Shotoken - Wushu Dojo, Shadowlaw
 

Early morning around 5.55am, it is almost time for the morning lesson to begin. Ryu and ChunLi were coming out of their room, looking at the sky they could tell that today is going to be a beautiful day.

"Too beautiful to waste." ChunLi said to Ryu.
"Li. I feel like fishing." He looked at her with a huge grin.
"You’re going after the Old Devil?" ChunLi answered with a knowing look.
"Hai! I had my eye on that fish since the first time I came to this region. Come with me." Ryu said putting his arm around ChunLi’s shoulders.

"I love to. What about the students?"
"We’ll just have to give them a day off as well. They deserve one."
"Okay. You go get the equipment while I go pack us some food." ChunLi said as they both stopped at the courtyard.
 

Ryu sounded the gong, the students rushed out from their quarters and lined up in the courtyard. After the students greeted them Ryu made the announcement.

"After our discussion we decided that you earned yourselves a day off. So for today you may enjoy yourselves but remember to stay out of trouble. Any questions?" Ryu asked.

"No Senseis!" They all answered back.
"Good. Dismiss!" ChunLi ordered. The students bowed again before scattering off in groups.

"Alright I heard the surf’s really good today. Where you’re going?" One group was overheard saying
"Soccer tournament!"
 

"So Iwa where would you go?" ChunLi asked as they headed to the kitchen.

"Me ah. I’m going to infiltrate the master's computer lab. And log on to his VR simulator and ultra speed Super Computer to play Virtual RPG."

"Just be careful okay."
"No prob. Li jie"

"This is yours, I believe?" ChunLi asked, raising her hand. A rust brown squirrel was clinging onto her wrist. "He wants to follow us. Could you talk some sense into him?"

"What? You want to go and be fish bait?" Iwa asked the squirrel. It made a few chattering noise.
"You want to see? See what?" ChunLi asked it.
"Ooi come on lah. People want their privacy. I’ll buy you two bags of assorted nuts and one bottle of sake." Iwa offered. The squirrel seems to consider the offer before making some sort of an answer.
 

"Okay Maru. Two bags of nuts and three bottles of sake." Iwa accepted. With a quick twitch of it’s tail, the squirrel leapt from ChunLi’s wrist to Iwa and settle down on her right shoulder. ChunLi headed to her room to change while Iwa added some extra stuff into the basket.

"He can be quite a nuisance at times." Ryu said as he came in with the equipment, he was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and jeans. Iwa managed to grab the squirrel before it leaps towards Ryu.
"I better go before he manages to escape. Bye Ryu gor." Iwa said. She was still in conversation with the angry squirrel as she passes by Sean and gang.
 

"She’s odd you know. Preferring the company of her pets than hanging out with us." Sakura commented.
"Call them pets in front of Sifu(Sensei) and Qianbei(Sempai) and you are heading straight for trouble. Yun started.

"We think Sifu and Qianbei used the term companions. We hope to convince Sifu to let us go hunting with Iwa some day." Yang added. Sean cringed suddenly.
"I don’t think ChunLi Sempai would let you. You don’t want to go hunting with her." Sean said.

"What? Does she turn into some demon or something?" Yun and Yang asked together. Sean cringed a little, he had an idea why but he prefer to keep it to himself, recounting is as bad as reliving what he saw.

"Trust me you’re better off not knowing. Come on let’s go to town, I heard a new movie is out." Sean said. Yun and Yang followed him.

"Saky." The twins called out to her.
"I’m coming. I’m coming." She shouted. Breaking away from watching Ryu and ChunLi.

<  Guess I’ll never win Ryu~san with such a strong competition.   > Sakura thought.
<  She seem so perfect for him.   > With a sigh she catches up with Sean and gang.
 

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Some time later Ryu and ChunLi reached the stream where the Old Devil inhabits. A quiet little area, a little distance away from the main road. There was a large lone tree a good distance from the stream seems like a perfect place as it was not too near the water and not too far. As ChunLi set up their little picnic, a sense of Déjà vu overcame her.
 

It was like Ryu and her had being here before, fishing as well. Although she had being here by herself but this was her first fishing trip in this location with Ryu. When Ryu had secured the rods he joined ChunLi at the tree. He too felt a sense of Déjà vu, she shrugged when he gave her a puzzle look. With his arm around her waist Ryu gently pulled ChunLi nearer to him, he loves to feel the warmth of her body next to him.
 

"You’re not really after that fish." She smiles while popping a grape into his mouth.
"Yes and no. You’ve being busy with so much paper work that I have to give you a break before you fall sick." Ryu said stroking her arm.
"Then you’ll have to be my personal nurse." She was running her finger along his arm.

"I do not mind nursing you but I do not think you’ll like the medicine." Ryu was stroking her unbraided hair, taking in the fragrance as she lays her head on his chest. .
"Your long association with Ken and Cole has left you with a sweet tongue." She was playing with his headband.
"If you mind I would stop this behaviour."

"I do not mind it at all. Do you regret settling down to such a mundane life?"
"Life is never mundane with you by my side." Ryu answered, lifting her chin up to meet her gaze.
"No. What I meant was do you regret that being tied down, unable to travel the world in search of opponents, seeking the Path of the Warrior."

"Li, years before we were married, I was searching for that Path but never once am I even near it. When I found you, it was like finding something that I was unconsciously searching for all those years. How can I regret spending my life with you." Ryu told her. ChunLi was thrilled by the fact that she is such an important part of his life.
 

"There were nights when I was fill with questions. Why do I train so hard for? So what if I can control my Satsui no Hado? What am I looking for? But when you entered my life. This questions no longer matters."
"What about travelling the world again?"
"If you wish to take it up again, as we had the first four years of our marriage. Maybe the first big mistake we made was the dojo."

"Why did we set up the dojo anyway?" One of the rods was moving as a fish had taken the bait. In a matter of moments the fish was reeled up. It was a decent size one but it wasn’t the Old Devil. Ryu baited the hook before casting the line again. ChunLi skewered the fish as Ryu lighted a small fire.

"I’m not really sure. I think it came up during the project we were doing with Iwa." Ryu said, sitting down again.
"I thought we had agreed to set up the dojo after our project was completed?"
"I’m not even sure about that. Did she tell you how the project was going on?"
 

"She said that it was going on fine, but she needs a really strong opponent to test the limits." Biting a piece off the apple Ryu offered her. ChunLi pressed her herself closer to Ryu, offering him a piece of orange which he swallowed. Ryu stuck the cooked fish to the ground for it to cool off.

"I look forward to testing my skills against her again."
"And leave me to clean up the mess like the last time. The both of you had me really worried back then." Pulling Ryu closer when she stroked his face.
"She’s really useful to have around. Good thing we took her out of Vega’s lab. Such raw power like hers should not go to waste." Ryu gently pushed ChunLi to the ground
 

"Umm. I just hope our children do not pick up her bad habits……"

Husband and wife began necking each other, while in the stream a large fish leapt out of the water. It was like a living jewel as the sunlight reflected off its scales. The Old Devil had chose to pick a time when the couple was entangled in passion to announce its presence.

But it would not take the bait now, for it was an old trick of its to swim away should the couple reach for the rod now. It returns back to the safety of its water. A wolf sensing the opportunity of a free meal moved quickly to snatch off the cooked fish.

Some time later when the couple released each other. They remain on lying on the ground, arms around each other.
 

<<  That one not from Iwa’s pack isn’t it?   >>  Kissing her eyes.
<<  No. It’s from a local pack I think.   >>

The same wolf return, watching them in the foliage.
 

"Ryu. Do you trust me?" ChunLi asked, looking at her husband with serious eyes.
"With my life."
"Close your eyes." ChunLi said, Ryu did so without questioning. ChunLi reached up and grabbed something that was on his hair. Ryu reopens his eyes to the seductive smile of his beautiful wife, looking down at her open palm Ryu saw a spider.

"ARRRGGGHHH!" He leapt up at once "Get that thing away from me!"

ChunLi ignored him and chase him with the spider. The wolf watched in puzzlement.
It was at this point in time that Old Devil took the bait. ChunLi noticed it, throwing away the spider she grabbed the fishing pole reeling it the fish. Cupping his hands over hers, they managed to reel in Old Devil after a while. The heavy fish was about a meter long. Ryu unhook Old Devil and threw him back into the stream.
 

"I never said I want to eat it. I just like the fight that it puts up."
"It gave us a chance to spend time together." ChunLi respected his decision. The sense of Déjà vu hit them again. Shrugging it off the couple pack their stuff and headed back to the dojo.
 

-----------
 

It was afternoon when they returned. They found some old friends awaiting them. Ken and Eliza. Zannah and Cole.

"Good to see you again. My young witch. I see that you and the baby dragon are in good spirits." Zannah said, calling them by the nicknames she gave so long ago.
"Zannah!" the Hoshi couple protested, she seem to know what they were up to.
"Good now we can go for lunch together." Eliza said.

"Hey buddy. When are you and Li going to have kids? Mel is getting impatient waiting for his sparring partner." Giving his buddy a knowing look and a nudge. Ryu threw Ken who managed land on his feet.

Eliza had book a table for four at the classiest restaurant in Shadowlaw. But the unexpected meeting with Zannah and Cole made her change her bookings.
 

"But madam, we have no more tables." The headwaiter said
"But I still see empty tables around." Eliza said.
"Yes but those have being reserved."
"Is there a problem?" ChunLi came forward to see what the delay was. The headwaiter took one look at her, he suddenly realized who ChunLi was. Wiping the sweat off his forehead. He regained his composure before speaking again.

"Not at all madam, in fact we just have a last minute cancellation." The headwaiter said, leading them to a private room.
"No extra charge." He said as he seated them. As he leave he told the waiter "Better serve them well if you want to keep your job."

"Sure is good having someone of your reputation around. Li" Eliza commented when the waiter left with their order.
"Liza, my reputation works only in Shadowlaw." ChunLi said. The gang started to exchange pointers and any recent happenings.