Ryu found himself in a strange setting. The environment was red, with columns and druids standing around. Suddenly, a man appeared. Half of his body was tinted red as fire. The other half was blue as the sky. His long blond hair hung loose.

“You think that you can defeat me?” he mocked.

Ryu got into a fighting stance. “Let us fight, now, Gill.”

He shot out his hand and a ball of ice flew towards him. Ryu dodged the attack. Gill performed the move once more. This time, Ryu teleported behind him and kicked him. He grabbed him by the head and slammed him on the ground.

“Excellent,” came a deep, dark voice. “You use the intent well.”

Ryu turned around and saw a man in a black gi. He wore large brown beads around his neck and his hair was red, pulled into a high ponytail.

“Akuma.”

The demon stared back at Ryu. Suddenly, a ball of ice was thrown at Ryu, and Ryu slammed into a column, causing it to crack.

Ryu woke up with a start. He was drenched in sweat. Why was he suddenly having nightmares of his last major fight before he stayed in Hong Kong?

“Ryu?” came a voice.

He looked up. Chun Li stood in the doorway, a shadow against the hallway light.

“Did I wake you?” he asked softly.

“No. I was having trouble sleeping. So I came to check on you. You woke up just as soon as I got here. Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

Chun Li moved inside the room and sat beside him. Tenderly, she felt his forehead.

“What happened? You’re sweating.”

“I-“

“Hold on. Let me get you a towel.”

In a few minutes, she returned with a towel in hand. He mopped his forehead.

“Thanks.”

She put the towel aside. “What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why were you sweating? And you seem so tense now. Just a few days ago you were your happy, quiet self in spite of a few bruises from Yun.”

He took a deep breath. He didn’t know how to tell her. He wasn’t proud of his untapped power. It was a great one, but with it came consequences. With this power came the possibility of losing his soul.

He leaned back against the headboard. “I don’t think you want to hear the story.”

Chun Li shifted, curling her legs under her, facing him. “Start.”

Ryu sighed. “Well…you remember when I visited you here…”

“Yeah…you were training under some…man named Oro…”

He nodded. “After Bison’s defeat, I thought that I could train myself to suppress Satsui no hado…’the evil intent’…I did fairly well for a while…So when I met Oro, he offered to train me so I could eliminate it completely. I came here to see you, as you know…”

“And ate so much food without paying me,” Chun Li added.

Ryu smiled briefly. “Yes. So…I met a man named Alex here. He and a friend of his were talking about a man named Gill, who was rumored to be a great fighter. You know me. I live for challenges. So I asked Alex about him. He refused to give me any information because he didn’t think it was my business. However, Yun and Yang appeared. I think they were bored, so they challenged us to a fight. Alex fought Yang while I fought Yun.”

“That’s why he doesn’t like you.”

“So…I defeated Yun, Alex defeated Yang, and he decided that he could use my help in fighting Gill. Gill isn’t from here, Chun Li. He’s from another world. He has great evil power.”

“Another world…as in…an alien?” she asked, bewildered.

“Yes.”

Chun Li pressed a hand to her chest. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Ryu cleared his throat. “Apparently, Gill had been watching me so he sent one of his men, Urien, after me. I defeated him, but Urien’s last words told me where and when I could find Gill. Gill was on an island…and…when I arrived…Akuma was there to greet me.”

“Who’s that?” Chun Li asked.

“Do you remember when you had been kidnapped by Vega and Ken and I went to find you?”

“Yeah…you two fought Bison right in front of me.” Realization dawned. “Wait…Akuma is the…man in the black gi…”

“Yes.”

“The one who defeated Bison. I thought that I had been hallucinating…” she said quietly.

“We met on the island. He tapped into the evil intent in me before my battle with Gill.”

“And you fought Gill and won?”

“Yes. Shortly after, I remember Akuma saying that I did not need Satsui no hado at the moment. I believe he took it away. Next thing I knew…I woke up in the hospital…”

Chun Li looked away and didn’t speak for several minutes. She suddenly seemed so distant. He gently touched her shoulder.

“What’s wrong?”

Chun Li looked back at him. In spite of the darkness, Ryu could see the turbulent emotions swimming in her eyes. He saw fear, dread, relief, and…longing? She broke off the eye contact and looked at the floor.

“After you defeated Bison, I never thanked you for it,” she started.

“Yes…You just left, if I remember correctly.”

“I…left for a reason. I never told you this before, but…” she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.

“But what?” he asked softly.

Their eyes met. Inside, her heart was screaming if there was any perfect moment to say it, now was the time. She took a deep breath. One step at a time, she said. I've had enough shock today, I don't think I should shock him, too. Ryu studied her carefully. She looked helpless and upset. He could understand her concern for him, but there was something that she wasn't telling him.

"I left because I was afraid," she whispered finally.

"Afraid of what?" he frowned.

"Afraid of you."

Ryu looked away. "I see."

"Not just of you. I was afraid for you and myself," Chun Li replied. "I didn't know much about Satsui no hado, but I just hoped that you would be able to control it. I didn't want to lose you to it," she choked.

Alarmed, Ryu looked at her. "You left for your own safety. There's no harm in that."

"I was afraid…if you couldn't control it…and I stayed near you…"

"You would die by my hand," Ryu finished.

She nodded. He only understood half of it. Just the idea of possibly being killed by the man she loved was enough to rip her heart into two. She trembled slightly. Ryu wrapped her with the blanket and placed an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry if I worried you. It scares me, too," he admitted. "I'm not proud of it…but unfortunately…it's a part of me that I have to accept."

"Does anyone else know about your fight with…Gill?" she asked, leaning against him, indulging herself in the small contact.

"Gen."

Her eyes widened. "Gen knows?"

Ryu nodded. "At your birthday party, we talked a little. He wanted to hear about my fight…and he already assumed that I used the evil intent."

"And?"

"He said something strange after that…something to the effect that evil sometimes must destroy evil."

She looked away in thought. It was interesting on why Gen would say such a thing. Gen was a powerful warrior. He was an assassin in his younger days. But she trusted the man's opinion.

"How odd…"she murmured.

"I've done fairly well controlling it," he assured. "The more I spend time meditating peacefully…the more it is suppressed."

Chun Li nodded. "I believe you."

"Can I ask you something?"

Puzzled by his unusually quiet tone, she nodded. "Go ahead."

"If you had known about this fight ahead of time…when I was in the hospital, for example…would you have still invited me to your home?" he asked.

Chun Li remained quiet. She knew that the answer was important. She had felt him tense slightly. Chun Li pulled away, out of his arm, and looked at him squarely.

"To be honest…I don't know. Satsui no hado can't be removed, but it's a part of you, and that means…" she cut herself off. That means, loving you means loving all of you, she thought. "…accepting all of you."

"You don't have to accept it."

She punched his bicep. "Are you trying to get rid of me? Because it doesn't work that way. This time, I plan on staying nearby. Friends stick together."

He grinned at her. "Always."

She got up and handed the blanket to him. "Here. I'm going back to bed."

His brows lifted. "You're sleepy after hearing a story like that?"

She smiled cheekily. "Well, your stories of fighting always bore me," she teased. She bent down to kiss him on the cheek. "Good night, Ryu. Sweet dreams."

He smiled. "Good night, Chun Li."

He watched her leave his room before settling back into bed.