It was the end of another mundane Monday morning for Saigon's resident botanical librarian in red dress and black brogues.
Reorganizing myriads upon myriads of misplaced books on the high-reaching stacks of shelves.
Shushing unruly readers causing a ruckus or sometimes even having to throw them out onto the streets.
Handing out more than a few late notices than he would have necessarily wanted to give and getting more than his fair share of headaches in the process.
And getting a surprising but all in all delightful visit from Carrie again and chatting about the goings on of their day over a few sugarcane shakes and some sweet soup.
Simply put, every other day of week with a clear cut routine for him to follow from beginning to end and allowing him to close up just in time to see the bright and beautiful glean of the afternoon sun setting softly over the clouded horizon.
If only to lend a small glean of its shine just a little bit more to illuminate the feminine form of the even more beautiful ox-horned Interpol agent in brilliant blue and gold standing next to him by the front gates, her arms crossed neatly between her iron spike-studded bracelets and a warm and welcoming smile adorning her face as he walked up to her with a gentle nod his own and taking her hand in his.
Khai could not have denied the changes of his life even since he had first met Chun-Li. His life always being so busy and full of work with only the constant threat of potentially losing it looming at every corner meant that he never had the time needed to consider ever finding someone to settle down with, something both him and her had in common.
But the two of them were looking to make the most of what they had at the moment and gone were the needless worries of work and making ends meet for a time.
For now, they would enjoy this moment with each other, walking, talking, taking in as many sights and sounds as they could with a shoulder to lean on and with more joy than they could possibly hope to have.
At least for a little while.
—
Gods & Demons around the World - Moc Tinh
One of the rather strange mythical creatures in Vietnamese mythology, the moc tinh's story, also known a xuong cuong, is one of the lesser told legends in traditional Vietnamese folktales. According to an ancient record known as the 'Linh Nam Chinh Quai', this botanical beast was once a simple sandalwood tree that grew over a thousand feet tall, attracting birds and other animals to make the tree their home. Over the years, however, the tree grew old and withered and eventually turned into a hideous beast that kills anything in endless ire.
—
Nguyen Hue Street, Saigon
…
SNAP! SNAP!
BUMP!
SNAP!
BUMP! BUMP!
"Outta the way, outta the way, move!"
"Come on! You're gonna miss it!"
SNAP! SNAP!
CHEER!
SNAP!
Sony cameras snapped.
Canon cameras clicked.
And in the midst of whistling screams and clapping cries of energetic Saigon citizens at the center of the crowded street, a little roadside spectacle was underway in the form of fast flying blue projectiles and stinging sharp root darts.
—
"HIIIYYAAAH!"
STRIKE! STRIKE!
Fast and ferocious kicks struck hard at Khai's midsection, sending him staggering back with a small stumble and no small amount of pain in his stomach as he forced himself through it and he planted a firm hand on the ground before launching into a flying drop kick straight at Chun-Li.
JUMP!
A quick thinking leap sent her vaulting through the air and out of the kick's path and she landed gracefully on the other side before holding out her palm and sending a fast projectile the creature's way.
"KIKOKEN!"
BLAST!
Khai was quick to hold up an arm to fend off the blast, but this only allowed Chun-Li to then follow up with an even more devastating flurry of kicks at the distracted librarian that sent his flailing body skywards.
STRIKE! STRIKE!
"HOSENKA!" a series of rapid rotary spinning kicks followed by an upward facing strike to the face flung the disoriented moc tinh up high before his body then tumbled loosely onto the cold hard tarmac. Unmoving, groaning and out of the fight.
Thunderous cheers erupted amongst the crowd as the Interpol agent dipped a gentle bow of the fight before making her way towards her downed opponent, his horns displayed in twisted disorientation on the ground as a white eye lit up from his hollow to gaze at her victorious stance looming over him.
"I see you have not lost your brutal touch." a small smirk lined her lips.
"As if I'd ever allow that to happen." she held out her hand to him, to which he gladly accepted before pulling himself off the ground, the two standing side by side signaling the crowd to soon disperse and allowing them a little bit of space for themselves.
"That was a very impressive attack back there. Perhaps I should consider adding a few new tricks of my own."
"Maybe your Mortal Kombat training can teach you something."
A pair of lighthearted chuckles rang out from the two from that jest as they turned to look at the liveliness of the city street.
The moon was clear and absolutely beautiful tonight, its gleaming light shining down from the darkness of the sky and illuminating along with the glowing orange of the lampposts the various walks of people enjoying themselves.
Elders seated by the side of the road binging themselves with cheap affordable beers and cigarettes as they chat away about their day to day problems.
Children of all ages running and laughing along the road without a care in the world as their parents simply looked on in mildly annoyed amusement.
All tuned to the sounds of the most off-key and utterly terrible late night karaoke singing either of them had ever heard in their lives, the tone-deaf melodies adding a strange sense of boisterous charm to the nightly atmosphere of the little street.
Truly, it was a beautiful sight to see.
Making it all the more painful for what Chun-Li was about to do as she turned to face Khai, the librarian lightly lowered his horns in concern as he noted her somber brown eyes and small frown on her face.
"We can't keep doing this, Khai."
And there it was, the one thing she had been dreading to say to him ever since the day they had started getting together. It had clasped itself around her neck and choked away at her every second she found neverending happiness around him and it was only a matter of time before she had to come clean to him.
She saw his horns lowering a little more, no doubt the heaviness of having to hear her say that to him beginning to weigh down painfully on his conscience.
And yet even still, his three pure white eyes remained as they were, not one retreating into the darkness of their hollows as he stared intently at her before gently holding up her hands in his.
"I know, dear."
It was a little surprising for her, to be honest. She would have thought he would have been a lot more devastated than he was letting on, but her gaze at him then softened slightly as she felt the firm yet gentle scuffs of his rooted fingers rubbing across her skin.
"Correct me if I am wrong, but even if you did not have to go back, I am still certain that the inner workings of an Interpol officer varies vastly to that of a common city librarian, does it not?"
A sad yet somewhat humorous smirk from her. Even when being told the futility of their relationship, he still managed to find a way to make a joke out of it to make her smile.
"And besides, if what you told me about those people still hiding out there was true and they somehow learned about this, then both of us will be in grave danger."
She nodded sadly at that truth.
"I know." her sorrow was temporary as she felt his hand running smoothly across and cupping her cheek, turning her brown eyes back to his white ones once more.
"But even though we know that what we have could never truly work between us, would you say that what happened between us these few days was not something worthwhile?"
Her lips smiled warmly as she held his hand on her cheek with her own, the two slowly wrapping their around each other in a gentle embrace as their gazes remained on eachother.
"Of course, not. I'm so grateful to have met you, Khai." their eyes closed and they leaned in for their foreheads to touch, savoring the small moment in serene silence.
"Good, because I would not want our time together to end on such somber partings."
It was then that the two of them noticed a distinct lack of off-key karaoke singing, the booming blair of contemporary Vietnamese adult pop music replaced by a foreign yet oddly somewhat familiar melody of steady heavy drums mixed with the smooth and soft echoes of tapping synth notes and the slow and steady rise of an oboe.
And then, a voice.
Swaying room as the music starts
Strangers making the most of the dark
Two by two, their bodies become one
"Oh, I love this song." the librarian looked at her curiously with a tilt of his head.
"I did not take you for a Madonna fan." a taunting smirk was her simple response.
"Not as strange as you being a Mortal Kombat fan."
Khai could only shrug his shoulders at that.
"Touché."
Their bodies begin to sway gently to the beat of the song, a pair of hands clasping tightly to one another as the librarian held onto her back and pressed her closer to him with her free hand placed softly on his chest, their feet shifting and turning slowly if slightly awkwardly at first as to prevent any accidental steps and swollen soles in their dance and their eyes locked on one another with seemingly nothing in the world that could ever distract them from their little place with each other.
I see you through the smokey air
Can't you feel the weight of my stare
You're so close but still a world away
"I assume this is your first time like this." Chun-Li had a mildly embarrassed look on her face as her cheeks puffed slightly red.
"Well what do you expect, these legs were mostly made for fighting rather than dancing." Khai only chuckled lightly at her somewhat stilted footwork.
"And yet, you would have still succeeded in putting most master dancers I have known to shame."
"Right, and how many master dancers do you know?"
"Only one."
An exasperated sigh escaped her with a slight shake of her head as she looked at the librarian leading her along with a hopelessly sweet smile on her lips.
"I hate you so much, Khai."
"For you, always."
What I'm dying to say, is that
I'm crazy for you
Touch me once and you'll know it's true
I never wanted anyone like this
It's all brand new
You'll feel it in my kiss
I'm crazy for you
Crazy for you
With the song slowing down after the energetic thunder of the first chorus, the two settled down in their movements as well as they simply enjoyed the mild silence growing around them, if only long enough for a little bit of idle chatter about their ventures after their time was up as they continued to sway along to the next verse following up.
Trying hard to control my part
I walk over to where you are
Eye to eye, we need no words at all
"So what will you do when you head back to Lyon?" Chun-Li raised her head in mild thought of that question for a moment, as if a little unsure herself.
Slowly now we begin to move
Every breath I'm deeper into you
"I suppose… I'll have to get back in touch with Guile and see how he's doing in getting support from the United Kingdom."
"Do you think he would be able to get Delta Red on this international manhunt of yours?"
Chun-Li could only tilt a little bit with no small amount of a nervous hum at that. She trusted her military friend from the United States, even though he sometimes had a tendency to go off on things on his own, something that she knew all too well when she fell into her own obsession to bring down Shadaloo by any means necessary in order to avenge her father.
"Knowing him, he might have threatened the prime minister with a black eye."
"Might have threatened or definitely did it?"
She scoffed a small snicker at him.
"Oh, shut up, you. I'll worry about that when I get back. Until then." her arms wrapped themselves round his neck, sending a tempting shiver around his rooted spine and drawing his attention back to her.
Soon we too are standing still in time
"Why don't you just keep your eyes on me, okay?"
To that, Khai had absolutely no objections and he led her hands and feet once more, white eyes on brown just as the second crescendo of the chorus began to pick up.
"Always, my dear."
If you read my mind, you'll see
I'm crazy for you
Touch me once and you'll know it's true
I've never wanted anyone like this
It's all brand new
You'll feel it in my kiss
Khai was so utterly enraptured in his wonderful dance with Chun-Li that did not even think to hesitate when he suddenly lifted her up off her feet and twirled her around, with her letting out a giddy scream and an absolutely beautiful laugh of never ending joy as she smiled longingly at him while he spun her on her white pair of boots.
You'll feel it in my kiss
Because I'm crazy for you
Touch me once and you'll know it's true
I never wanted anyone like this
It's all brand new
You'll feel it in my kiss
As he gently settled her down to her feet, their eyes met again in silence, their breath barely held on as the tips of their faces without a barrier between them anymore before Khai made his move and captured Chun-Li's lips in his own, his beloved all too eager to return in kind as an audible hum of joy escaped her and all the passion they can give at this moment pouring out of their hearts before breaking apart, their foreheads leaning to touch and their eyes closed as a content smile formed on her lips.
"I'm crazy for you…"
And there the two stood at the center of the street with the glow of lights shining down upon them, uncaring of anything around, neither sight nor sound as they simply held onto each other with not a worry in the world to hold anything back.
To them, they were the only ones left in the world, and nothing could have brought any more joy than to simply have each other in their arms.
Something a certain golden-eyed Japanese American teenager in red and black could see in the distance of the mixed crowd, a satisfied smile on her face and her hands on her hips as she leaned onto the side of a lamppost.
"Pretty sneaky there, Carrie. Hijack the karaoke speakers when no one's looking to get Mr. Ha closer to his date like that might land you in quite a bit of trouble later."
She casually turned around to meet a tall young man around her age in snow white hair with his arms crossed, a blue denim jacket draped over his black-striped t-shirt while wearing black jeans and his own pair of black country brogues, although they did not hold a single candle to the pale white plastic mask he was wearing on his face that would have easily made anyone around him to assume that he was a psychopathic serial killer from a John Carpenter film.
That was unless Carrie did not know him personally.
"Eh, it's worth it, Michael, at least for him." the young man shrugged his shoulders and he stepped up next to her as they both looked at the red librarian in the distance, still held in a warm embrace with the Interpol agent.
"It's a shame that she won't be able to stay here forever, though. She might have been very happy to settle down here. I know I did." Carrie nodded sadly at that with a small frown.
"Yeah, and she seemed so perfect for him, too, and that's besides their strangely opposite yet similar appearances." she then turned him with a soft grin.
"But I think they'll remember this moment far longer than they realize." Michael gave a short hum in acknowledgement at the idea before turning his attention back to Carrie.
"So… what do we do now?"
The red teenager held a hand onto her cheek for a moment before smiling.
"Well, the night's still young, so why don't we make the most of it?"
The masked teenager had no argument to that idea, and with one final look at the couple from afar, they turned around and promptly disappeared into the crowd, where the colorful lights shone brightly in every corner of the streets, where people partook in arrays of activities to spend away the hard earnings of their morning labor, where cars and bikes came and went without any sign of ever stopping for a minute.
And a little bit of love bloomed beneath the gleam of the beautiful midnight moon.