Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Chap. 22

Himalayan Area, 1603

Chun Li sat down on the stone boulder in frustration. She had been in the mountainous wilderness for almost a week. She had heard of a possible site from a nearby village. The information was sketchy, but she wanted to be sure. During her years of search, she had determined that the Shadowloo stronghold had to have been somewhere in the lower Asian area. But pinpointing it was another matter entirely. It was as though it didn'texist at all. But she knew for a certainty it did; the higher concentration of Shadowloo activities in the areawere enough to tell her that. But so far her search had proved fruitless.

'I must have been crazy to come to a place like this alone.'

Chun Li sighed deeply and took a glance at her sword, which she had placed nearby. Whomever it was that was running Shadowloo, it had to be an immortal. No mortal or even a generation of mortals could have moved around and kept such an organization hidden for all these years without error. Once she found this mystery person, she would speak nothing save for the words of her blade.

'There can be only one.'

She sighed once again. First,She had to find the place. She rose from her seat and began to walk when a motion caught her eye. Looking from her place, she could faintly see a lone figure near a low cliff on one of the mountains. Despite the distance, she could see that it was a male figure, clothed in white. 'What's a person doing out here alone in a place like this?' Reaching into her pack, she pulled out a small single lens telescope and peered through. Clearing the sight, she got a good look at the person. The white clothing he wore was apparently a gi. A headband waved through the air as he moved and she was able to discern his Japanese origin.

But what caught her attention the most was the sword he was training with in his hands. Was he an immortal? Although quite possibly the truth, it could have very easily have been a mortal swordsman training in solitude. 'Wait.' What if this person was a part of Shadowloo or even the master himself? This was a golden opportunity and she couldn't afford to waste it. Backing up near the rock, she moved in closer. She knew that he would sense her soon so she had to get in the right vantage-point for an early attack. 'You will not escape me.' But as she neared, other objects caught her eyes. Before she realized it, a group of dark-clad men had jumped out from above the swordsman and surrounded him. Chun Li blinked as she realized who they were. The insignia on their garments was clear enough.

Shadowloo agents…

The swordsman looked about him at the intruders surrounding him. "What do you want?"

They said nothing as one drew a knife and prepare to stab him from behind. The warrior, sensing the movement, sidestepped to the left and swung back with a knee. The attacker was hit in the chest and fell to the rocky ground hard. As soon as he hit the ground, the others moved in on him at once. The closest one lunged with a thick knife, but the warrior quickly raised his sword to parry and then wheeled around his attacker, placing himself outside the circle of agents.

"What do you want with me?"

They didn't answer. Rather they aligned themselves in a single file and attacked in sequence. The warrior met with the first one in mid charge and slashed up, clashing with the attacker's knife and then slamming his knee into the man's gut. The warrior then twirled and swept low with his sword, causing forcing two of them to hop up to avoid getting their feet cut off, unwittingly putting themselves in position for his next technique.

"Tatsumaki Senpuu-Kyaku!"

The warrior spun into the air, using his ki to cause him to spin rapidly like a top, knocking the two attackers off their feet. The warrior landed and caught sight of another one of the men stabbing forward. The warrior slashed out reflexively and managed to slap the knife awayhowever, one of the earlier attackerskicked him on his open side. The blow was hard enough to cause the warrior to stumble over the side and fall off. His hand shot up and managed to grab hold of the ledge. Looking up, he saw one of the dark assailants standing over him. The warrior seemed to look down in thought. He could simply let go and hit the ground. He would die, but it wouldn't be permanent. Chum pondered the events. Surely he couldn't be part of Shadowloo. Not if they were trying to kill him. And why him anyway? In any case, she wouldn't let them take another life; not on her watch.

"Yahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Chun Li had finally came out of her place of hiding and kicked the fighter that was standing over the warrior, knocking him clear off the edge and down the chasm. The woman warrior spun around and caught the second one with a kick flat in the face. Seeing only one left, Chun Li finally unsheathed her sword and held it overhead. The attacker seemed to consider attacking for a moment before stabbing forward. Chun Li backed away and slapped the knife away, causing him the falter to the side and giving her an opening to whirl around and knock him down with a backhand blow. As soon as he fell, Chun Li moved to the fallen man and helped him up.

"Thank you."

However, Chun Li's attention was soon diverted as she looked around to see the assassins retreating. 'No!' her thoughts screamed. They could be her only lead to Shadowloo's secret lair. She was about to pursue them when she caught sight of a faint light. Turning back, she saw the warrior had picked up his weapon and held it leveled. But that's not what caught her interest. What had was that the blade itself was aglow with blue energy. 'What is he doing?' she thought as her hand began to tighten on her own sword. She didn't think that this stranger would attack her right after she had saved his life, but she didn't want to chance it.

"Hadojinken!"

The stranger cut downward, releasing a wave of energy that flashed across the hillside and straight at one of the retreating assailants. The wave brushed past and ripped into the rocks in front, causing him to slip and fall down. Chun Li looked back at the warrior with amazement. She was well aware about the use of chi in martial arts, more so because that was what Gen had taught her. But she had never seen it projected in such a manner before. It took her a minute to brush her amazement away and move up to the fallen attacker, accompanied by the white warrior. She reached down and turned him upright.

"Alright. I want some…"

But upon turning him over, she found that the man's eyes were rolled over and his breathing was nonexistent. 'He's dead? But how?' The warrior's energy blade hadn't even hit him and none of the rock that fell hit him hard. Checking him, she quickly saw a ring on his hand with a small needle on it. 'Poison. He poisoned himself? He must have known he wasn't going to escape. He'd rather die that tell me anything.' Just what the heck was she dealing with? Her attention returned to the stranger, who had moved near her.

"He's dead." she muttered. "He poisoned himself."

The warrior took a quick scan of the area, but the shadowy agents were long gone. "Who were they?" he asked.

"You don't know?" It was apparent that they were after him, so she assumed that he knew something about them. "They were Shadowloo agents."

"Shadowloo?"

"A criminal organization that exists in various corners of the world. I've been searching for them for awhile and tracked them here."

"Why would they attack me?"

'A good question. I wish I knew.' "I don't know. I was hoping you could tell me."

The man shook his head, "I'm afraid not. I've never seen these men before now."

"And this was the last chance I had." she muttered again, looking down at the lifeless body before them. "Now they'll move again and it'll take me years to find them…again."

"In any case, I am in debt to you." The man gave her a deep bow. "You saved my life, miss."

A twinge of embarrassment went through her for no reason. "My name is Chun Li Xiang."

"I am Ryu of the Hoshi clan."

"It was nice to meet you." Truthfully, Chun Li was saying that to be polite. She was so close and now the chance had slipped away from her. It had taken her almost a year to track them this far. Now she would have to do it over and that could take longer still. Frustration began to well in her again until she looked behind and took a glimpse at the wall before her. Though it was solid rock, his technique had sliced right into it. He could have used it on the retreating attacker, but chose to use it to stop him instead. Perhaps he wanted some answers as well? In any case, such a technique would be a large help. When she found the Shadowloo leader, she would need every trick she could get. Turning back…

"What was that technique you used? That energy wave that you fired out?"

"The Hadojinken?"

"Yes that. Is it possible for you to teach that to me?"

Ryu gave a puzzled look, "You wish to learn it?"

"Yes."

"I don't know. The technique is quite difficult to learn. It may take some time for you."

But she could tell it was more than that. Like every immortal, he was most likely cautious about the others. She couldn't blame him. A few minutes ago, she posed herself ready to kill him. But not because he was immortal. For all he knew, she would turn on him once she had finished. Or just as likely, him on her. But there was something about him that seemed honest.

"We're immortal. I have the time."

He turned his head and his eyes showed that he was considering it. After a brief while…

"You saved my life. If this is what you wish, then very well."

"It's been awhile, Ryu."

Ryu nodded, "Yes it has. How are you?"

The Chinese woman took a step off to the side, "I'm well."

An uncomfortable silence soon overcame the two as Chun Li looked outward into the water and Ryu doing the same. For Chun Li, she expected this. Ryu wasn't exactly a talkative person and she respected that about him. For Ryu, it was another story. His silence was the result of his thoughts running about what he should or should not say. Which was strange since he never really had trouble speaking. It was usually that he never had anything to say. But now that wasn't the case. He decided to opt for something simple.

"Where are you heading?"

"The States." she answered, "Los Angeles actually."

"So am I. I'm going to visit Ken."

"That's good. I'm on a case so maybe I'll run into you guys there."

His mood dropped somewhat. 'So she's still after them…' He began to resolve to stay quiet but his mouth suddenly moved automatically, "Why not come with me? Since we're going the same way anyway…"

Chun Li shifted her head. 'He's inviting me? That's a first.' Considering how they parted ways, it was a bit surprising. But it wasn't a bad idea. Truthfully, at this point, she could use company from a friendly face. And it wasn't in the way of her assignment, at least not too much. There was no real reason not to. She… owed it to him.

"Sure. Why not?"