Oh, yeah! Chapter 5, baby! Are you guys pumped? Because I am! And that's because you guys have been reviewing this and reading it! I love it! Thank you so much! Now... on to the show! Quick recap: Ryu had a quick scrimmage with our favorite mask wearing Spaniard, Vega. Ryu now knows that Neo-Shadaloo had picked out Chun-Li... but why is Ryu counted among those close to her? Let's get to it!

Chapter 5

While the Hadou master was sure his claw-wielding opponent was telling the truth, Ryu wasn't sure if Vega was the only assailant in London. He ran back to the hotel, sprinting to get to the floor that his and Chun-Li's room was on. He walked in the door, almost throwing it open. He was breathing hard and showing marks from the battle. Both of the ladies were surprised by his entrance and condition, immediately getting to their feet.

"Ryu?" Chun-Li asked.

"What happened to you?" Cammy asked.

"Vega," Ryu answered.

Chun-Li gasped.

"VEGA!" Cammy shouted. "Here? In London?"

"Just attacked me," Ryu informed.

Rage and fury filled the blonde haired Brit. Cammy pulled out a phone, grumbling, "That psycho is in my city, MY CITY, MY COUNTRY, and NO ONE saw that coming." She headed toward the door, "I'm gonna head out. I'll get everyone I can searching for him. I'll let you know when I have something."

"Thanks, Cammy," Chun-Li said.

She waved and headed out the door.

Ryu sat down on the couch, doing his best to relax after the battle. But he was still fuming about Vega's appearance and message. Chun-Li looked the world warrior over again. Though he wasn't shaking or overtly excited, he was still seething.

Chun-Li sat down near him, in the arm chair. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He sighed. "Yeah. Vega wasn't really trying. That much was obvious."

"What do you mean?"

"Because there were a couple of times that he had me to a point where he could've done a lot of damage or tried to… but he didn't take it."

"Why?"

"Said he was told not to."

"What? Why?"

"Something to do with some list."

"What list?"

Ryu sighed. "That's where it gets complicated."

"What do you mean?"

Ryu recounted how Vega informed him about people who were close to Chun-Li were being targeted and how they were all over the world because of her role in taking out Shadaloo the last time. The most important part of the disclosure, however, was when Chun-Li heard all this was, not to keep her away, but geared directly at her.

Chun-Li just sat back in shock. "Targeting… me?"

"Yeah…"

She shook her head in disbelief. "I… I can't believe this… I-I thought they were just after Mei and Chow because… b-because they just wanted to stay off the case, not help Interpol, but… I didn't think they were actually targeting me…"

"I was just as surprised as you are. But… Chun-Li… why would they be after me?"

Chun-Li looked at him then immediately looked away.

"Why would I be on this list of theirs?"

She said nothing. She didn't even look up at him.

It was then a question that Ryu barely even thought to ask since all of this started came to his mind. "Chun-Li… why did you call me?"

Chun-Li did her best to cover it up. Fortunately, the shock of the earlier revelation helped mask her uneasiness with the question. "I… I-I just needed help. From someone off the grid. Someone that was impossible to track."

Ryu only bought that answer to a point. "But anyone else we both know could've been worlds more help than me. I mean, Cammy, Guile, even Ken. They can track better and can… actually use computers and things like that. So, why me?"

It was taking her longer to answer than she wanted. She knew what she wanted to say but the truth was trying to force its way out and both were fighting inside her mind. "I… I just did, okay?" Her voice came across more brash than she wanted.

Ryu isn't one to argue and she was already clearly going through enough. So, he decided to let the issue drop. For now. "Okay."

Chun-Li sighed. He was trying to help. "I'm sorry, Ryu."

"Don't be. A lot's happened in small time. Put's anybody on edge."

"Anyone but you."

"I don't have a family. You do."

"And that's how they got to me. That's why I have to sneak all over the world instead of just busting down their door."

She was beating herself up over this. "You care, Chun-Li. It's not a bad thing."

"I feel like it is right now."

"You shouldn't."

"But I do."

The turmoil she was in was so obvious that even if Ryu didn't know the whole story he could see it. As he watched her, he was then reminded of something he learned long ago. "One thing that the Master taught me is that the fist is the way to the heart. The stronger your fist, the stronger your heart."

"My dad used to say the same thing."

"So, stop worrying. If it is even evident that you care, that's a good thing. It's putting more power into your fists."

His words helped. She felt uncertainty, though. "I just hate wearing my heart out like this. It's too… girly. I hate it. Makes me look weak."

"A word that I would never in my life use to describe you, Chun-Li, is weak."

She smiled. "Thanks, again, Ryu."

"No problem."

The following morning came without either of them getting a wink of sleep. They both knew that they should sleep but they weren't sure that it was the best idea. Cammy came back to the hotel and informed the fighters that Vega managed to slip past all forms of security and, other than Ryu fighting him last night, there was no sign of him entering or exiting the country. This really didn't come as a surprise though. Vega was good, as much as they all hated to admit it.

Since there was no chance of tracking him, Ryu and Chun-Li decided to press on with their investigation. Despite knowing that Neo-Shadaloo was on to them, they knew they couldn't stop now. They boarded the next available flight and were bound for Tokyo. Ryu stayed very alert the entire flight, not settling down at all, looking all around for signs of trouble. Chun-Li had no better luck; she couldn't unwind at all. All the emotions that were running through her and the possibility of assailants kept her from relaxing at all. The problem for her was it was starting to get hard to stay awake and alert but, as badly as she wanted and needed sleep, her constant panic kept sleep far from her.

They landed in Tokyo, without incident, thankfully. They went to a hotel and, after settling in the room, Chun-Li nearly collapsed.

"Chun-Li?" Ryu barely caught her before she hit the floor. He held her up, getting her to feet. "Chun-Li?"

She blinked back to consciousness. She looked around, looking at Ryu. "What happened?"

"You passed out." He guided her to sit on the bed.

"My God… that's never happened short of a fight before." She grabbed her forehead and leaned over. "I'm so exhausted."

Ryu folded his arms and sighed. "Gotta wonder if that's the point of all this."

"What do you mean?"

"Keep you running around, from place to place, can't rest."

That was a good plan. "It's working then."

He made a decision. "You stay here."

"What? No, no. I'm fine."

"You nearly passed out in a quiet room with only the two of us in it. Stay here. Go to sleep. I can handle this." He started to leave.

"You're just as tired as I am."

He stopped, then turned to face her. He chuckled. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"In the airport. You slowed a little during the luggage claim. Almost missed our bags."

"You weren't supposed to see that. I told you to go sit."

"I did… and saw you."

He sighed. He was caught. "Alright. So… I'm a little groggy myself."

"It's been a long few days, Ryu." She shrugged, "Why don't we… stay in?"

His mind was still on business. "We don't want to lose the trail."

"And if we go out there tired and sluggish, we're as good as dead. We need the rest."

"True."

"So, let's stay. We can get back on the trail as early as tonight. But… let's just get some rest for now. Okay?"

He smiled and nodded. "Okay."

The rest of the afternoon, they slept. It was needed. Chun-Li was right; they had been no good if they had immediately rushed off. They both awoke just as the sun had completely on the Japanese metropolis. It wasn't much rest they got but it was as much as they could get and keep functioning. Chun-Li used the phone Cammy gave her to track down any sightings of Guerrilla in the area. There was one, indeed.

That night, they both headed out for the Shinjuku district. The intel was that Guerrilla had been seen coming to and from a rundown hotel in the district for reasons no one could, or wanted to, imagine. They arrived at the dilapidated hotel, the Suguru Arms, which, clearly, should have been shut down months ago.

As Chun-Li stared at it, she thought, 'Make that years.'

Ryu led the way as they entered into it. It was a horrible establishment. It was mainly used for less than honorable to downright illegal reasons. Long story short, no one stayed here in the earnest need of a room for the night. They went up to the front desk to find the night manager passed out on his desk.

"Um… excuse me?" Chun-Li asked.

The man blinked awake and stared at them both. "Uh… yeah?"

"I was wondering…"

"Oh, yeah! It's you!"

"Excuse me?"

The manager scrambled around for a key. He found one and presented it to her. "The man said 'give this to the brown haired girl with the guy who looks like an angry hobo.'"

Chun-Li looked at Ryu, who just shrugged. She looked back at the manager. "Who told you that?"

"I didn't get his name. He paid me more money than it takes to run this place for a year. Told me to tell you to go to the roof. And he said to make sure that no one else goes up there. Said to make sure you know that."

The two fighters looked at each other before proceeding to the stairs. As they started to climb, Ryu went ahead and addressed the elephant on the staircase. "You know this is a trap."

Chun-Li didn't miss a beat. "I know."

Ryu didn't say anything else. Chun-Li's stride up the stairs never slowed down. He knew that she was committed to this, no matter what. And he was going to have her back, no matter what.

They reached the door to the roof. Chun-Li put the key in the lock and held on to the door knob. She took a deep breath and turned the knob. She opened the door and she and Ryu walked on to the roof.

Standing near the edge of the roof, in jeans and a long black coat, was a tall nigh-7' dark skinned man with dreadlocks. He was looking out over Tokyo with his clasped behind him, revealing he was wearing fingerless, biker gloves.

Chun-Li steadied her breathing.

The man smiled and turned around. With a black t-shirt, clean shave face, and chiseled soldier features that gave Guile a run for his money, the imposing figure spoke, "Hello, Chun-Li, Ryu. My name… is Guerrilla."

And the wait is... not quite over. But, at least you guys know what Guerrilla looks like. Oh, by the way, if anyone has a problem with Guerrilla's name or how he looks in relation to the name, I would like to go ahead and let you guys know, I'm African American. Sorry for those of you to whom that has no bearing, I just don't want to get flamed or... whatever. Anyway, in the next chapter, our heroes are going to try and extract information from Guerrilla. Notice... I said... try... ;) Be patient folks. Oh, and one last thing, yeah... I have no idea where I got the term angry hobo from as far as Ryu goes. It just came to me. Haha. Oh, well. Reviews, please! (Like I even have to say that, I love that you guys have been reviewing this! Please keep it up!)