_Dusk, Theater Square_
"Vacation."
That's a funny word.
The thing is, by definition, it should bring happiness or at least a little bit of ease to the spirit. For Chun-Li, well, it wasn't exactly the case. See, the problem with Chun-Li is that she doesn't know how to relax at all. Sure, she has hobbies, just like anybody else. But she can only go so long letting herself be entertained by such distractions, maybe an hour or two tops before she gets that "itch." That same "itch" that made her want to lose herself in either physical training, meditation, or a good old fashioned criminal investigation.
After spending so much of her late youth with Chun-Li, Li-Fen had come to recognize and accept that this was just how her "Jiejie" was just gonna be. This laid-back teen often found herself training her surrogate mother on how to chill out and relax her shoulders every now and then. She did so at the moment, pointing at the fireworks popping above the pop-up venues of Theatre Square. Chun-Li was too busy taking in the other sights that late night Kamurocho had to offer. From the multitude of sharp clicks hitting wet concrete. Down to the blaring horns echoing throughout the ambience. Not to mention the neon light showering all of the above in its fluorescent abundance - This was Kamurocho, Tokyo. A stone's throw away from unhinged mayhem. Yet, just a few steps to the left, and you'd find yourself in urban paradise.
Being one of Interpol's (pretty much retired) top agents, Chun-Li had been around the world, and Japan certainly wasn't a first. But it was different when she wasn't in uniform, gazing at the busy streets through a pair of aviators and a Glock in her holster.
"C'mooon, Jiejie, just relax. You're on vacation, remember?!"
That was true. A break from her martial arts school and all its shenanigans was more than well deserved. All the ass she kicked, to the point she'd feel it every now and then as a small tingle in her joints. Not that she was getting old, of course. Do not say that forbidden word "old" around Chun-Li, lest you lose the ability to speak! It was just the simple fact that her days of blazing through one impossible opponent to the next were behind her. Or were they? They certainly felt so.
Chun-Li is a martial arts teacher now. Perhaps the best in the world. But knowing that she was in a city with such a brutal and murky reputation… Suddenly, those joints of hers were beginning to ache in a good way. Don't get her wrong. Chun-Li was well aware of Kamurocho's endless slew of bad press. It practically screamed out to her as she was ordering the plane tickets. What made her see it through? That would be Li-Fen screaming louder about how passionate she was about Kamurocho's attractions. Well, okay, Li-Fen didn't scream, but she made it abundantly clear that Kamurocho's VR theater, "Dice and Cube," was one of a kind. And if that wasn't Chun-Li's speed, Li-Fen informed her on Theater Square, which seemed to always have some sort of concert going on every day and night.
Truth be told, Kamurocho wasn't necessarily a terrible place to go on vacation - maybe just what she needed to be that "young single girl" like she always wanted to. Well, that was what she wanted to call herself and identify as. She couldn't really call herself single since she was married to work and training so much. And as for being "young?" Everyone just had to remind her that she was approaching the big four-o!
Ouch.
Just thinking about it made her wince. Nevertheless, Chun-Li finally gave Li-Fen a response as the two began walking away from Theatre Square, towards Nakamichi Street.
"Who says I'm not relaxed? You worry about me too much."
"It's because you worry too much." The fatigue in Li-Fen's retort was enough to make Chun-Li restructure her train of thought.
Gently, she grabbed her daughter by the arm and squatted just a bit to get level with her. "You know something? You're right."
"I… am?"
"Yes. It's been a while since I've since had a vacation, or anything like it, I suppose. Even in Metro City, we always had a jerk or two that wanted to try his luck, and I had to stay ready for it. *Sigh* You see… I'm just not used to being told to keep the eyes in the back of my head shut."
"I gotcha," nodded Li-Fen. "I'm not saying you don't have to be careful. I just... just want you to, you know, enjoy yourself for a change. I mean, sure, there might be a crazed axe murderer waiting for us around the corner...-," Chun-Li arched an eyebrow, and Li-Fen simply giggled at herself, "-But you see? That's not something you even think about unless you want to think about it. You're always talking about meditation, right? Well, then, let's meditate on some good vibes for a change."
Chun-Li paused to take in those words. "I promised you that this trip is all about you, and I'm going to make good on that promise. Okay? No more being a worry wart from me."
Chun-Li winked, stood up, and ran a comforting hand through Li-Fen's hair. It seemed like just yesterday she was just the six old girl that was found in a God awful place that no six year old should be. Now, here Li-Fen was, sixteen years old and growing up faster than what Chun-Li could keep up with. One energetic nod from Li-Fen later, and the teen was already snaking herself through the jam-packed crowd, homestretch toward toward any place to put their feet up and relax a little bit.*
There was a little hole in the wall spot called "Cafe Alps" that caught Chun-Li's attention. She directed her walking path through the rows upon rows of endless crowds, to make way toward the entrance. With Li-Fen right in tow, the two of them entered the cozy little cafe, pleased to see it was not too busy compared to the streets outside. It could've been that late night coffee was a bad idea for people who needed their mornings. As for Chun-Li, she could use the boost of caffeine to assist her in unpacking later in the night. There was still a bit to do and she'd rather not put it off until tomorrow.
"Good evening!" The manager greeted, dressed in a sharp tuxedo.
His polite bow came naturally, so he didn't even pay attention to the look of his customers at first. It was only when he heard the footsteps in front of the register, as he stood up straight, that his jaw dropped to the ground. He didn't know Chun-Li personally. In fact, he'd never seen her a day in his life. The lack of her classic outfit, replaced with a casual attire (jeans, loose shirt, etc), kept her mostly anonymous, save for her ox horns that she seemed to never undo. But it was the way the woman carried herself, like higher authority than even the Queen - and how her refined aura added on to her physical beauty that simply couldn't be ignored. Simply put, it made the manager a bumbling mess.
"Um, h-how may I help you t-two t-t-t-tonight?"
Chun-Li was more than used to it at this point; it was very much a routine. So, per routine, she kept her hands behind her back, and put on a dignified smile that borderlined on a frown - all while paying no mind to the man that was killing himself not to ogle her curves.
"Yes, thank you. I'll take a mocha." One glance down to Li-Fen, and Chun-Li could already guess what the teen was thinking. "No caffeine for you. You stay up late enough as it is. You'll have to settle for tea."
Li-Fen groaned and stuffed her nose back into her laptop. "Ugh. Killjoy."*
By the third sip of her mocha, Chun-Li's tense shoulders already dropped a couple of inches, much to Li-Fen's content. Every now and then, she looked up above her laptop and smiled, knowing that Chun-Li was just fine with a simple cup of joe and the jazz playing on the store speakers.
Everything was perfect. Just a little too perfect.
Leave it to a random scuffle on the street to interrupt the calm vibes of the cafe. Chun-Li first picked up on the disturbance when she noticed other patrons in the store gawking toward the front window. Then came the panicked shrieks from people outside the store, weaving out of the way from whatever was going on. Chun-Li whipped her head behind her. Sure enough, through the window, she could see a crowd of people cheering on a grisly looking brawl.
One man had a goddamn katana for starters. The other man? He had nothing but his bare hands, but he used them quite well - at least by Chun-Li's judgment, and especially for someone, at least to her, that looked like he was a bum, no thanks to his loose wife-beater, aged leather jacket, and scruffy hair. She arched an impressed eyebrow as he watched the bare handed man work the katana like a toy, deflecting it here, and redirecting it there, all sorts of directions that were anywhere but his own limbs. As he did so, he kept backing up further and further toward the glass window of Cafe Alps. Until before anyone knew it, the two men had crashed through the front, showering the cafe floors in glass.
"Eep!" Li-Fen shrieked.
And like so, the other patrons freaked while rushing out of their chairs to avoid becoming collateral. This idiot with the katana was swinging the weapon like a madman, and it pissed Chun off to see someone with such low fighting skill, using such a well crafted weapon; she was way more invested in the engraved symbols on the hilt rather than the assailant himself. So she stayed seated, trying not to let her frustration get the best of her as the men had their fun.
From this way to that way, the scruffy haired guy dodged the twinkles of silver that cut into everything nearby. Eventually, they reached Chun-Li's table, to which the defender found himself backed up against.
He whipped his head over his shoulder and shot a smirk toward Chun-Li. "Sorry to drop in like this!"
"Yagami, you slippery fuck! Stay still!" This came from the thug that came out of nowhere with a desperate lunge.
His sword sparked along the tile, gearing up an upward slash that was bound to connect with somebody's flesh. Yagami side stepped away as the blade undercut underneath the wooden table, slicing it clean in half. Chun-Li simply tilted her chin upward just enough to avoid the alloy that cut fully through the grain. There was just the matter of Chun-Li's coffee that was now flying through the air.
With his panther-like reflexes, Yagami lunged in the air, used his arms to secure the cup, and simultaneously used his legs to roundhouse the the man right back out of the shattered window. Gracefully, Yagami landed back on his feet, and put that cup back on the nearest table that somehow managed to not get sliced up into Jenga blocks.
"Your coffee, ma'am. Hope it's still warm!"
Nothing else to say. More ass to kick.
Yagami rushed right back out into the night while hollering, "And sorry about the mess!", to the manager.
Chun-Li took the fourth sip of her coffee with her eyes shut and calm.
Looks like Kamurocho was living up to its reputation already.*
_Hotel New Deborah, 8:00pm_
"And he was like this! And then he went like that!"
On her bed, Chun-Li sat prepping her hair for sleep as she watched Li-Fen reenact the moves from the stranger they ran into earlier. Or should we say, ran into them. No doubt in her mind, that stranger with the scruffy hair was indeed intriguing to an extent that Chun-Li wasn't willing to admit. There was a faint tinge of that aged leather and tobacco at the tip of her nose, which she'd fix right away with a bottle of lotion for her skin. The scents reminded her of that stranger, which she'd rather forget, lest her detective instincts fire back up to investigate why that man was running away from a lunatic with a katana in the first place.
In the end, it entertained Li-Fen at the end of the day, which pleased Chun-Li. An amused smirk tugged at the corner of Chun-Li's mouth seeing Li-Fen still with so much energy and enthusiasm from martial arts.
"-And then that last kick at the end? Ugh! He was just so fire!"
"Fire?"
"'Means he was cool..."
"He was sloppy," Chun-Li corrected, tugging at a knot in her strands.
Li-Fen stood up and slumped her shoulders. "Aww, c'mooon, Jiejie! Why do you always have to be so stingy with your kudos to other fighters?!"
"'Stingy?'" Chun-Li looked offended. "Well, that's definitely not the word I'd use to describe myself. I just thought he chose style over substance and that cost him a few opportunities to end the scuffle sooner."
Yagami had used his Snake Style during the fight, so that he could blind bystanders with his flashy holds/counters. Even though it was the wrong kind of entertainment, Li-Fen was at least glad to have some - her face said it all.
"Well, if you can't admit he was a totally cool fighter, at least admit he was a totally hot stud!"
Chun-Li rolled her eyes. "Young lady, you are still too young to be calling random men off the street 'hot.'"
"No, I'm not!"
Maybe she wasn't. But not to Chun-Li. To her, Li-Fen was growing up too fast.
They wished each other goodnight and hoped the occasional street fight wouldn't be all they had to look forward to on their vacation. Chun-Li closed her eyes, only to have them shoot back open at the roar of gunshots.*
It was business as usual for a pair of street thugs with hoodies over their heads to shield them from the lights above. They took pride in the fact that people strayed away from them with disapproving looks and shakes. Not that they cared anyway. They'd shrug it off with a cocky smirk the next second and look for a sucker to pester. Towards the end of Theater Square, right at the edge of New Deborah, something caught their attention. It was a line of thugs, similar in style to them, though with one key difference - a murderous glare in their eyes.
The two thugs stopped and sized up their surprise guests at the end of the street.
"The hell is this?! You boys got a death wish? Get the fuck out of our way."
The air was thick with fear and a sense of death.
Somehow… someway or another, the eldest thug knew that those were the last words of his brother in crime.
Their opponents remained silent, let their chains and necklaces jingle as they pulled out pistols from the depths of their jeans.
They showered their targets in smoking hot lead.*