“With all due respect, Sensei, where are we going to go at this time of night?” Ryu queried.

“Are you questioning my intentions?” Gouken asked.

Ryu shook his head. “No, I’m not.” This was insane. What was going on here? And why in the hell was Gouken seeing him at this point in time? There were times when he had wished that he had the guidance of this teacher, but now was not the time he had in mind. Especially as the first ‘spirit’ who was due to visit him. “Sensei, I’m going to sleep. Since you were…sent here, I assume you have something to tell me.”

Gouken sighed in exasperation. “No…I have nothing to say. But I do have something to show you…”

Ryu frowned in confusion. Suddenly, Gouken opened the window, causing mighty gusts of wind to flow into the room. Ryu shivered slightly. Gouken stood in front of the window.

“May I ask why you did that?” Ryu asked, huddling in his comforter.

“It is time for us to leave.”

Ryu tried not to roll his eyes. His teacher had always been a specific man. It was so strange that even now, he was unclear. Ryu blew out a breath, deciding that maybe if he went along with his teacher, he’d finally make sense.

“Where are we going?” Ryu asked as he got out of bed, folding his beddings.

“To visit your past,” Gouken stated.

“My past?” Ryu repeated. “Why my past?”

Without answering, Gouken jumped outside the window. Ryu followed his example. A bright light filled the area. Ryu shielded his eyes until the light dimmed. Ryu looked up, noticing that they were in front of a brick building. The building was in the middle of a park full of lush trees and stone pathways.

“Where are we?” Ryu asked.

Gouken gestured to the window. Ryu walked up and looked through the glass.

“This is the Christmas party that Ken had four years ago,” Ryu observed.

He saw all the familiar faces. Ken was pouring punch for his son, Mel. Cammy and Dee Jay were dancing. A band stood on a stage against a wall, playing holiday music. Honda and Blanka were at the food table, helping themselves to sandwiches. Cody, Guy, and their significant others were in a group talking and laughing.

“Everyone is here…” Ryu murmured. His eyes scanned the room until he saw a man sitting in a metal chair in the corner of a room. The man, dressed in comfortable clothes – a green button-down collared shirt and black trousers – stared listlessly at his cup of fruit punch. Ryu’s eyes widened. “That’s me…”

“Yes.”

Ryu turned as a dark-haired woman wearing a Chinese-style pale blue dress walked up to his younger self. Even though the window and holiday music would have blocked out his ability to hear what the two were saying, he could hear their words almost as if he was right next to them…

“Ryu, do you want to dance?” the woman said.

He looked up from his position on the chair and smiled shyly. “No thank you, Chun Li. I can’t dance.”

“Well, now is a good time to learn.” She took his cup and set it down. Taking his hands, she pulled him to his feet.

She tugged him several feet away from his chair before stopping abruptly. Ryu stumbled slightly.

“Why did you stop?” Ryu asked.

“Ahem!” Chun Li cleared her throat.

“Is something in your throat?” Ryu asked. “You should drink some tea.”

Chun Li’s eyes gazed upward. Ryu followed her eyes until he saw a green sprig with white berries dangling from the decorations that were strewn below the ceiling.

“What does that have to - ” Ryu got cut off when Chun Li pressed her lips firmly against his. When she pulled away, his cheeks grew hot. “What…What was that for?”

Chun Li smiled up at him, her eyes bright. “That’s mistletoe. If two people are standing under it, it’s tradition that they kiss.”

“Oh.” Ryu looked up at the plant, then back at her. “That is an unusual Christmas custom…If one wishes to kiss someone, they should just take the initiative…without the aid of mistletoe.”

Chun Li’s cheeks grew pink. “I…I suppose…But…it seemed like a good idea…”

“Have you been looking for an opportunity to kiss me?” Ryu asked. “Is that why you pulled me under the mistletoe?”

“Well, I…”

“It was unnecessary,” Ryu informed.

Chun Li looked down, but not before he saw the disappointment in her eyes.

He bent towards her and kissed her gently. Chun Li wrapped her arms around his neck.

Outside, Ryu glanced at Gouken. His heart filled with memories, Ryu turned away from the window, leaning against it.

“I had almost forgotten about that…” Ryu sighed. “But I remember how deeply I cared for her…”

Gouken nodded. “In two weeks time…the morning of Christmas Day…your heart was no longer focused on her. Rather…on something you felt was more important…”

Ryu looked up in alarm as the scenery swirled around him. When his vision cleared, he realized he was in an apartment. The cream-colored sofa, mahogany coffee tables seemed so familiar. His gaze flew to two figures standing near the doorway.

Chun Li was standing in front of his younger self, her arms around him.

“I’m so glad you’re alive! I didn’t…I didn’t think that you would survive that fight with Akuma…” She buried her face against his neck.

Ryu firmly removed her hands from him and pushed her away. “Akuma was a very difficult opponent. Now I have to seek more challenges.”

Chun Li didn’t bother to mask the hurt in her eyes and voice. “But I thought that we…”

Ryu looked away. “It has always been my goal to find a strong opponent. Akuma was my greatest challenge. But now…he is gone…and I have to find another opponent. Someone who I can fight with all my potential. That is part of understanding the fight.”

“Are…Are you saying that…you want to find another reason for living as a warrior? That Akuma being your teacher’s killer drove you on…to perfecting your skills…?”

“It’s ironic…isn’t it? If I perfect my fighting skills…yet have no opponent to fight against…what is the concept of fighting anyway?”

Chun Li stepped away from him. “Where…Where is this coming from?” Chun Li asked, her voice wavering.

Ryu watched the scene, cringing at the icy tone he had used in addressing Chun Li.

“What…What did he do to you?” Chun Li asked. “Your fight with him did something to you…”

Ryu’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about. I just came to you to let you know that I was alive and well.”

Chun Li glared at him. “You might as well have not come at all. You’re not Ryu. Ryu is kind and caring. You’re just the opposite. I don’t even know you anymore.”

Ryu’s eyes hardened. “Perhaps you never truly did. If you had…you would have understood my reason to continue my path.”

“Get out!” Chun Li exclaimed.

Ryu turned around and stalked away, not bothering to look back. Chun Li slammed the door, making Ryu and Gouken wince. She leaned against the door, her body trembling, her chest heaving with the sobs she tried to hold back. She finally broke down. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she cried with sobs that shook her whole body.

Ryu swallowed, feeling his heart ache. Raw emotion washed through his body…the feeling so powerful it hurt, causing him to shake.

“Your battle with Akuma changed you. Your training controlled you. You distanced yourself from your friends. Most of all…you hurt that woman so deeply…that you lost her forever…” Gouken stated.

“Sensei…” Ryu choked. “Are you finished? I wish to go back home…away from these painful memories…”

Gouken stared at his pupil, whose eyes swam with pain and loneliness. “Ryu…remember that you brought this on yourself.”