell check is messed up.

Manda