Heat

A Street Fighter Fanfiction

By The Headcrook

Legal Disclaimer: All characters are the property of Capcom Entertainment. First off, I would like to thank Lord Archive for letting me use his story concept to write this story. This is alo the first story that I'm writing from Ryu's POV.

Part One

You know, it's funny how things work out, even for those who are least expecting it.

Right now, I'm looking at the sleeping Chinese female, whose bare back I'm pressed up against, eventhough I'm tired myself, her hand interlaced with my own, a look of peaceful content on her beautiful face. I've been through a lot today, but after this latest chain of events, it was all worth it. We're both covered by a thin bedsheet, to give us some modesty following our...well, I'm not the type of person to go into detail about their sex life. I would much rather pound someone's head into powder instead.

Where are my manners? My name is Ryu Hoshi.

Yeah, Ryu Hoshi. The same guy that had (unintentionally) scarred the 'Emperor of Muay Thai' Victor Sagat with my Dragon Punch. The same guy that Shadowlaw had been looking for. The same guy that had faced Bison in the tournament and defeated him. The same guy who went to hell and back to avenge my fallen master.

All of this began on my birthday. July twenty-first. To top it off, the Japanese mainland was caught in the middle of a heatwave. I was at home (despite what most people say about me, I DO have a place to live. You can say that I like to mess with people with the whole wandering warrior routine). Fortunately, it had rained earlier and the temperature had dropped to something more comfortable for a nice jog throughout Tokyo...

Ryu's Dojo/Home, earlier that day...-

"Happy birthday, Sempai!"

The cheerful voice of my young apprentice had turned my attention away from the calendar that I was looking at. More like gawking, if you asked me. I turned to the teenage girl, who at the moment was holding something behind her back.

"Oh. Thank you, Sakura," I replied.

She held out her hands. It was a small photograph and an envelope. I gave her my thanks and took the items. The framed picture was that of me and her at her first junior martial arts tournament (where she won first, I might add), Sakura smiling and me looking as bit as the proud master that I was...that is if you count my with my arms folded and my face in its usual neutral expression.

I took the photo and placed it on the mantle with several others and opened the birthday card. I won't go into details as to what the card said, but what Sakura wrote in it was:

'Thank you for training me, Ryu. Happy birthday! Sakura.'

I placed the card on the mantle beside the photo and turned to Sakura. Tousling her hair, I grinned and told her, "Thanks for the presents, Sakura. Also, I'm taking the day off, so no training today."

Sakura nodded. "Well, Kei and Hinata wanted me to go to the mall with them anyway. So I'll see you tomorrow after school?"

I nodded my consent and with a birthday hug, Sakura was out the shoji door.

I sat down on the sofa. The dojo and flat was originally Master Gouken's - may he rest in peace - but he left it to me in his will. So while I was out travelling, Ken made some...adjustments to the place, making it slightly Western, but still retaining its Japanese appearance.

Then the phone rang. Speak of the devil...

I reached over and picked up the cordless phone. "Hello?"

"Happy birthday, muscleman."

Ken.

"So how does it feel to be twenty-eight today?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Didn't feel the same when I turned twenty-seven," I replied, leaning back on the couch. "Where are you?"

"In Yokohama. Masters Foundation business. Maybe I can swing by the dojo later on and give you a birthday ass-kicking."

I smiled. Same old Ken. "You can try, Masters, but I'm the one with the better win record."

"Maybe I let you win most of them."

"If you do that, then where's the fun in knowing that I can kick your ass fair and square?" I replied.

"Whatever. So what's the story between you and Chun Li?"

Ulp. That came out of nowhere. As a martial artist, you're expected to be on your guard at all times. However, Ken had caught me completely by surprise.

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to sound innocent...and failing miserably.

"Come on, Ryu," Ken replied. "Stop playing dumb. Besides, you're a lousy liar. So tell me. You got the hots for her or what?"

I stood up and walked over to the mantle. My eyes rested on a photo that was taken shortly before Ken's wedding. It was one of myself, Ken, Eliza and Chun Li, who was my date. We had all went to the movies together and after that, walked through an open air market in San Francisco's Chinatown, where the photo was taken at.

"It's a lot more...complicated than that, Ken," I replied mildly. "Besides, what made you notice?"

"When you and her showed up 5 minutes late for my wedding," Ken replied. "And you were the best man."

I knew that Ken would drag this on, so I decided to tell him. "This stays between us, understand?"

"Sure."

"When I said it was complicated earlier," I started. "Well. Chun Li and I don't have a 'normal' relationship. When I'm in Hong Kong or when I meet up with her elsewhere by accident, we usually end up sleeping together. It's been like that since the last tournament. That was six months ago."

Sugar-coating the truth wasn't one of my specialties. I call it the way I see it, to the point where I'm completely blunt.

"So everytime you're within distance of each other, you and her get together?" Ken asked me.

"Yeah," I replied. "But the funny thing is...that we never talk. We just lay there. One time, I started to say something, but she just silenced me and it's been like that between us."

"You sure she's not seeing anybody else?"

I scoffed. "Chun Li is an Interpol detective, not to mention one of the best martial artists I had the honor of facing in a match. I'll bet that most of the guys in Hong Kong, let alone China are scared of her. Anyway, I just want something more than just sexnot that I'm complaining that is, but we just never get a chance to talk. Maybe it's because we have nothing to say."

"Maybe she's just using you for sex, you know," Ken suggested. "Bison did murder her father, so she needs someone to wipe the pain away, if only for a little while."

"What if I told you that I was guilty of the same crime?" I retorted. "Gouken was the closest thing I had to a father, and he was also murdered. Aside from fighting, I felt alive when I am with her."

"So why don't you just call her and tell her how you feel? You got her number, right?"

"I think I misplaced it," I replied. "I'll talk to you later."

"Okay then. Happy birthday, Ryu."

"Thanks. Bye."

I clicked off the phone and sat back down. After a moment I stood up and walked into my room. Follwing a shower and a change of clothes (I promised myself that I woudn't fight today, but a jog into the city is another story), I was ready to go into the city.

Something told me that this was the beginning of trouble.