Disclaimer: See initial chapter

Chap. 50

The morning sunlight brought the sleeping Ryu from out of his slumber. Expanding his senses, the sound of water was the first thing that caught his attention. The waterfall... His memory went to work, recalling that he hadn't returned to the dojo last night. He felt the tree behind him that was holding his body upright, while his legs were dangled in front. His eyes went to work next, confirming it as he saw the cascading waters to his side.

But that wasn't the only thing...

With her head leaning on his shoulder, Sakura slept partly snuggled up on his left side. Her breathing was light and Ryu realized that she was sound asleep. A sigh almost escaped his lips, but he refrained from doing so. Looking at her face and seeing how contented and peaceful she looked, he found that he did not want to disturb the young woman.

He simply didn't have the heart to...

Not for the first time, Ryu began to wonder about his feelings towards his first student. Initially, it was sympathy that made him take her in, as well as foreknowledge of what she was; what she had become. And thus, he trained her as his student, taking care of her just as his master had done him.

Much easier said than done...

Training aside, Ryu knew very little about women at that time. Thus, there were things about Sakura that he simply didn't understand, both physically and emotionally. Luckily, Ken had helped him out in that regard, as he had more experience with the opposite sex than Ryu did (with much teasing and embarrassment involved). Also, when they began their travels, Ryu made it a note to notice and learn such things so that, if nothing else, he would at least be aware and able to deal Sakura in certain situations.

As time passed and Sakura progressed, he began taking notice of how her presence affected him. Her personality and mannerisms became familiar to him and her antics, while exasperating at times, lightened his spirit. Her strength and skill soon reached the point where she would be able to set out into the world on her own. Ryu realized that he would miss her when she did, but knew it had to happen sooner or later.

Just not the way he had expected...

Apparently, he didn't totally understand her feelings, nor did he think she would try and seduce him. Unfortunately, this led to an abrupt departure and their separation. Initially, Ryu thought to go after her and try to talk with her. But he honestly didn't know he would do if he did. Would he apologize? What would he apologize for? He had supposed for hurting her feelings, but then what? They weren't feelings he could return. He wasn't sure he could do that now, and it's been a hundred or so years.

In the end, he let her go. She was strong enough to take care of herself and she knew the world well enough to survive. In the time she had left, he found that he missed her quite a bit. He knew their relationship had progressed far beyond the master-student point. He did more than train her; he took care of her. But it wasn't a parent-child relationship either. In the end, he believed that is was more of a sibling relationship, like the one he had with Ken.

But there were different feelings involved...

At first, he believed that it was simply the gender difference. That plus the fact that he had taken her under his charge lead him to conclude that was the reason why he felt protective of her. But when they reunited years later, he found himself drawn to her in a way he couldn't explain. She had changed from her travels and experiences, become mature. But she was still the same Sakura he knew.

His thoughts caused him to sigh again and this time, he was unable to stop himself. And on cue, the woman immortal stirred, moaning lightly as she came to. Blinking, she looked up at him and smiled warmly. Not being able to resist, he returned the gesture.

"Morning. Sleep well?"

"Quite." she yawned, shifting off of him a bit to stretch, but settling back right afterward. "How about you? Still feel alone?"

A moment of silence passed, with his thoughts reverting to the night before. The doubts he felt then were still in his mind. But with Sakura nuzzling her head against his shoulder, they seemed like far-away problems. And it was in that same peace of mind that he lent his head over, settling it lightly atop of hers.

"No. Not at the moment."

'35... 36... 37...'

On the floor in a dimly lit, space, a young man was currently pushing himself off the floor repeatedly in exercise. His blond hair already had signs of sweat and perspiration on it, a sign that he had been doing this and possibly other such workouts and exercises for a while now. His face was grimaced with exertion as he continued on, yet he showed no indication that he was going to stop.

Not if he wanted to be strong enough to survive.

Behind him, partly cloaked in the shadows was another man, elder-looking, larger and also with blond hair with was tied in a thick headband. His large muscular arms were folded across his chest as he watched the younger man go about his workout, a gruff expression on his face. It had been a couple of months since he found the younger man, dirtied and wandering about Mexico. Initially, he sensed the young man by his presence and readied himself to fight. Oh yes, he knew what the boy was, as he was one himself.

Immortal...

However, things changed when he faced the young man and learned of his story. A newborn immortal that had been hunted by another for no reason he could see other than sport. He also learned that the young man, Cody, had been sent to train under the tutelage of another immortal, T. Hawk, when he was attacked by the same immortal that had been hunting him. As a result, T. Hawk was killed and Cody was stuck, wandering aimlessly in the middle of nowhere.

Until he found him...

'48...49...50...'

"Alright Cody. That's enough for now."

With a breath, Cody rose up from the floor and turned around to face his teacher. His face was covered in sweat, but his breathing was even. The teacher nodded mentally at this, knowing that Cody was coming up to a good start. Which was good, especially considering this would be his first student. With a smile, the larger man tapped Cody's shoulder.

"How about we grab something to eat, kid?"

The younger man nodded as he grabbed a nearby towel. "Alright, Alex. But you're buying."

"Shut up."

"Daddy!"

A young girl squealed with delight as she answered the door of the house to see Guile standing behind it. With a matching smile on his face, the burly man opened his arms.

"Hey there, Amy. Where's my hug?"

The girl wasted no time in complying, leaping into the big man and wrapping her arms around his waist (at least as far around it as she could anyway) while Guile draped his arms down, gently clasping around her. Amy smiled as she felt her father's arms around her.

"I missed you."

"I hope so. I missed you too." Pulling back, he then grinned. "So how are social studies?"

A groan quickly escaped the girl's mouth. "Aw, do you really have to ask that?"

Guile laughed aloud, holding Amy to him again. It was then that a woman came up from behind Amy, with medium blond hair and blue eyes that curved up with a smile as she looked at Guile.

"Will. Welcome back."

Breaking away from Amy, Guile moved forward to now embrace his wife. "Good to be back, hon."

Jane smiled and then noticed Amy looking over at someone from behind. Looking over and behind Guile, she saw a Chinese woman standing behind him. Breaking away from Guile and stepping around him, she smiled. "And I assume this is the stubborn partner you've told me about."

Returning the smile, Chun-Li held out her hand. "Chun-Li." Narrowing her eyes at Guile, she added. "And for the record, he's the stubborn one."

Her smile turned to a grin as she took the other woman's hand. "Don't I know it. And the name is Jane. Please come in"

Guile turned an irritated glance to both women, but neither noticed (or cared) as they entered the house. Turning her attention to Amy, Chun-Li bent down to the girl, who was staying close to her father.

"And you must be Amy. Your dad talks about you a lot."

Amy perked up upon hearing that. "Really? What does he say?"

"We can talk about it over dinner." Jane cut in. "If you can stick around."

The Chinese immortal nodded. "Sure. I would like that."

"Would you like to help me set the table? I always set the table."

"Uh, sure. Okay."

Chun-Li prepared to follow, but Jane stopped her briefly and quietly asked. "Oh, and just to be sure, are you...like him?"

Chun Li didn't respond immediately to this. Though she was sure of what Jane was saying, she had long learned that there were times when she had been mistaken about what a person was saying. So even when she felt sure, it was safer to simply stay quiet. So instead, she cast a glance at Guile, who nodded and answered for her.

"Yeah. Go figure, huh? Annoying and immortal."

"You should talk, brush head." Chun-Li scowled in return.

Jane couldn't help but laugh and decided to throw in her own two-cents. "Now, now children. Let's not fight."

Chun-Li half gasped at the comment and her mouth eased into a smile. It didn't take much to see that Chun-Li already liked this woman. At that moment, Amy's head popped out from the doorway behind and she waved at the Chinese immortal. "Hey, come on, come on! We have to hurry."

"Okay, okay. I'm coming."

As Chun-Li followed the girl, she couldn't help but shake her head mentally. It always surprised her how different a person's home life could be different from their work. To see Guile's tough guy exterior soften (not by much, but still) when he came here to his family.

Family...

A slight pang of hurt flinched through her at the thought of that word. Not for the first time had Chun-Li wondered whether she had made the right choice in her life. Not that she regretted her decision to stop Shadowloo once and for all, but there were times when she wished for a family like this, like the one she had before. No, not like before...

But perhaps...another family...

But that would have to wait. For her, Shadowloo was just like its namesake. A shadow over her life, her future as well as everyone else they have made suffer throughout the generations. And until it was gone, such dreams and desires would have to wait. Justice had to be served and Shadowloo had to be stopped.

In the meantime...

"Now, where do we start?"

The golden statue of the Buddha shone brightly at the end of the temple. Needless to say, it was hard for Ryu to miss as he entered into the temple. Standing at the entrance, the immortal took in the scene, watching a few of the monks moving about, few others seated before the statue. He had no real reason for being there, other than the fact that he was in the neighborhood. Still, the scene of serenity was worth the stop. It added to the peace he had been feeling that day.

Because of Sakura...

After another day of training in the dojo with her, Ryu decided to take a walk around the nearby town. He felt peaceful today and he realized because it was due to he presence. It felt like the older days, the days when he was training her. Perhaps he was nostalgia, but it wasn't often that he felt this way and he decided to enjoy it while it lasted. He began to turn around and leave when the presence of an immortal alerted him. His eyes widened when he began to sense the immortal's ki. It was powerful.

And it was familiar...

Coming toward the temple was a large, muscular man; his frame easily towering over everyone else. There was no hair on his head and his face bore an eye patch on the left eye. A wrapped object was strapped to his back, but the Japanese immortal knew that a sword was concealed within it. And though the man wore a shirt, the top part was open and exposed, showing the beginnings of a long, nasty scar that reached from near the shoulder down and across, disappearing into the shirt.

Ryu was familiar with that too...

As he closed in toward the temple, the sole remaining eye of the man bore down at Ryu with blazing intensity. Ryu returned the gaze as he closed in and soon enough, they were only a foot away from each other. Ryu remained where he was. He hadn't brought his sword, but they were on holy ground, so there would be no battle here. Even still, the tension was clear enough.

"It's been a long time, Sagat."

"A promise is a promise...Ryu."

AN: This would have been up sooner, but a couple of things got in the way. A bout of writers block in the beginning, working on other fanfics and then later on, I started to get lazy. Sorry about all of that (chuckling nervously), but it's like I said before (at least I think I did), this fanfic is like doing a history report.

Anyway, here's to progress (I hope) ^_^