¡§Riben ren! [Jap!]”

That word stung Ryu to the inner core of his soul. What was wrong with him being Japanese? he thought as he kept his eyes on the youth named Wong Ch’ing. This Wong Ch’ing had an arrogant look and attitude, far worse than even that of Ryu’s American buddy, Ken Masters. At least Ken didn’t have that bullying air that this Asian youth had. Uneasy about what was to come, Ryu slowly stepped backward, stopping before he could fall into the grasp or fists of one of the men behind him.

¡§You’re not welcome here, understood?!” Wong Ch’ing barked at Ryu, who simply returned the man’s gaze back coolly. ¡§I didn’t come here to fight, Wong Ch’ing,” Ryu said in his short and simple way. ¡§Leave me alone. I don’t want to fight you.”

¡§The world’s best street-fighting champion dares not to fight?” the Asian man sneered, reaching out a hand and shoving Ryu’s shoulder so that the younger man stepped back to regain his balance. ¡§How could that be, huh, waifang ren [foreigner]?” It was time for Ryu to switch to the Mandarin that he had so preciously learned from the time spent in China and with Chun-li. It was now or never for him to show that being Japanese ¡V whatever that had to do with this disgraceful treatment that he was getting ¡V didn’t affect who he really was. ¡§Wo kenne shi waifang ren, keshi wo dou meiyou hai nimen. Nimen wei shenmo lai daran wo? [I may be a foreigner, but I never bothered you. Why are you guys bothering me?]”

The fact that he spoke in Chinese ¡V and with hardly any heavy Japanese accent ¡V stunned, but angered the youths surrounding him. Ryu kept his steady gaze fixed on Wong Ch’ing’s face. Out of all of the men, this one was getting angrier by the minute. ¡§Who taught you to speak Chinese like us, huh, riben ren? Speak up!” The youth’s fists were clenched so tight that the knuckles appeared bone-white beneath the taut skin; his face was crimson with rage, while his eyes flamed dark sparks of violence. ¡§Suo ah! [Say it!]”

¡§No. I don’t want to fight you, and I’m not going to say anything.”

This seemed to make up Wong Ch’ing’s mind about what to do physically to him. ¡§Get him!” The boy’s Mandarin at that point was frighteningly brutal.

Suddenly under attack, Ryu found himself quickly blocking a punch heading towards his face, then elbowing another boy in the face, only to find two more opponents ranging around him¡Kall of them were seeking a weak spot to attack him in. ƒxCan’t let yourself slip, Ryu. These guys are out for your blood¡Keven though you don’t know why.ƒx All of a sudden, without warning, Wong Ch’ing dashed forward, his fists working rapidly in a series of punches that Ryu quickly blocked; however, the young Japanese warrior didn’t escape without harm. As one of the blows struck him squarely on the back of his hand, the handguard flew off.

ƒxI didn’t need that! I don’t even want to fight these guys, yet they insist on it! Why must they push me this far?!ƒx Ryu thought as swung a forearm up to divert yet another blow. ƒxHold yourself back¡Kdon’t release your full strength. You came here to see Chun-li, not to fight with her people!ƒx

By now, the fighting had attracted quite a crowd. Villagers, young and old, small and large, short and tall, all came streaming out of their huts to see what was the matter. Ryu flashed a quick look at the gathering masses and groaned. The last thing he needed was publicity. If these villagers were exactly like the men he was trying ƒxdesperatelyƒx not to fight against, then he was in further trouble.

¡§Nimen kan! E ge riben ren paojing lai women de chunzhuang li! Nimen yao women ba ta gan chutu ma? [Look! A Japanese intruded into our village! Do you want us to drive him out?]”

Just then, before anyone could say a word against Ryu, Ryu suddenly heard a bright, clear, and melodious voice cutting the air like a double-edged razor.

¡§Wong Ch’ing! Ni zai gan shenmo?! Ah, Long¡Kni lai le! Ni zhende lai le! [Wong Ch’ing! What are you doing?! Oh, Ryu¡Kyou’re here! You really came!]”

The sight of Chun-li, his long-time girlfriend, filled Ryu with relief. ¡§Chun-li! Dui¡Kwo zhende lai le! [Chun-li! Yeah¡KI really came!]” Then, feeling the dark resentment and hatred that was still emanating from the youths around him, Ryu spoke up. ¡§Chun-li, zhexie nanren henshang dui wo hen bu kechi de yangzhi. Ni ke bu keyi gaoshu wo tamen wei shenmo xian zhenyang? [Chun-li, it seems like these men don’t take too lightly to me. Can you tell me why they are treating me like this?]” Throwing Wong Ch’ing and his comrades a look as sharp as daggers, Chun-li immediately changed her mood and threw her arms around Ryu in a fond embrace. ¡§Don’t worry about them, Ryu,” she said as she relaxed her hold and looked into his face. ¡§They are sort of paranoid about foreigners and intruders and all¡KI also can’t understand them.”

That didn’t help Ryu too much. The young man was feeling sort of¡Kleft out and alone. Besides Chun-li, it seemed like the rest of the village wanted him out. As he looked into each and every face, he saw almost the same expression. The darkly-hooded eyes, the frightened expressions on the women’s faces, the way they held their children close to them, and the men and boys¡K The men and boys were standing closely together, observing his each and every move. If Ryu wasn’t wrongly mistaken about his own emotions and doubts, he was actually afraid to express his feelings for Chun-li. He was afraid to show them in front of this hostile lot.

Chun-li, as if sensing the turmoil roiling around within her boyfriend’s heart, ran her hand along the strongly-angled side of Ryu’s face so that he faced her rather than the crowd. ¡§Ryu, don’t worry. Just come with me and have fun here. That’s why I invited you here.”

Returning a weak smile, Ryu touched the soft white hand on his cheek and closed his eyes in surrender. ¡§OK, Chun-li. I’ll just¡Kenjoy myself here. Anyway, you’re here.”

But even as he said that, Ryu felt like he was lying, for he knew that he already wasn’t enjoying his visit. Even though Chun-li was here, Ryu could not take the series of rejections that he’d received throughout the course of his journeys ¡V simply because he was Japanese.

Multiple pairs of burning eyes sealed his fate.