The Flower & The Tiger
She pounded the punching bag with all her might. Rating second gave her prestige and honor, but that was not what mattered. Everyday she trained to be the best, to win the Street Fighters tournament, but more importantly to avenger her father's death. "I had come so close." She exhaled then pounded the punching bag again. She made it to the final round by beating all her opponents, but was defeated by a challenger. His name was Ryu. He was a very skilled fighter. There was a time when she would have loved a match with him, but at the tournament the stakes were higher. It was an all or nothing situation for her. Chun Li for the first time in over ten years knew she had gotten close to Bison and she was in the prime of her training. "I had come so close," she exhaled again. The power in her punches decreased; then a tear streamed down her face.
Her father's killer was free somewhere out there and she could not do anything about it now. She had lost her chance when she was defeated. It gave her no comfort that Ryu defeated Bison in the final round because Bison was allowed to escape and go underground. If only there was another chance, it could be years before Bison resurfaced. Slowly she opened up her fists and dried her tears. She took a breath and regained her composure. "Father, I will not rest until Bison is brought to justice." Slowly she backed away from the punching bag. "It cannot end this way."
***
In China somewhere in the country side, Ryu wandered. His desire for enlightenment drove him to wander in search of worthy opponents. He won the current Street Fighters tournament and fought many worthy opponents, but one stuck in his head. There was something about her. She was skilled, poised, but to eager. The girl literally leaped into his dragon punches. "Yes, too eager indeed," he repeated to himself. She had great speed and was able to almost get the best of him. She was a very good opponent and he enjoyed the match with her immensely. This was his third trip to China and each time it was different. It was early spring, but there were an unusual amount of flowers. No matter where he was in the country side there were bundles upon bundles of flowers. There were so many of them that he walked on them because they got in his path.
He walked on until he reached a remote village. His grasp of the Chinese language, any dialect was poor. Ryu came across a group of children. The oldest was about fifteen. The children were picking the flowers along the road and singing in their native language. The eldest looked up and saw Ryu. He was startled to see a stranger. Ryu walked over to the children and spoke in a non threatening manner. His Chinese was broken, but the boy seemed to understand. "We are picking flowers for our champion." the boy said. "She came back a couple days ago."
"Oh," he said.
"Yes," the boy nodded. "There will be a grand parade for her."
"Which way to a hotel?" He asked, the tournament and constant traveling had tired him out. The child pointed down the road.
"That way," he said. "Everyone is going to the city to see her."
"Thank you," Ryu searched his pocket and gave the child a few coins. The boy laughed, but took them. Ryu headed off to the city. The boy ran after him.
"Sir, are you going to walk all the way?" The boy caught up to him. "There is a train in the next village just down the road." Ryu continued to walk; the boy decided to turned back.
***
After a good night's sleep in her own bed Chun Li felt some relief. It was the morning of her parade. She put on a lavender silk shirt with a high Mandarin collar and a medium length black skirt. Her hair was up in a bun with a few strands free. She then put on her mother's jade pendant then unlocked her apartment door. One last look in the mirror and she left.
In her heart she did not want to go through with the parade. She was troubled; she did not feel like celebrating and she certainly did not feel like the champion of china. All she felt was her defeat, but she put on a happy appearance. She knew that her countrymen rejoiced when they heard she made it to the final round. It would hurt them if she declined their hospitality by not being in their parade. They all cheered her on in the tournament and eagerly watched with their hearts in their throats when the battle came to China. She went down stairs and met her boss in the lobby. "You look nice," he smiled.
"Thank you," she replied.
"This is the first time I saw you out of uniform." He opened the front door for her. "All of China is watching. Even the poor came from their villages to celebrate." Chun Li did not reply. She got in the back seat of the convertible. "Do you know a group of poor children from a neighboring village picked flowers for you?" She still did not respond. A distant memory came back to her as they were driving off. She thought about the last time she met Bison. At the time she was too young and inexperience to defeat him and avenger her father's death. Deep down she knew they would meet again so she trained harder and pushed her abilities to the max. Then the memory faded away and she saw the people on the parade route. They were cheering, some were throwing flowers other confetti and streamers. There were many photographers in the crowd taking pictures of her as she rode by. "You are crying." Her boss whispered to her. "Here," he passed a tissue to her. "They love you, they are literally eating up your tears." He smiled. "A triumphant victor weeping because she is overwhelmed by the cheers of her people, the media will over this." He gave her another tissue. "You are going to be on television, magazines and even on cereal boxes for a long time to come."
"Where are the children who picked the flowers? I don't want to disappoint them." She asked.
"They are here somewhere. Just sit back and smile." Chun Li turned to look at him. "The press would love to get a picture of them presenting you with those flowers."
"What about the mission?"
"Don't worry about it now, today is your day?" He assured her.
"Bison is still out there and the Shadowloo is still a danger."
"Yes," he agreed, "but he went underground. There isn't much you can do right now but wait for his next move."
"Are you going to take me off the mission?"
"No," he laughed, "why would I do such a thing like that. You are Intercol's best agent."
"But this is my second attempt."
"What is it that the Americans say? If at first you don't succeed try, try, try again." He reassured her. "Besides you infiltrated Shadowloo, got to the final round in the tournament and you were able to bring two of its top agents to justice."
"But Bison is still out there."
"Yes and thanks to you we are tracking his organization's moves. Street Fighters was only a cover up for something, something big." The convertible turned down another crowded street. Only for a brief second she saw his face in the crowd.
"It can't be." She gasped.
"Is everything alright?" Her boss asked.
"Yes," she replied. The tall man in the crowd walked away. He could not have been Ryu. She reassured herself, that he was back in Japan. Ryu was the last person she wanted to see.
***
That evening Ryu checked into a hotel. It was a long day and he was tired. He threw down his duffel bag on the chair by the television. The parade was over, but he could still hear the celebrations going on outside. He decided to take a shower since it would be awhile before he would have such an opportunity. The remote for the television was by the table. Normally he would not have turned the television on, but he could not stand listening to a group of drunks sing outside in the street.
When he got out of the shower he went straight to bed. The people outside were still celebrating so he kept the television on. It was not the least bit interesting to him; he did not understand Chinese well enough. Then he saw her. She was on television. Ryu sat up in bed. She was riding in the parade and was weeping. He barely understood what the crowd was saying, but he made out her name; Chun Li. He had not known her name before. He was never interested in learning an opponent's name. In the next scene he saw the children he met on the way present her with the flowers they had picked. She gracefully accepted and the smaller children hugged her. The news anchor came back on the screen. He said something about "China's champion." Ryu changed the channel, but there she was again. In this scene she was smiling and made a quick speech to a room of people. She w as indeed pretty he though, but he changed the channel again. She was on every station. Finally Ryu gave up and turned off the television only to hear the drunks sing out of tune in chorus. He turned over and went to sleep staring at the window. He pondered who was going to be his next opponent. Then his thoughts slipped to her again. He wondered if she will continue training. After achieving success some fighters stop training after they peeked. "I wonder if she is watching herself on television.", he thought.
***
Chun Li turned the television off. She was indeed on every station and she grew tired of watching herself over and over. All of the publicity she received was a small comfort; but she did not want to pose for any more pictures. She was flattered for being considered the prettiest girl in the tournament, but as a result she received bids for endorsements which would make her a wealthy woman.
She tried her best to feel like nothing has changed, but her impending sorrow return. Failure was not an option in the tournament, but somehow she failed. Chun Li went to the stove and put on a pot of green tea; it was her favorite. The question now which burned in her mind was her next move. She could use her new found money to track Bison down, but she did not know where to begin. "What would my father do?" She questioned herself. The pot on began to whistle. Then the little voice in her head answered. "Continue training." She wished her parents were alive; she felt so alone. Then another tear began to fall; she poured a cup of tea and went to bed; tomorrow was another day.
***
After staking out the best dojo's in town, Ryu set course to the most upscale ones first, but it's best fighters were no match for him. When he came to the more low-key dojo's it was late in the evening. It was too late to have dinner and too early to go back to his hotel. At first he observed the people in entering the dojo then entered himself. A middle aged gentleman with gray hair immediately recognized him. "Welcome, welcome!" He approached Ryu who was caught off guard. "Welcome to the New Beijing dojo," he bowed to him.
"Thank you," Ryu returned the greetings.
"Ahh, you come for a challenger no?" He asked. Ryu looked at him.
"Yes," he answered. "So far I haven't seen anyone worthy of my time." The gentleman smiled.
"Just you wait, we have someone who might be able to challenge you."
"Oh," he raised his eye brow in disbelief. The fighters he saw were mere beginners and show-offs.
"Ofcourse," the man motioned for him to follow. He walked into another room. This room was more rustic and less ornamental. It had a sparing ring in its center. "We have quite a few worthy fighters. Everyone here is the best of the best." Ryu eyed the men in this room. They were in all shapes, sizes and ages. Then the gentlemen spoke in Chinese to the fighters. Everyone stopped and turned their attention to the owner and this mysterious stranger. Then from the crowd a man came forward and spoke. Ryu understood that he challenged him to a match. The gentleman turned to Ryu and said. "This is Li Sui Chong, he's one tough man. He has to be, he's a police man."
"Tell him I accept his challenge." Ryu said, looking at the very muscular person in front of him.
***
Chun Li hurried to get in her sparring gear. She promised one of her friends from work that she would train with him upon her arrival. Quickly she took her braids and twisted them into buns on either sides of her head, the ran out of the women's locker room. She was already an hour late. On her way to the back room she saw that there was a match. Everyone was hyped up and cheering; she could not see who were fighting. Then Mr. Wong, the dojo's owner spotted her and went over. "Chun Li, you were about to miss all the action." He then took her by the wrist in excitement and lead her to the ring. "A stranger showed walked in off the street and challenged Li Sui."
"I pity the stranger," she smirked. Mr. Wong continued to fight the crowd so they could get a better view of the match. "Li's no push over, he's one of the baddest men here."
"Yes, that is why I wanted you to see this." They made it to the head of the ring. Li was fighting Ryu. Her sparring partner was fighting the man who took away the biggest opportunity of her life. "He's being defeated by the very strength that exerts."
"Mr. Wong!" Chun Li exclaimed. "Do you know who he is?" The sight of him evading Li's blows made her want to explode."
"Yes, I do," he answered her. "It is good fortune that he is here." Chun Li could scarce breath. She was either going to faint or storm out the room. She did the latter. "But Chun Li, this man can teach you something." He ran after hear. "None of the people in this dojo are as worthy of an opponent as he is."
"Yes, but," she stopped herself. Then turned around to see Li lying on the mat. Ryu had beaten him.
"Chun Li, what is wrong?" Mr. Wong asked. "There was a time when you would have been in awe of this revelation."
"He defeated me in the tournament," she replied without thinking.
"So? You can learn from your defeat." Mr. Wong took her by the arm again. "You will challenge him yes?" She took one more look at Mr. Wong, she knew he was right, but did not want to admit it.
"I just can't. This is something you do not understand." She replied. "Tell Li I was here." Mr. Wong looked at Chun Li as she left then over at Li Su who was getting out the ring.
***
Ryu got out the ring; the middle aged gentleman accosted him again. "We have a few more fighters here. They will be in here eventually. You can stay a few days and train with us." Ryu shuck his head and pushed past him. The gentleman watched as he left. "Was that all China had for him this time?" Ryu thought. Li Sui was a good fighter, but he has faced dozens of Li Sui's before and always defeated them easily. Their strength was their biggest ally and their cause of defeat. Where was that one challenge that would bring him enlightenment? It was too late to go to another dojo so he went back to the hotel. He paid for two weeks in advance because he felt that that was all the time he need to stay in one spot. He had only two more days left.
When he came into his room he started meditated. It was through meditation where he came up with his destination for his next challenges. There was no happiness, sadness, no heaven or hell for him. He did not savor his victories or his loses, but he rarely lost. His only concern was the next challenge; the next fight. He stayed in perfect meditation for majority of the night. The next day he went out to find another challenger.
She pounded the punching bag with all her might. Rating second gave her prestige and honor, but that was not what mattered. Everyday she trained to be the best, to win the Street Fighters tournament, but more importantly to avenger her father's death. "I had come so close." She exhaled then pounded the punching bag again. She made it to the final round by beating all her opponents, but was defeated by a challenger. His name was Ryu. He was a very skilled fighter. There was a time when she would have loved a match with him, but at the tournament the stakes were higher. It was an all or nothing situation for her. Chun Li for the first time in over ten years knew she had gotten close to Bison and she was in the prime of her training. "I had come so close," she exhaled again. The power in her punches decreased; then a tear streamed down her face.
Her father's killer was free somewhere out there and she could not do anything about it now. She had lost her chance when she was defeated. It gave her no comfort that Ryu defeated Bison in the final round because Bison was allowed to escape and go underground. If only there was another chance, it could be years before Bison resurfaced. Slowly she opened up her fists and dried her tears. She took a breath and regained her composure. "Father, I will not rest until Bison is brought to justice." Slowly she backed away from the punching bag. "It cannot end this way."
***
In China somewhere in the country side, Ryu wandered. His desire for enlightenment drove him to wander in search of worthy opponents. He won the current Street Fighters tournament and fought many worthy opponents, but one stuck in his head. There was something about her. She was skilled, poised, but to eager. The girl literally leaped into his dragon punches. "Yes, too eager indeed," he repeated to himself. She had great speed and was able to almost get the best of him. She was a very good opponent and he enjoyed the match with her immensely. This was his third trip to China and each time it was different. It was early spring, but there were an unusual amount of flowers. No matter where he was in the country side there were bundles upon bundles of flowers. There were so many of them that he walked on them because they got in his path.
He walked on until he reached a remote village. His grasp of the Chinese language, any dialect was poor. Ryu came across a group of children. The oldest was about fifteen. The children were picking the flowers along the road and singing in their native language. The eldest looked up and saw Ryu. He was startled to see a stranger. Ryu walked over to the children and spoke in a non threatening manner. His Chinese was broken, but the boy seemed to understand. "We are picking flowers for our champion." the boy said. "She came back a couple days ago."
"Oh," he said.
"Yes," the boy nodded. "There will be a grand parade for her."
"Which way to a hotel?" He asked, the tournament and constant traveling had tired him out. The child pointed down the road.
"That way," he said. "Everyone is going to the city to see her."
"Thank you," Ryu searched his pocket and gave the child a few coins. The boy laughed, but took them. Ryu headed off to the city. The boy ran after him.
"Sir, are you going to walk all the way?" The boy caught up to him. "There is a train in the next village just down the road." Ryu continued to walk; the boy decided to turned back.
***
After a good night's sleep in her own bed Chun Li felt some relief. It was the morning of her parade. She put on a lavender silk shirt with a high Mandarin collar and a medium length black skirt. Her hair was up in a bun with a few strands free. She then put on her mother's jade pendant then unlocked her apartment door. One last look in the mirror and she left.
In her heart she did not want to go through with the parade. She was troubled; she did not feel like celebrating and she certainly did not feel like the champion of china. All she felt was her defeat, but she put on a happy appearance. She knew that her countrymen rejoiced when they heard she made it to the final round. It would hurt them if she declined their hospitality by not being in their parade. They all cheered her on in the tournament and eagerly watched with their hearts in their throats when the battle came to China. She went down stairs and met her boss in the lobby. "You look nice," he smiled.
"Thank you," she replied.
"This is the first time I saw you out of uniform." He opened the front door for her. "All of China is watching. Even the poor came from their villages to celebrate." Chun Li did not reply. She got in the back seat of the convertible. "Do you know a group of poor children from a neighboring village picked flowers for you?" She still did not respond. A distant memory came back to her as they were driving off. She thought about the last time she met Bison. At the time she was too young and inexperience to defeat him and avenger her father's death. Deep down she knew they would meet again so she trained harder and pushed her abilities to the max. Then the memory faded away and she saw the people on the parade route. They were cheering, some were throwing flowers other confetti and streamers. There were many photographers in the crowd taking pictures of her as she rode by. "You are crying." Her boss whispered to her. "Here," he passed a tissue to her. "They love you, they are literally eating up your tears." He smiled. "A triumphant victor weeping because she is overwhelmed by the cheers of her people, the media will over this." He gave her another tissue. "You are going to be on television, magazines and even on cereal boxes for a long time to come."
"Where are the children who picked the flowers? I don't want to disappoint them." She asked.
"They are here somewhere. Just sit back and smile." Chun Li turned to look at him. "The press would love to get a picture of them presenting you with those flowers."
"What about the mission?"
"Don't worry about it now, today is your day?" He assured her.
"Bison is still out there and the Shadowloo is still a danger."
"Yes," he agreed, "but he went underground. There isn't much you can do right now but wait for his next move."
"Are you going to take me off the mission?"
"No," he laughed, "why would I do such a thing like that. You are Intercol's best agent."
"But this is my second attempt."
"What is it that the Americans say? If at first you don't succeed try, try, try again." He reassured her. "Besides you infiltrated Shadowloo, got to the final round in the tournament and you were able to bring two of its top agents to justice."
"But Bison is still out there."
"Yes and thanks to you we are tracking his organization's moves. Street Fighters was only a cover up for something, something big." The convertible turned down another crowded street. Only for a brief second she saw his face in the crowd.
"It can't be." She gasped.
"Is everything alright?" Her boss asked.
"Yes," she replied. The tall man in the crowd walked away. He could not have been Ryu. She reassured herself, that he was back in Japan. Ryu was the last person she wanted to see.
***
That evening Ryu checked into a hotel. It was a long day and he was tired. He threw down his duffel bag on the chair by the television. The parade was over, but he could still hear the celebrations going on outside. He decided to take a shower since it would be awhile before he would have such an opportunity. The remote for the television was by the table. Normally he would not have turned the television on, but he could not stand listening to a group of drunks sing outside in the street.
When he got out of the shower he went straight to bed. The people outside were still celebrating so he kept the television on. It was not the least bit interesting to him; he did not understand Chinese well enough. Then he saw her. She was on television. Ryu sat up in bed. She was riding in the parade and was weeping. He barely understood what the crowd was saying, but he made out her name; Chun Li. He had not known her name before. He was never interested in learning an opponent's name. In the next scene he saw the children he met on the way present her with the flowers they had picked. She gracefully accepted and the smaller children hugged her. The news anchor came back on the screen. He said something about "China's champion." Ryu changed the channel, but there she was again. In this scene she was smiling and made a quick speech to a room of people. She w as indeed pretty he though, but he changed the channel again. She was on every station. Finally Ryu gave up and turned off the television only to hear the drunks sing out of tune in chorus. He turned over and went to sleep staring at the window. He pondered who was going to be his next opponent. Then his thoughts slipped to her again. He wondered if she will continue training. After achieving success some fighters stop training after they peeked. "I wonder if she is watching herself on television.", he thought.
***
Chun Li turned the television off. She was indeed on every station and she grew tired of watching herself over and over. All of the publicity she received was a small comfort; but she did not want to pose for any more pictures. She was flattered for being considered the prettiest girl in the tournament, but as a result she received bids for endorsements which would make her a wealthy woman.
She tried her best to feel like nothing has changed, but her impending sorrow return. Failure was not an option in the tournament, but somehow she failed. Chun Li went to the stove and put on a pot of green tea; it was her favorite. The question now which burned in her mind was her next move. She could use her new found money to track Bison down, but she did not know where to begin. "What would my father do?" She questioned herself. The pot on began to whistle. Then the little voice in her head answered. "Continue training." She wished her parents were alive; she felt so alone. Then another tear began to fall; she poured a cup of tea and went to bed; tomorrow was another day.
***
After staking out the best dojo's in town, Ryu set course to the most upscale ones first, but it's best fighters were no match for him. When he came to the more low-key dojo's it was late in the evening. It was too late to have dinner and too early to go back to his hotel. At first he observed the people in entering the dojo then entered himself. A middle aged gentleman with gray hair immediately recognized him. "Welcome, welcome!" He approached Ryu who was caught off guard. "Welcome to the New Beijing dojo," he bowed to him.
"Thank you," Ryu returned the greetings.
"Ahh, you come for a challenger no?" He asked. Ryu looked at him.
"Yes," he answered. "So far I haven't seen anyone worthy of my time." The gentleman smiled.
"Just you wait, we have someone who might be able to challenge you."
"Oh," he raised his eye brow in disbelief. The fighters he saw were mere beginners and show-offs.
"Ofcourse," the man motioned for him to follow. He walked into another room. This room was more rustic and less ornamental. It had a sparing ring in its center. "We have quite a few worthy fighters. Everyone here is the best of the best." Ryu eyed the men in this room. They were in all shapes, sizes and ages. Then the gentlemen spoke in Chinese to the fighters. Everyone stopped and turned their attention to the owner and this mysterious stranger. Then from the crowd a man came forward and spoke. Ryu understood that he challenged him to a match. The gentleman turned to Ryu and said. "This is Li Sui Chong, he's one tough man. He has to be, he's a police man."
"Tell him I accept his challenge." Ryu said, looking at the very muscular person in front of him.
***
Chun Li hurried to get in her sparring gear. She promised one of her friends from work that she would train with him upon her arrival. Quickly she took her braids and twisted them into buns on either sides of her head, the ran out of the women's locker room. She was already an hour late. On her way to the back room she saw that there was a match. Everyone was hyped up and cheering; she could not see who were fighting. Then Mr. Wong, the dojo's owner spotted her and went over. "Chun Li, you were about to miss all the action." He then took her by the wrist in excitement and lead her to the ring. "A stranger showed walked in off the street and challenged Li Sui."
"I pity the stranger," she smirked. Mr. Wong continued to fight the crowd so they could get a better view of the match. "Li's no push over, he's one of the baddest men here."
"Yes, that is why I wanted you to see this." They made it to the head of the ring. Li was fighting Ryu. Her sparring partner was fighting the man who took away the biggest opportunity of her life. "He's being defeated by the very strength that exerts."
"Mr. Wong!" Chun Li exclaimed. "Do you know who he is?" The sight of him evading Li's blows made her want to explode."
"Yes, I do," he answered her. "It is good fortune that he is here." Chun Li could scarce breath. She was either going to faint or storm out the room. She did the latter. "But Chun Li, this man can teach you something." He ran after hear. "None of the people in this dojo are as worthy of an opponent as he is."
"Yes, but," she stopped herself. Then turned around to see Li lying on the mat. Ryu had beaten him.
"Chun Li, what is wrong?" Mr. Wong asked. "There was a time when you would have been in awe of this revelation."
"He defeated me in the tournament," she replied without thinking.
"So? You can learn from your defeat." Mr. Wong took her by the arm again. "You will challenge him yes?" She took one more look at Mr. Wong, she knew he was right, but did not want to admit it.
"I just can't. This is something you do not understand." She replied. "Tell Li I was here." Mr. Wong looked at Chun Li as she left then over at Li Su who was getting out the ring.
***
Ryu got out the ring; the middle aged gentleman accosted him again. "We have a few more fighters here. They will be in here eventually. You can stay a few days and train with us." Ryu shuck his head and pushed past him. The gentleman watched as he left. "Was that all China had for him this time?" Ryu thought. Li Sui was a good fighter, but he has faced dozens of Li Sui's before and always defeated them easily. Their strength was their biggest ally and their cause of defeat. Where was that one challenge that would bring him enlightenment? It was too late to go to another dojo so he went back to the hotel. He paid for two weeks in advance because he felt that that was all the time he need to stay in one spot. He had only two more days left.
When he came into his room he started meditated. It was through meditation where he came up with his destination for his next challenges. There was no happiness, sadness, no heaven or hell for him. He did not savor his victories or his loses, but he rarely lost. His only concern was the next challenge; the next fight. He stayed in perfect meditation for majority of the night. The next day he went out to find another challenger.