By Chunli

ChunLi and Eliza had finally finished their shopping spree, much to the relief of Ken and Ryu. In appreciation for their efforts in carrying their shopping bags, Eliza and ChunLi made dinner for the two tired martial artists, much to Ken's dismay.

"You boys be good and wait here." Eliza said as she headed toward the kitchen.

"Oh geez, I hope ChunLi can cook." Ken whispered to Ryu while they waited in his dad's study on the second floor.

"Why is there something wrong?" Ryu asked.

"Last time Eliza made me dinner, I nearly ended up in intensive care!" Ken said, still remember the horrible incident.

"You're kidding?" Ryu asked.

"Oh just wait and find out. Even your iron stomach will be no match for her cooking, she will have you to the hospital in a stretcher within a few minutes." Ken warned.

"In that case, lets jet while the coast is clear." Ryu suggested, motioning towards the door.

Reaching for the doorknob, Ryu opened the door, or at least tried to.

"D*mnit, we're locked in!" Ryu cried, surprised.

"That Eliza…always one step ahead of us. Come on, let's try the windows." Ken suggested.

Relieved to find that the windows weren't locked, they started to climb down from the study. They got about half way before they had to climb back up to the study again. Below them, about dozens of guard dogs were barking and waiting for their next meal.

"Oh Ken, I hope you are not trying to go out the windows. You see, I 'accidentally' forgot to feed the guard dogs for about 1 day now. I think they are ready to eat just about anything." Eliza yelled out to Ken, giving a devious smile and wink to ChunLi.

"That silly Ken…always so predictable. Last time he tried to escape by climbing up the chimney. Unfortunately for him, I accidentally sealed off the top so he couldn't get out. Hehe, poor Ken climb all the way to the 4th floor for nothing." Eliza giggled.

"He doesn't like your cooking does he?" ChunLi asked.

"Well, I am not the greatest cook in the world, but he doesn't even give me a chance. It makes me so angry sometimes." Eliza replied.

"Hmm, maybe I should try to make tonight's meal. I am not sure if I will do a good job, but if it turns out to be a disaster, I can take the blame for it. If not, then you can take the credit. I am sure that should improve your reputation as a cook." ChunLi suggested with a smile.

"Really? I just hope that you're a good cook because Ken is hard to please. But then again, they did spend quite a few years studying in the wilderness, so they would probably eat anything." Eliza said with a wink.

With that, ChunLi started to make dinner while Eliza set the table. With 20 minutes, dinner was ready. Ken and Ryu cautiously walked towards the table.

"Oh come now, you don't that my cooking is painfully bad?" Eliza asked in a threatening manner.

"Umm… no, I think its great." Ken replied.

"Good, now be a good little boy and sit down. Dinner is served." Eliza ordered with a smile.

Lifting the lid off the dishes, both Ken and Ryu were started to see that what lay beneath them actually looked edible. However, appearing to be edible is one thing, being edible is another. Since Ken was the head of the house, he had the honor, if you could call it honor, of taste testing...er, trying the first dish. Picking up a piece of chicken with a fork and closing his eye, he bit into the chicken and started to chew. After chewing for a bit, all of a sudden he looked at Eliza with wide eyes and just stared at her.

"Umm, how is it?" Eliza asked.

"Its..., its, delicious......." Ken replied as he began to devour the meal.

Seeing as Ken was still alive after the supposed 'taste test', he joined Ken within 3 minutes, both of them had finished their serving before ChunLi and Eliza even began to eat.

"Wow, that was great, I didn't know you two could cook so well." Ken praised.

"Yes, Eliza is a great cook, she made everything herself." ChunLi replied with a smile.

"Oh come now, don't let me take all the credit. Do you two boys want more? There is still plenty left in the kitchen." Eliza replied.

Everyone decided to retire early, except for Ryu, whose lifestyle demanded very little sleep. Instead he walked out to the garden and began warm-up exercises. After a few stretches, he began practicing his basic attacks, starting with a few roundhouses followed several rapid side kicks and jabs. After throwing several punches and kicks, he cupped his hands to his side and focus.

"Hadoken"

Instantly an intense blue light filled his hand and he hurled a blue-ish projectile that flew harmlessly though the air before it dissipated. Cupping his hands to his sides again he focused longer this time. A blue light 5 times as intense as the one before filled his hands.

"SHINKUU HADOKEN"

A tremendous projectile of intense blue light flew through the air. Ryu then sat down started to meditate. All of a sudden Ryu heard a tree branch crack. Instinctively knowing where the sound came from, he dashed towards in the direction where the sound came from. Knowing that someone was watching him, he launched his right fist towards the hidden figure, timing it so that the figure would be unable to avoid it. The figure screamed. Recognizing the voice, Ryu instinctively pulled an all stop and his fist stopped several centimeters in front of the figures face. The figure stepped out into the light wearing only a knee long night shirt with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

"ChunLi? What you doing here?" Ryu asked.

"Well, I saw some blue flashes in this area and was wondering where they were coming from, then I saw you sitting still over there." ChunLi replied, shivering.

"Well, before I answer your question, lets get you back inside, you can easily catch a cold that way." Ryu suggested, seeing the young girl shiver.

Leading her back to her room, Ryu sat in a nearby chair as ChunLi climbed back into bed.

"So what were you doing?" ChunLi asked.

"Its one of the basics of Shotokan. It helps the practitioner learn to focus his chi. It generally helps to keep you healthy and strong." Ryu explained.

"Oh really? Can you teach it to me? It looks very fascinating." ChunLi asked.

"Want to see something even more interesting? What this!" Ryu said.

Sitting in a lotus position, he cupped both of this hands in front of him. At first there was nothing to be seen, but then a blue-ish light started to form and started to grow in size and intensity. ChunLi was fascinated by what she saw. She reached out and touched the light. The feeling was remarkable, it felt like and electric current was circulating with in her and produced a fuzzy feeling within her. Ryu stopped focusing and the light disappeared.

"What was that? That was so amazing, it felt like I had electricity flowing through me." ChunLi asked in astonishment.

"That is the essence of life. That is my chi, it is what keeps me healthy and strong." Ryu replied.

"Wow, can you teach it to me? Its amazing." ChunLi asked.

'Hmm, if I teach her how to focus her chi, it may lead her to her old path again if she manages to regain her memories. But if I don't teach her how to use it destructively, I suppose that there isn't any harm in doing so. It will keep her healthy and at peace after all' Ryu thought.

"Sure, why not? I can start teaching your tomorrow. But its getting late, I think I should go to sleep too. Good night, ChunLi." Ryu said getting up and kissing ChunLi on the forehead.

"Sweet dreams" Ryu said as he headed towards his room.

"Good night" ChunLi called after Ryu.

**********
Elsewhere in Thailand...
**********

"Lord Bison, we have located Ken Masters, ChunLi and Ryu are staying with him. We await your orders." The Shadowlaw soldier reported.

"Excellent, let's do a little testing to see how much ChunLi does remember, but for now just monitor their daily activities. Do not take any action yet." Bison orderebefore switching off the monitor.

"Soon Miss Xiang you and Ryu will be mine. Muwahahahahahahahahaha..." Bison laughed.