*Flashback.

Bubba Gump

Much to Eliza's horror, the younger woman got up and grabbed Mel slinging the boy over her shoulders and walks out of the restaurant just as Ken walks in. The duo's chirpy greetings to him had stunned him momentarily, but it was more then enough for Iwa to escape the building.

Sure enough Ken gave chase through the crowd. The excited boy gave away their location each time he thought Ken lost sight of them. He had thought it as a game and played along with her.

"We're going for a ride Melly. Hang tight." Iwa said when she plonks him down on her rental bike. She made sure the furious Ken caught sight of them before speeding off.

Later that night at the place where her prelim fight was held. Sure enough there was not a cop in sight. Ken was there alright, dressed in his red gi, angry but alone. Watching her fight so intently that she thought he was going to come down and take her on.

To make a show on what her master had bestowed upon her during her training, she ignited her right fist with her unique qi and cracked her opponent's ribs with a two hit punch reminiscent of her adoptive father. It ended her fight, sealing her spot in the tourney. It definitely grabbed Ken's attention, too.

At the end of it all, Ken was waiting for them at the parking lot.

"Time to go home Melly." She ruffled the boy's hair

"Today was fun! Can we do this again?" the excited boy had asked. He was naturally unscathed from their little escapade.

"Your mom will definitely Shun Goku Satsu me," she said flatly, urging the young boy towards his father.

Reaching Ken the boy pulled out a slightly crumpled white envelope and handed it to his father.

"The master expects you." she said and sped off, while Mel was waving goodbye.

End Flashback*

And now she's here on this island hotel, one step closer. They will all be here soon. Wearing a dark blue dresscoat of gathered skirts over her bodysuit (think Vice and Mature) she headed downstairs. "It goes as planned," she said to her squirrel.
 

Fort Shafter -
Oahu, Hawaii -
0113 HRS -

The graveyard shift at ECP Bravo was progressing as it did every night, slow and boring. The night was going by slowly and so far there had only been one victor to go through, and that had been a routine tractor and trailer rig bringing food supplies. In fact aside from the one truck, there had been no other traffic, motorized or otherwise.

A lone girl, probably no older than twelve yet, suddenly walked into the bright lights of the ECP. Slowly walking towards the front gate, Eleanore looked around slowly as she approached the soldier closest to her.

At first, the young Private First Class Wallins looked shocked to see her but he quickly put on a friendly smile as he began to approach.

"Hey there little girl... what are you doing out here this late? Where are your parents?" He spoke in a soft tone. Seeing the girl's look change to one of fear as he approached, he slung his M16A4 rifle across his shoulder and raised his hands. "Easy there kid... I'm not gonna hurt you."

The NCOIC however was not as amused to see a kid out at his ECP at this hour. Staff Sergeant Devon started walking towards the front gate. "Hey Private! What's going on out there?" he spoke in a gruffer tone than he meant but after standing on the morning shift all day, he had been called last minute to fill in the late night shift too.

Eleanore saw the bigger man start walking towards her and noticed that he was still carrying his M16A2 at the ready. The man also resembled Rez too much for her likings. She couldn't control an involuntary shiver as she looked at the assault rifle. Hearing the older man shout as she focused on his weapon, she couldn't help it and suddenly blinked out of existence.

The PFC fell back onto his rear as his eyes widened in fear. "G-g-ghost!"

SSG Devon frowned and turned back to the gate, "Sergeant Yuki! Get on the radio with Snake TOC and tell them we've got some weird @#%$ happening out here." The smaller framed Sergeant didn't reply, sitting his in chair with his head slumped forward. Specialist Grimble didn't turn around either from his seat. "If those bastards are sleeping..." Devon muttered as he began walking back.

Giving SGT Yuki a rough shake, the sergeant didn't respond. Frowning Devon lifted up his head to yell in his face then took a fast step back as his eyes widened in shock. Yuki's throat had been cleanly cut all the way across, blood already starting to dry along the edges of the wound despite the large amount that had soaked out of the wound.

Turning to face SPC Grimble the Staff Sergeant stumbled back towards the radio as he discovered a nasty looking curved dagger had been stabbed into the soldier's chest where his heart would be. Grabbing the radio handset of the SINGARs radio he begin to frantically call up, "Snake TOC Snake TOC, this is ECP Bravo and we're under att-" The cold muzzle of a heavy barrel being pressed against the back of his head was the last thing the older Sergeant felt before the .45 Caliber slug ended his life, never noticing that the handset had been severed.

PFC Wallins started to unsling his M16A4 and take aim on the muscular framed man holding the Heckler & Koch Mark 23 when suddenly his M16A4 hit the ground with a clatter, his right hand still holding onto the stock loosely. Dropping to his knees with a cry of pain, the PFC clutched at his bloody stump as his eyes slowly trailed over to his side.

Eleanore gracefully brought the scythe of her Guillotine's blade back to her side as she looked at the injured Private. She watched calmly as Rez walked over to the wounded soldier an begin to empty the remaining rounds of his HK Mark 23 into the young man's chest, the heavy silencer rendering the sounds to nothing more than the clicks of the weapon itself and the fleshy thunks of bullet hitting flesh.

Rez snorted as he dropped out the empty magazine to the ground and slapped a fresh one home before he unscrewed the silencer from his weapon and holstered it underneath his jacket. Pulling out a cellphone from his pocket, he thumbed the speed dial and brought the phone up to his ear.

"This is Rez... front door's open at Ft. Shafter..." he said gruffly before hanging up the phone quickly.

The Russian shook his head slowly then actually smirked as he watched Eleanore take one of the soldier's bayonet out and dip it into the blood before she began to draw disturbing stick figures on the pavement. They were 26 minutes behind schedule because the girl insisted that she go 'potty' but she had still proven to be an effective decoy.

The rest of his team plus the extra manpower provided by Shadowlaw should be showing up soon now. The key leadership positions that couldn't be bought would have to be eliminated. The rest of the base would probably be easily influenced and brainwashed, allowing them to effectively take over the base without any public knowledge getting out. Effectively neutralizing one liability to the future of their operations.

"C'mon brat... it's about to get busy." Rez said coolly as he grabbed Eleanore by the collar roughly and started to drag her behind him as a few large dump trucks pulled through the gate and into the base. Eleanore on the other hand looked quite annoyed to be taken away from her crimson artwork. It was probably going to be a long night for both of them.
 
 

Hickam Air Force Base -
0452 HRS -

The last remaining Airman still living or holding any free thought ran down the hallway towards the armory. About 5 hours ago the base had come under attack from unknown forces. Not only had the enemy been well trained and well equipped, but they also had saboteurs inside the base who, prior to the attack, had knocked out power, communications, and base defenses.

Before anyone on the base knew it, most of the base had already been taken over by the unknown forces. What was worse, was those who were captured or surrendered could be seen aiding the enemy in hunting down their former comrades. It just didn't make any sense! One minute an Air Force SF could be seen struggling with all his might then later be seen mindlessly helping the enemy hunt down his brethren.

Trying to find any remaining ammo or weapons, Airman Forbes scrounged the ravaged area quickly. Finding an M16A2 and a few magazines, he tried to remember basic as he slapped a magazine home and charged the weapon.
'Squeeze the trigger... proper sight picture... controlled burst...'

"Stars and stripes, eh?" were the words that interrupted Forbes' train of thought as he turned sharply on his enemy and started to bring up his assault rifle. A combat knife went flying past his head before the cord snagged the blade and caused it to turn sharply in flight and wrap around the airman's throat several times before the blade of the knife stabbed into the back of his neck at an angle, hitting mostly muscle however.

Pablo quickly pulled the cord taunt as the Airman dropped his weapon and started to claw at his neck, trying to pull the cord away from his throat. Pablo walked forward a few steps as he pulled the cord as tight as he could, watching as the Airman struggled for a few more moments before blood loss and lack of oxygen overcame him and he died quietly.

Slowly walking over to the dead Air Force soldier, Pablo gave the dead man a rough kick before yanking his knife free. Wiping his blade across the corpse's uniform to clean the blood free, the South American drew a cell phone from his pocket and quickly dialled a number by memory. "Air base is under our control... now I gotta get ready for tonight's party... if you actually got a job that takes some effort give me a call." he spoke before hanging up the phone and sheathing his blade.

A quick check at his dress watch showed that he still had a good 12 hours before the tourney sponsored luau. That gave him plenty of time to get back to his hotel, get cleaned up from tonight's work, then get a good long nap in and be ready for the party that night. Only a few of the names on the list were known to him but it would still be an interesting night since some 'old flames' were going to be there. If nothing else he could at least find a woman for the night.

Moving out of the building, Pablo looked around at the base. Damages had been kept to a minimum, both to the base population and structures. Every where he looked there were Shadowlaw operatives and sleeper cell agents in USAF uniforms moving about to police up bodies or order around brainwashed soldiers. While the local civilians may be fooled by the charade for a while, there was no way that the Pentagon was going to be blind to losing control of the island for long.

Shadowlaw was already prepared for that event however. Once their sleeper agents in the NSA informed them that their presence had been detected there would be an official demand made through quiet channels, informing the US President that the entire island of Oahu was a hostage should the US interfere. It wouldn't hold for long but it would probably keep the US military from interfering directly though there were already at least 2 US soldiers participating already.

Snorting, Pablo unlocked his silver Ferrari with a touch of a button and slid into its seat slowly. Cranking the vehicle, he revved the engine a few times before shifting the transmission into drive and racing off the base. Putting some shades on as the sun came up over the horizon, Pablo grinned as he floored the accelerator. Things were indeed going to be getting interesting soon.
 
 

Honolulu -
0724 HRS -

Luke Charlton let out a deep sigh as he moved down the lightly crowded streets, enjoying the feel of the cool morning air. The early morning jog had left Luke feeling refreshed and more than a little hungry for breakfast. Taking a deep breath the kick boxer grinned a little as he thought back to why his mood was so good this morning.

During his run he happened to bump into a local Karate teacher who recognized the famed Luke Blaze. The instructor and Luke had talked for a bit about various topics including the upcoming tournament. Luke had given the man a signed scrap of paper and a promise to stop by the dojo during a free day. While Luke was no show off, it was still nice to know he had fans. Luke suddenly froze mid-step as his body tensed up just a bit. Walking towards him was one of the men he had sworn to defeat during this tournament.

Guile and Charlie were walking down the street towards a nearby Denny's after morning PT. "Looks like chow is on you Guile... I won today." Charlie proclaimed with a grin as he elbowed his in the ribs lightly.

Guile ran a hand through his hair and kept a stern face as he replied, "Pointing and shouting, 'Put your top back on hot mama' then performing a 'nut check' is against regulations I'd say..." Guile was still trying to walk off the light strike to his pride, among other things.

"Improvising is the heart of field work my friend." Charlie replied as he pushed his glasses up on his nose a little bit.

"Feh.... well tonight we rematch and we'll see who buys the beer." Guile answered with a light punch to the arm before he stopped looking at the man standing in front of them. The man was probably in his late twenties or so and was currently wearing a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt, looking extremely annoyed and hostile.

"Can we help you sir?" Charlie asked in a pleasant tone, trying to offer common courtesy to the stranger. At the same time Charlie made sure to watch the man's body language extremely carefully. He doubted Shadowlaw would be making a move so fast but it never hurt to be careful.

"Yeah! You can be sure I won't lose to you next time Guile!" Luke declared as he assumed a 'nice guy' pose. "I've been training hard so I can defeat you." With that Luke broke into a grin, his teeth almost sparkling.

Guile's eyebrow arched a little as he looked around slowly for a moment then back to the kickboxer, "And you are?"

"Going for the cool guy approach huh? Pretend you don't remember me? The man who's going to surpass Ken Masters as the greatest fighter in the US... Luke Blaze!"

"I believe you beat him in the last State-wide competition during the semi-finals... you know... right before Ken whipped you like a little hoji b-" Charlie started to speak as he pushed his glasses up on his nose again, the glare off the lenses hiding his eyes from view.

"That's enough Charlie... I don't dwell on the past." Guile said quickly before he looked back to Luke, "So you think your gonna beat me this time huh? There's only a few civilians who've ever bested me in a street fight."

"I've been training intensely Guile. You better believe that little somersault kick of yours won't be knocking me out this time." Luke replied with a smirk.

"Well unless you've been up in the mountains standing under waterfalls and wrestling bears..." Guile muttered quietly as a brief image of Ryu under a waterfall followed by one of Ryu delivering a Shoryuken to a Russian bear wavered in his mind.

"Excuse me?" The kickboxer tilted his head to the side a little as he raised a brow, looking genuinely confused.

"It's nothing Mr. Blaze... my friend here just disliked losing... especially to Ken and Ryu." Charlie answered with a smile.

Guile grabbed Charlie's vest roughly and brought up a fist, half-grinning half scowling as he spoke, "Better watch what you say old buddy... I'd hate to kick your ass in front of a civie here."

Charlie removed his glasses slowly and tucked them away into his vest with a calm expression, "If you really want to embarrass yourself here in public... feel free."

"Wait wait wait!" Luke exclaimed quickly as he quickly took up a classic kickboxing stance that resembled Sagat and Adon's too much for either of the Air Force soldier's taste. "If you want to fight someone Guile... Let's you and me have a little spar." Luke's body begin to move smoothly as he kept his fist up in front of his face.

A metal canister suddenly bounced off the sidewalk in between the two Air
Force soldiers and Luke before sliding to a stop near Luke's feet. Guile and Charlie both recognized the XM84 Stun Grenade as it landed near the kickboxer, Guile leaping headfirst into the nearby alleyway while Charlie pushed a middle-aged man back into the coffee store as he ran inside. Luke of course had no experience with grenades, less than lethal or otherwise.

The XM84 exploded with a loud bang and a blinding flash. The few civilians on the street went crazy into a panic, running any way they felt would get them away from the blast. Luke took the brunt of the concussion however and lay sprawled out across the ground, his eyes rolled back into his head as a little drool ran from the corner of his mouth.

Slowly standing up Guile moved back onto the street and looked down at the unconscious form of Luke before looking around at the panicked civilians. Charlie slowly moved outside as well and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"That was... Sergeant Heagy... wasn't it?" Charlie asked in a soft tone as his friend simply hung his head and placed his hand over his eyes. Looking down at the twitching kickboxer he sighed loudly then moved to grab Luke's legs, "You get his arms... lets get out of here."
 
 

-- Jin & Natalie's room
 

"This stuff is incredible," Natalie exclaimed as she rubbed the concoction the peddler had given her onto her arms. While she could heal herself, the stuff felt pretty nice since it got rid of the pain. Who knows, maybe it would help her heal just a little faster. Then her expression turned serious. "Too bad we had to find it that way..."

"Yeah..." Jin frowned. "I remember you saying earlier that you were planning to do some research on some of the people here..."

"Yup. I already added him to the list." Natalie washed her hands and dried them off. "Iwa was on the wanted list of a lot of different government agencies..."

"I remember you saying that..."

"And there were a couple reports filed in San Francisco about a small disturbance... someone who matched her description was involved but nothing was ever settled." Natalie's frowned deepened. "And now this Shing Tao guy." She shook her head. "It's just too weird..."

 There were just some things that couldn't be explained about this whole tournament. Jin wondered if the man they encountered earlier was set as one of the competitors.

His thoughts were interrupted as Freckle moved towards him to play with his shoe. Jin glanced around at all the animals Natalie had managed to smuggle into their room. It hadn't felt too cramped with all of them there... the hotel room was pretty spacious... but he wondered if Natalie would slowly start adding to the already existing population. Especially the longer they stayed there.

He suddenly felt something crawl up his back. Jin glanced to his right side to see Rosie settle on his shoulder. Most people would probably have bolted out of their seats the instant they felt something on their backs.

"Hey, that's too funny...Where's a camera?" Natalie began rummaging around her bags.

Jin lifted Rosie off his shoulder and looked at the clock. "What time is this luau thing supposed to start?"

"We've probably got another thirty minutes."

"Great," he muttered as Rosie began crawling up his back again and as
Freckle continued to swat his shoe. "I wouldn't want to stop their playing time..."
 
 

*Near Makai's Beach
 

John Heagy scanned the table, easily spotting his place card in bold, capital letters. He grimaced slightly, glancing down at the clothes he had worn. He decided that being in uniform would only attract attention. Like most of the guests that were arriving into the dining area, he was dressed casually. He tucked his hands in the pockets of his gray cargo pants, noticing that two tables had been reserved for the fighters, placed directly in front of the stage and small dance floor.

A DJ on the stage had Hawaiian music softly playing to greet guests as they entered.

Weather outside wasn't too bad. It was close to sunset, but still warm. The beach, if he remembered his recon of the property correctly, was on the other side of the foliage surrounding the luau's dining area.

Glancing around, John noticed that the press tables were quickly filling up. Maybe he'd have some time to find out who was sitting where. He quickly circled the other fighters' table before he came across Iwa's name. Iwa was going to be directly in his line of sight.

Interesting.

And next to her name...Vega.

He frowned. That couldn't be a coincidence.

John looked up, spotting Guile and Charlie make their way towards the tables. Like him, they wore a lei of green ti leaves around their necks...given to them by the female greeters at the luau entrance – along with a kiss on the cheek. John must have turned several shades of red. He had the feeling that the older men had enjoyed the short experience. He didn't want to refuse the gesture that the lady greeter had given him...he wasn't really sure about Hawaiian customs, after all. But it had been a little embarrassing.

"Hey, John," Guile spoke up. Then he stopped short. "Assigned seating?"

Charlie picked up his place card, examining the typewritten letters. "Hm..."

As John settled in his seat, a leggy dark-skinned woman who had been hovering around the tables finally sat down next to him. He glanced her way and nearly fell out of his chair. She was dressed in a white bikini top and a short matching skirt that tied low on her hip. A lei of ti leaves also hung around her neck. He was going to be sitting next to her for the evening? A tropical breeze suddenly came through, ruffling her short white hair as well as her coordinated clothes. He secretly prayed that her excuse for clothes were actually tied somewhere secure and not taped on.

As if noticing eyes on her, she looked up and offered a friendly smile.
"Hi. I'm Elena." She offered her hand in greeting.

He shook it firmly, keeping his eyes on hers. "John."

"Nice to meet you."

She seemed pleasant enough. And there was no malicious intent in her eyes. At least as far as he could tell, and that was only from their brief dialogue.

*~~

"Not bad," Reno commented after he and Cana had been lei'd and they entered the luau dining area. "I'm heading to the bar."

Cana glanced towards the fighters' table, noticing that a few were looking down at the table then moving along. Then she noticed the white cards. "Assigned seats, I guess." Just as Reno moved away, she called out, "Get me a Mai Tai." Might as well try the most popular drink on the island. It seemed like every time she had passed the lounge of the hotel somebody was drinking one.

She quickly found her spot next to a blonde woman in long pigtails. Then
Cana quickly adopted her easygoing personality.

"Hi."

"Hi!" the girl responded with a warm smile. "I guess you're...Cana...right?" she pointed to the place card.

"And...R. Mika?"

"Rainbow."

"That's a unique name!"

"Yeah. I like it." The other young woman studied her. "So you're a fighter?"

Cana grinned sheepishly. "Actually, I'm a musician. I just...got lucky."

"Hey, nothing wrong with having another love on the side," R. Mika declared. "People can be multiple stuff."

"Hello!" came a voice.

Cana and R. Mika found themselves looking up and up at the newcomer. Cana immediately recognized the large man...minus his female manager.

"Hi," R. Mika greeted.

The two women watched as the man known as Hugo carefully moved his chair one way, then another in attempt to make room to sit down.

"So Cana...have you ever been to Hawaii?" R. Mika asked.

"Not for something like this," she admitted honestly.

"Oh, how nice...it's good to make friends at a party," Hugo said as he attempted to manoeuvre his chair.

"Hey, baboon, having trouble with your seat?" another man's voice declared, one hand each holding drinks.

Cana looked up and accepted Reno's outstretched hand containing her drink.

Hugo scowled at him. "Punk."

Cana cleared her throat and smiled at R.Mika, gesturing to her bandmate.
"This is Reno. We're both musicians together. Reno, Rainbow Mika."

"Nice to meet you!" R.Mika grinned. "Maybe I should start learning music...if it'd give me the chance to meet guys at least half as hot as you."

Reno chuckled. "Well..."

"You're Reno Tseng?" Hugo spoke up.

Reno's features turned sour once turning to him. "Yeah. Why?"

Hugo pointed to the seat next to his. "You're sitting here."

"No, I'm not." As soon as the words left his mouth, Reno set his drink down and quickly leapt over the table, staring in surprise at his place card.

"Well, hello, chica," came another man's voice.

Everyone looked up to see a man dressed in dark jeans and a silky black shirt slide into the seat next to Cana's. Cana immediately recognized him as that singer she wasn't too fond of. What was he doing here, anyway...?

"Get lost," Cana ordered.

"According to this..." he pointed at the place card in front of him, "I'm sitting here."

"Then move somewhere else," Reno snapped.

Pablo gestured to the redheaded woman holding a clipboard who stood in the middle of the dance floor right in front of the stage. "I believe any issues need to be brought to her attention. She is most likely the one in charge."

"I can ask if you want," R. Mika offered generously. Before anyone could protest, she hurried over to the woman. The redhead glanced their way during the conversation.

Cana and Reno didn't miss the wink Pablo gave her.

When R. Mika came back, she sighed. "Erica's her name...she said that the sponsors arranged for people to sit the way they are...if people were to move around, it'd be confusing..."

"You bribe her with something?" Reno shook his head in disgust.

"Hardly," Pablo responded. "If it's such a problem, that's the sponsor table over there..."

*~~

From his position several tables away, Shing Venom watched as guests entered.

The sound of a horn filled the air. Venom's eyes shifted to the stage set three feet above the ground. Not a horn...A young man holding a conch shell between his hands puffed his cheeks and blew into the item, creating a rich, resonating sound.

After several moments of that, Venom and everyone else's attention was directed to the woman who had walked on stage. She had to momentarily hold up her dress hem to prevent herself from tripping.

"Aloha, and welcome to The Makai," she greeted, facing the audience as she held a wireless microphone in her hand. "On behalf of the Masters Corporation, Kanzuki Zaibatsu, Umbrella Pharmaceuticals, Iris Industries and Rinaldo Hotels, welcome to the Champion of Fists Tournament. My name is Kalani, your hostess for the evening." She gestured to her left side. "Your entertainment for the evening...Kapono!" The male band members, all wearing white trousers and matching blue aloha shirts, waved and many in the audience clapped and cheered. The woman indicated to right side, where a man sat behind a mix system. "DJ H-Style!" More clapping and said DJ waved as well.

Venom took a sip of his drink, glancing towards the table at the front. He recognized the man he had seen in front of the street peddler earlier. Hm. Apparently he was one of the fighters set for this tournament.

"Now this area here..." the woman gestured towards the table in front of her, "...seats the best martial artists...everyone, give them a hand for getting this
far!" As applause died down, she turned back to the fighters and with a smile said, "You fighters have been assigned to sit where you are because you are sitting next to your partner for the tournament."

Several murmurs until a young redheaded man exclaimed, "What the hell? The baboon has a silver star like mine at the bottom of his damn name tag!"

His comment immediately triggered several reactions among the fighters.

"Wahoo!"

"Why this knave?"

"John...you look a little sick. Are you all right?"

"Aw, darn it. Ryu-sensei would have been a cool partner, but you'll do."

"Gee, thanks a lot!"

"How unfortunate that we won't be... 'partners'...chica..."

"I said 'Get lost'."

"What a coincidence that we'll be working together...why is your squirrel taking my drink?!"

Once everyone settled down, the hostess spoke again. "A lot of work goes into a luau, so we thought we'd give everyone a little tour to see what goes on behind the scenes." Kalani gestured to the back, to the young man who had blown the horn. He raised his hand and smiled. "For everyone interested, please follow Aikane."

*~~

Aikane had certainly seen a lot of interesting tourists during his time working in the hospitality industry. But this was the very first time he encountered a group like this. Ah well. Several of the fighters and press members had left their tables to follow him.

"Aloha, everyone!" he greeted. "The first thing I'm going to show you is one of your main courses for dinner. Follow me, please!"

"Food?" the question came from one of the tall men in the group. He was a giant.

"You would be happy about that." The comment came from a redhead.

Aikane led them to the beach, several meters away from the luau to a small steaming hill, which currently was being shovelled by three men. He waved at them in greeting. From what he heard, the three were chefs who all worked at different hotels in Waikiki...who all had the night off. Kalani had told him they were brought in earlier this morning to help with cooking the pig.

"This is an imu – underground oven," Aikane said before he explained the process of baking.

"That's a large pig! I'm hungry!"

"Dammit...do you have to bump everyone around you just cuz you're edgy craving food?"

Aikane laughed. "It's actually a lot smaller than it looks...the pig is buried several feet, but when it's served, there is plenty for everyone. I recommend all those who are able to eat at least some of it."

He then led them to another section of the beach, where a young woman was currently braiding leaves together.

"This is Lea," Aikane introduced. "Most of you who received a lei got a kiss, too. That's a tradition, not just some excuse for someone to start hitting on you."

"Hey, I didn't care!"

The male guests made some comments about the women before Aikane moved to the next stop.

Aikane then showed them how Pacific Islanders cracked coconuts – from the climbing of the tree using no ropes to removing the outer shell with a sharp stick and cracking inner shell with a stone. The giant who had been talking about hunger eagerly volunteered to drink the fresh coconut juice.

*~~

Once the guests returned from their behind the scenes trip, the dining area had begun to quickly fill up with even more fighters, guests, and press members.

Such a publicized event. He considered himself fortunate for managing to sneak in to the hotel. Once the tournament began, it would be only for tournament purposes.

Many of the guests had helped themselves to appetizers already.

He smirked at the fools absorbing all this free luxury.

Shing Venom easily made his way to the bar, turning slightly as a father and daughter easily squabbled over a drink.

"Dammit, brat...you can find the drinks table on your own."

Venom caught the quick movement of the girl's foot on her father's instep.
Hm. Maybe not father and daughter after all.

Once he reached the small drink line, he noticed that only three people stood in line. The woman in the front was waiting as the bartender sprayed some lemon lime soda into a glass. She was dressed festively for the occasion, in a tropical print dress that complimented her slender frame and bare shoulders. He briefly remembered seeing her sitting at the sponsors' table. Must be an island native, judging by her hair and skin color. Trophy woman? No...intelligence was apparent in those eyes. After retrieving her cup in her left hand, she moved away from the bar, only to be jostled by a large Japanese man who stepped backwards.

The tall, dark-haired Chinese man in front of Venom steadied the woman by grasping her right elbow and placing a hand to the small of her back.

The Japanese man continued about his business, not realizing what had happened. He appeared to be a sumo wrestler or something along those lines.

Then it clicked in Venom's brain. Honda, from Japan. He had competed several times in tournaments that Ryu and Chun Li had also participated in.

The woman from the sponsors' table gave a grateful smile to her rescuer as he let her go. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he murmured.

After excusing herself, she walked away to talk to a blond man at the fruit punch section. Venom recognized him as Ken Masters...another sponsor and another fighter.

"Appearances can be deceiving," Venom said quietly as he observed her interaction with the blond man. When the man beside him glanced at him curiously, he went on to add, "That woman over there...a lot goes on in her mind." He noticed the man's eyes shift impassively to the woman. It took him a little too long to turn his attention away. Enough for Venom to notice. Then again, she was pleasing to the eye. "And over there..." he nodded slightly in the direction he had come. "Those two appear to be father and daughter...but only an observant person would catch her inflicting pain on him... And that man... is trying very had not to make a fool out of himself next to the scantily clad woman next to him."

"That's an interesting talent you have. You use it a lot?"

Venom smirked, noticing the man's tone of voice just touched the line of sarcasm. "If the event calls for it."
 

*~~

John surveyed the room, looking in particular for the woman he had hunted down in San Francisco.

Where was she? He had seen her briefly at the table next to Vega, but she had disappeared.

The area was beginning to have a large crowd. He frowned, for he had been looking forward to a chance to confront the young woman again.

*~~

Towards the back, away from the crowd, braced against a palm tree, Locke carefully swirled his drink, observing the attendants at the luau.

His eyes turned to the sponsor's table, spotting Meliza in conversation.

Earlier, at the bar, when she had lost her balance, he'd caught her and kept the interaction brief and impersonal. Exactly what they had agreed upon. They had decided that in public, they weren't going to be seen interacting. He really wasn't cut out to be in the public eye, and that would inevitably happen if they were seen together. He could fake the charming significant other well enough...but it would probably get tiring. Even her assistant didn't know about their relationship. Meliza had introduced him as a friend. But Raquel was a romantic, according to Meliza, so she'd speculate all she wanted.

He could still remember the scent she had chosen for the evening. Plumeria. He always did like that scent on her...it wasn't his favorite scent, but it was his favorite on her.

He looked towards the fighter's table. Ken, Honda...he recognized most of them, even though some of them he'd never fought personally.

His eyes moved to the crowd, catching sight of the man who had been in line behind him at the bar. There was something dangerous about him...the aura had been there. And he wasn't the only one. There were several different ones he could pick up from the fighters' table as well. But he already knew that thanks to his research.

Meliza had made her way to the fighters' table, lingering especially with the very few people she had seen last time. His eyes turned to the young Hispanic-looking woman. He remembered her from the previous tournament.

Another Essence.

It was interesting that the host seemed to live a relatively normal life with their abilities. When he did a little research on Victoria Enid Millan, he hadn't found anything too out of the ordinary. Except for one incident concerning one of her teachers. Apparently, the man had been seriously injured and was in the hospital. Other than that, she seemed to have lived an ordinary life.

Locke remembered the first time Meliza showed him what she could do. First, she had asked him to choose a number between 1 to 1000 – she had been able to read exactly what he had been actively thinking. Then she had held out her hand, and he stared as his watch had unwrapped itself from his wrist before floating neatly into her palm. And the last one... she had created some type of barrier around her and told him to throw something at her. At first, he'd tossed a pillow her way and she had teased him about getting soft into retirement. So then he threw several kitchen utensils at her. The barrier had protected her from getting hit – those items merely fell to the floor. She even told him to attack her with one of his chakra projectiles and he did. The projectile bounced off and knocked several of his living room furniture over... as well as created a few dents in them. He decided that any stronger attacks would risk damaging his apartment. She gleefully told him that during meetings, out of boredom, she'd read what other people were thinking and steer the conversation accordingly. Apparently, she had some telekinetic – psychic ability. He didn't think she'd ever need to use it.

So much for that.

Locke was going to have to keep an eye on her. Knowing Meliza, she'd find some way into trouble and find some disastrous way to get out of it, attracting even more attention. Hopefully, her abilities weren't too much out of use...she was going to need them.

He had planned on telling her everything that he had found out...and it was a lot to take in. It was going to have to wait until later that night when they were alone and no one would hear their conversation. He'd been right to suspect Shadowlaw's involvement long before he came to Oahu.

His eyes shifted to the fighters' table again.

While he was proud of his own skills, there were times he hated being
right...

*~~

The sound of the conch shell signalled the end of cocktail hour and the beginning of dinner. Jin leaned back in his chair, watching as many people rose from their seats to help themselves to the buffet. Earlier, he had found out that Fei Long would be his partner in the tournament.

"This is the life," Fei Long commented, taking a drink from his glass. "I could get used to this weather..."

Jin glanced at their surroundings. A lot of people sure showed up for this party. The sun was beginning to set, but the air was still warm. Comfortable, but not humid.

"Mr. Fei Long, excuse me, is it possible to ask you a few questions about
your next movie?" a press member immediately came up, camera ready.

"What about your plans for said movies? You plan on doing your own stunts again?" another press member came up, eager to speak to the movie actor.

Fei Long offered a generous smile and shook his head. "I'm holding a press conference in Hong Kong after the tournament about movie plans."

"But I won't be in Hong Kong," the first reporter insisted. "What can you
tell me now?"

"Nothing," the actor responded. "Sorry..."

Disappointed, the reporters moved away.

Jin chuckled. "Happens all the time, huh?"

"No kidding." Fei Long shrugged. "I haven't even really decided about my
next movies, anyway..."

"Excuse me, Mr. Fei Long," another man came up to the table, holding a photograph clipped from a magazine and a black ballpoint pen. "Could you sign this for me? My son's a big fan of yours and he'd love it. He's in Los Angeles right now going to college."

"Sure, what's he studying?" Fei Long took the pen. Then he squinted at the photograph. "This was taken a year ago..."

"Yeah, it's the only one he gave me. Anyway, he's a film major."

"Tell him I said good luck. What's his name?" When the man gave him the information, Fei Long signed a brief message addressed to his fan along with his name before handing the photograph back.

The man left after thanking him.

"Popular guy," Jin commented.

"It comes with the territory," Fei Long grinned. "So where's your woman?"

Jin shrugged. "Recovering from sunburn. She'll be down later."

"She should...her partner is probably wondering where she is." Fei Long looked down the fighters' tables before turning back to him. "Ever tell her that she should look into those self-tanning lotions? I heard that a lot of the actresses in Hollywood go to a salon and get sprayed, so it's more expensive, but it's basically the same thing."

"I'll let her know." His partner frowned. "You know... earlier we ran into this street peddler who was selling some really strong suntan lotion. And... we also ran into this guy named Shing Tao." He sat back in his chair. "You know a little about underground China, right? Name sound familiar?"

His friend shook his head. "No, it doesn't. I could ask around, though."
Then he studied Jin. "You think you ran into some criminal?"

"Well, he pretty much admitted he was without saying much," Jin responded.

"Huh. I could always ask some people." Fei Long looked down the table. "And I could start with her..."

Jin followed his gaze to see Chun Li engaged in conversation with Ken and
Ryu.

*~~

Within the past hour, the number of guests at the Makai has grown significantly, generating a notable aura of excitement as old friends meet up; new ones are formed, and the seemingly never-ending flashing of cameras light up the scenery, courtesy of numerous famous photographers taking pictures of certain guests.

I hope he's here, Victoria thinks, her eyes observing every person that steps into view. Apparently, Riq is not among them. She frowns slightly, recalling their encounter in San Francisco and how unwilling he was to give his reasons for entering COF. What secret did he have that he was keeping from her, anyway? She considers sensing out his ki signature, only to quickly dismiss the thought. It would be difficult to detect and isolate Riq's ki energy amongst the influx of different ki energies surging within this room. Knowing him, he'd probably have his power masked, she realises grimly.

"Vick, you alright?" came a concerned voice. She shifts out of her thoughts in time to witness Sean's face close to reflecting the level of concern his voice held. "You seemed pretty lost just now."

"Yeah, I'm good. I was just..." Victoria froze for a split-second, before continuing, "...thinking about some stuff."

Sean nods in understanding, choosing not to inquire any further, much to Victoria's inward appreciation. "Oh yeah, here's your drink," he adds, handing over a glass filled with some sort of fruity concoction.

"Thanks," Enid says with a friendly smile. She had to admit, she was beginning to really enjoy Sean's company. His youthful, friendly manner carried a confident, cute nature with it that managed to slip through her defences every now and then. She knew part of Sean's friendliness towards her was inspired by his interest in her, but it didn't affect her in the least bit. It wasn't like she hadn't been doing her own share of flirting, as well.

"Oi! Watch where you going!"

"Watch it, @#%$!"

"Hey! What the hell?!"

Both Victoria and Sean search for the cause of the sudden commotion and, soon enough, he reveals himself. Matsuda is the first of the two to notice Dan Hibiki shuffling and nudging himself through the crowd, like a fish swimming against an opposing current. Wearing a pink tuxedo over a black button-up shirt, Dan easily stands out among the assembly of fighters, hotel staff and security, as well as the press. While one hand is being used to push and navigate his way through the crowd, in his other hand he's holding a bottle of something-or-another. From the look on Dan's face, Sean automatically perceives it to be alcohol. Or maybe he's spiked whatever's in it with alcohol, he surmises.

"SEAN!" Dan booms upon seeing the Shotokan disciple, clapping a hand down at Matsuda's shoulder. "Long time no see, my man! How's my former student doing?"

Victoria blinks, turning to Sean. "You used to be his student?"

"What? No way!!" Sean exclaims, shaking his head. "Me and him do have history, though," he admits.

"I'd have made him the greatest fighter in history, after myself of course, if he'd stayed as my disciple," Dan rambles. "The dojo's always open if you wanna return, y'know." He jerks a thumb at Victoria. "Your girlfriend can join, too."

"Uh, well, she's not my girl-"

"Not yet, right?" Dan cuts in, taking a large swig from his bottle before bearing a silly grin. "Well, I'm sure you'll make a honest woman outta her." He claps Matsuda on the shoulder a second time and then walks away through another wall of flesh, crying out something that's not loud enough for Sean or Victoria to hear, yet loud enough for several onlookers to stop and stare at the drunk.

"Um, haha, sorry about that," Sean laughs, scratching the back of his head.

"It's cool," Victoria replies. Dan was that retarded at times, if not all the time, from what she could briefly remember about him. "How do you two know each other, anyway?"

"It was quite a while ago," Sean starts, appearing to slip into deep thought at the memory. "It's not really a big deal though. Maybe I'll let you know one day."

"If you say so," Millán says. She could simply bug him about it another time.

"Hey, you feel like going outside?" Sean offers. "Honestly, I could do with a lil' fresh air, and a change of scenery."

Victoria takes a second scan of the area, browsing through the fighters of various sizes and builds. Just like the first time, there's no visible sign of Riq.

She turns to Sean, deciding to give up on her former mentor for the moment.
"Sure, let's go"

----

--The Makai's Private Beach--

Riq sits casually upon a deck chair, a cigar held almost loosely between his fingers and a glass of the finest rum the Makai has to offer in his other hand. He's been here for most of the night, occasionally getting up whenever he needs to refill his glass. Being relatively quieter here than at the party, it allows Pierantoni to drift in and out of thought, something he's also been doing for most of the night.

He hadn't wanted to lie to Victoria, but he couldn't exactly tell her the truth either. His only option, therefore, was to simply put up a barrier to her enquiries. As long as he was under this assignment, such measures had to be taken, other than perhaps alienating himself from her if it came down to that. Almost without warning, his mind takes him back to that day.

"And you think fighting in this tournament will solve that."

"I won't just sit and do nothing,"

Riq lets out a small sigh. As much as Victoria's decision to enter the Champion of Fists tournament complicated things somewhat, he couldn't really blame Victoria for doing so. He himself knew he'd have acted the same way if he were in her position. His concern was not so much whoever it was she was after, but the forces behind this tournament and potential threat they could pose. He didn't want her to become caught up somehow in a part of that like he was.

Riq takes another sip from his glass of rum, letting his thoughts momentarily drift away to be replaced by a warm alcoholic buzz. Here he was, on a beach in Hawaii at a party - a luau, they apparently called it - and his focus was on anything but that. Pushing his concerns to the side, Riq instead shifts his focus towards the people in front of and around him, paying particular attention to any females his eyes notice, reacting in some cases with a satisfied grin. A few minutes later, his eyes suddenly widen in surprise when they rest upon a familiar form off in the distance.

Victoria?
 

He could only see the side of her face, but there was no doubting who it was. Apparently she hadn't come alone, for another figure was standing next to her. Riq immediately recognises him as being the same male he saw her with at the San Francisco preliminaries. From his current body language, Riq could tell that the fighter had an interest in Victoria beyond friendship. He could also tell how Victoria was easily enjoying the company of this man as well. The fact she was currently laughing at something the male said did no more than confirm this.

With hawk-like eyes, he continues watching the pair, suddenly feeling like an overprotective father waiting for the moment his daughter's date or boyfriend oversteps the boundary so that the father has reason to come down on him. Eventually feeling assured that Victoria isn't in any potential danger, he sets off towards another part of the beach, taking both glass and cigar with him.

*~~~

After her break on the beach with Sean, Victoria had done a little mingling, catching up with Heagy, Meliza, and she even caught a glimpse of Iwa. At least she was nearly positive it had been her.

It had been so long since they last communicated, Victoria had wondered what happened to her. Still... the brief times she had seen her there was something very... different about her.

She glanced to see Ryu, Chun Li, and Ken in discussion. The first two had arrived fairly late into cocktail hour. She briefly wondered if she could learn more by asking them, but decided against it. She didn't want to pry. When she had spoken to John earlier and they began to talk about familiar faces they had seen, he had mentioned that he was one of the first to arrive and hadn't seen Iwa really settle in one place yet.

"Hey, you! Sean's woman!" Dan's voice immediately came from behind her.

Victoria cringed and was about to correct him when he stumbled, sending parts of whatever his drink was onto her outfit.

"Whoops!" Dan merely grinned before turning away. "Hey, Sakura! How ya
doin?!"

Victoria headed to the women's restroom quite a distance away to clean up. Luckily, Dan's drink had been a clear liquid, so hopefully it wouldn't leave too much of a stain on her white halter-top.

The instant Victoria entered the restroom she spotted a young woman washing her hands at the sink. Her outfit first got her attention...she was wearing a dark blue tank top and black Capri pants that had plenty of assorted metal buckles and fasteners around the hips, pockets and up the side of one leg. Her dark brown hair was held up in a high ponytail split into different braids.

Victoria studied her for a moment. There was something really familiar... she moved towards the mirror.

"Oh my god...Natalie?"

The young woman at the sink glanced at her through the mirror before turning off the water.

"It is you..." Victoria stared in amazement.

The young woman turned around and gave her a brief smile. "Hi..."

"You look great," Victoria spoke up, surprise clearly in her voice. "I mean... I'm not really sure what happened all these years, but..." She cleared her throat. "I know some people out there who'd be glad to see you. Heagy's back, Meliza's running this hotel, Guile and Charlie are out there, and... Iwa..." her eyes dimmed.

Natalie gave a small nod in understanding. "...I know."

"She... seems different," Victoria began. "I only saw her once so far tonight, but..."

The other woman was quiet for a few seconds before saying, "A lot's changed since then, huh? Um... listen...do you mind if I ask you a favor?"

"Go ahead..."

"I'm... trying to keep low... there are some people who are going to ask a lot of questions that I'm not ready to answer yet. So could you pretend you never saw or talked to me?"

Victoria studied her for a few moments. Natalie's reasons were her own, and it wasn't really her business. She only hoped that Natalie wasn't in any danger. She nodded. "All right."

"Thanks. It really means a lot..."

"No problem."

*~~

 By the time Victoria got back to her seat next to Sean, all eyes were focused on the stage at the front to four women wearing muslin strapless dresses, with leave wreaths wrapped around their ankles, wrists, and head, their feet and hands moving to the beat of an unseen drum.

"Did I miss anything?" she asked her partner.

"Just the hula girls trying to teach some of us how to dance," Sean grinned then said to her in a low voice. "You missed Sensei and a bunch of other people trying to hula."

"Darn. I wouldn't have minded seeing him up there..." Victoria glanced over at Ken sitting across from them, who was watching the stage.

Eliza and Mel were supposed to have been there by now, but the woman decided that she wasn't in a condition to travel...she wanted to wait until morning. Too bad... she probably would have enjoyed this.

The audience watched as the dancers showed them the ancient dances of Hawaii. Then after a quick costume change – into colorful dresses, the dancers then danced to the live band music.

Once they left the stage, Kalani, off to the side, clapped her hands.
"Ladies, thank you for the wonderful stories about Hawaii. And now..." she turned to the audience, "...let me bring you to... Tahiti!"

Fast drumbeats quickly filled the air. Victoria recognized the beat was meant to generate excitement.

Once it died down, three young women, probably in their teens, wearing coconut bras and red sarongs emerged, each holding what appeared to be a handful of very thinly shredded pale yellow grass tied together. They knelt on the floor of the stage. When the drums began again, the one in the middle shouted something in Tahitian, rose up, holding the grass in one hand before shaking her hips very fast. Her two partners soon joined her. The grass must have been dance ornaments.

Sean's jaw dropped. Then he cringed. "I feel dirty."

Victoria started laughing. "They're what...six years younger than you?"

He grinned back. "Young girls aren't supposed to move like that!"

When the teens finished, everyone clapped and cheered.

"Give the young ladies a hand," Kalani said into the microphone.

Three more women emerged, this time appearing to be in their twenties, wearing grass skirts, coconut bras, and tall headdresses. As Kalani did for the Hawaiian dancers, she explained the story of each dance before it began – for in the old Pacific, stories were passed on through dance since there had been no written language until the Europeans first arrived. The women danced for two numbers before Kalani told them that it was time for the audience to participate.

The three women walked off the stairs in the front of the stage, making their way to the fighters' table.

"Have at it, ladies," Kalani teased. "Choose your victims wisely..."

One of the women had picked a dark-haired man wearing a very loud Hawaiian shirt. She took him by the wrist and led him on stage.

"Wait...I can't dance!" the man looked helplessly in the direction of the
tables.

Victoria saw Ryu attempt to shovel food in his mouth for the pure sake of keeping himself occupied and avoid getting selected.

One woman selected a blond man who was sitting closer to the front. Luke? He was sitting next to... Alex...? Right. Ken made introductions to her earlier in the evening. The blond man cheered and happily followed the dancer.

Victoria's eyes found the last dancer... at the same time she spotted Riq coming from the direction of the bar. Where had he been all this time? Apparently, the woman had found him, too, because she quickly walked up to him, handing him her grass dance prop and led him on stage. Victoria clapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing. Riq doing hula?? This was going to be funny...

"I swear, I really can't dance! I'm not meant to move this way!" the first victim exclaimed over the drum beats as his partner began to swivel her hips.

The second man waved the grass things in the air wildly as he tried to keep up with his female partner. Laughing, Sean put two fingers in his mouth and let out a whistle as the crowd cheered.

And as for Riq...Victoria looked over and clutched her abdomen with one hand while she covered her mouth with the other. He looked too funny up there. A little lost, but he was trying to move like his partner. When the performer would move to a kneeling position while keeping her hips moving to the music, he'd try the same. And nearly lost his balance backward.

Victoria slapped her thigh in laughter.

"Give a round of applause for all our dancers!" Kalani exclaimed.

As a gift for being good sports, the women gave the men fresh flower leis made of orchids before they went back to their seats.

With the dance show over, the DJ began to play some music to give the band members and performers some time to enjoy dinner.

Several of the guests, having digested their dinners, decided to hit the dance floor, moving to the beats blasting from the speakers. And some would slow dance when the appropriate song came on.

*~~

Oblivious to the crowd of fighters, he moves swiftly, pausing every so often to stare out attentively. It must be around somewhere, he thinks to himself, before he moves further across. Although he makes it a point to observe every person within his line of vision, it's not his eyes that direct him towards the target. It is, in fact, his strong sense of smell.

Detecting the smell of warm sake to be stronger than before, Maru takes another pause. A few seconds later, he discovers his target: an already opened bottle of sake (he can see the bottle cork on the table), and the lone figure pouring it out into a glass. From his vantage point, Maru estimates the distance between himself and the table. Patiently, he waits for the figure to put down his glass, before making his approach.

Jin Kushina regards his new, unexpected guest with some genuine surprise. It is short-lived, for it turns into a slight frown. Figures that one of Nat's friends would escape, he thinks, staring indifferently at the squirrel that appears unthreatened by him. I don't remember Nat having a squirrel as a pet, though. He observes it again. Especially one with a sliced ear.

Maru, meanwhile, regards Kushina with little concern. His eyes are instead focused on Jin's glass, which he suddenly clutches and brings to his mouth, and downs the rest of the sake in one smooth motion. Seemingly unsatisfied, Maru shifts on towards the bottle with the intent to indulge in some more alcohol. How he would achieve this isn't known, for it's then that Jin intervenes.

Kushina sweeps one hand across, as if to swat the squirrel away, although the courier had no intention of actually striking it, but to merely frighten it away from his drink. The result is much different, for Maru instead evades the would-be attack, retaliating by throwing the nearby bottle cork at his attacker, who evades in kind with another brief look of surprise.

The projectile doesn't fail to hit something, however, immediately evidenced by the sound of someone cursing. Jin takes the quick moment to turn around, emitting a small grin as he notices a man rubbing his right temple slightly. By the time Kushina turns back around, Maru is already gone, scurrying unnoticed through the crowd, and causing Jin to blink incredulously at the events that's just occurred.

His attention goes back to his drink, reaching towards the bottle to pour out another glass, only to discover that it's now empty.

"Damn..."

*~~

Victoria's eyes studied the crowd, spotting Riq by the food table. After excusing herself from Sean, she moved towards him, stopping short as one of the female dancers came up to Riq to strike up a conversation.

She watched as the conversation took a turn to the friendly side, with him making a comment, and her laughing as she peered at him beneath her lashes. The woman pulled him away in the direction of the beach, where the sun was already dipping below the horizon.

She forced the lump down her throat before turning away. She really wanted to talk to him... but... what did she expect? That they'd ever really get to talk in a place like this?

Needing something to do, she went to the punch table and slowly, as if in a daze, filled a ladle with red liquid and lowered it into her plastic cup.

"You look upset, preciosa. Perhaps a dance will make you feel better," a voice said very close to her ear.

Her breath catching for a moment, Victoria turned and met the amused gaze of the man she had seen weeks earlier.

So he is here, she concluded.

"You." She had to keep herself from throwing a fist in his face.

He blinked innocently. "Is... something wrong?"

"You're right something's wrong," Victoria said through clenched teeth before demanding, "Why did you do it?"

He frowned slightly, stepping back. "I don't understand..."

"What do you mean you don't understand?" she countered, trying to keep her voice low so other guests wouldn't hear them.

"You obviously think I've done something..." he shrugged. "How about telling me what I supposedly did?"

Victoria's mouth dropped in shock. "You... you don't remember?" Her eyes hardened. "You had to have remembered. You threw a tournament flyer at me before Sifu's shop blew up."

At that, something flickered in his eyes. Then he shook his head sadly.
"Sorry... that wasn't me."

"What?!"

"If you are turning down my offer to dance, then I apologize for wasting your time," he said, reaching for her hand.

Victoria was in shock. She could have sworn that the man before her was the one. Just before he could kiss the back of her hand, she snatched it away, not missing the wicked smile that came to his lips.

"I hope to see you again, preciosa..." With that, he walked away.

*~~

"What the hell was that about?!" a voice behind Jin demanded.

He turned around to look into the annoyed expression of a redheaded man. Wait a minute...he looked familiar...

"You speak English at all?"

"It was an accident."

"Stuff just doesn't go flying for no reason."

"I said it was an accident."

Jin reacted quickly when he felt the man's hold on his shoulder. They stayed at their positions for what seemed like minutes, the man's hand on his shoulder, and his ready to counter should he grab him.

"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" A lean man dressed in a loose white collared shirt and gray pants had arrived when he noticed the commotion. Judging by the walkie-talkie he had strapped to his hip, he was hotel staff.

"Nope," the redhead said pleasantly. "Just doing a friendly greeting between fighters."

"Good."

After a final look, the man walked away.

Jin relaxed as the other fighter's hold loosened. They both knew the rules...fights were to be kept in the ring. But Jin wouldn't hesitate to test the line if he had to.

*~~

"That was pretty funny," Alex said to his partner as he finished his drink.
"You dancing with women."

"Hey, when you're in paradise, have fun with the natives," Luke joked.

"Hear, hear." Alex raised his glass in a toast.

"Are you guys in the mood for a game?" Guile spoke up several chairs down.

"What kind?" Luke asked.

"See who dances with the most women by the end of the night?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this," Charlie shook his head.

"What's the prize?" an Asian man asked. Luke glanced in his direction. His place card was labelled 'Ming'.

"However much we can all contribute," Guile said. "Winner takes all."

"Now I know why your marriage never worked out," Alex muttered.

"Hey!"

"I'll contribute just for the fun of seeing you all make idiots out of yourselves," Guy, from his seat next to Ming, spoke up, throwing sixty dollars down.

"Hey," a blond man spoke up from across Guy, tossing down five twenties and gestured to the man wearing a colorful Hawaiian shirt. "Count us in."

Guy stared at him. "Cody, you're taken."

"I'm playing wingman," he explained.

"Do we get to dance with whoever we want or does the group pick?" Luke asked.

Guile slapped Guy's shoulder. "We can dance with whoever we want. He'll keep count."

"You're all going to look like dogs," Charlie declared, shaking his head.

"So this means you're out?" Guile asked.

"Hell, no," Charlie replied. "When have I ever backed out of a competition with you?"
 
 

Some time later...

By now, Maru the squirrel had already made a nuisance of himself. He, armed with a fancy cocktail fork, had occupied part of bar area, fending off the annoyed bartender's attempt to remove him with the said weapon. It amused the people watching of course. But some people knew that if he's here, she would not be far away.

And Linda found her, in a quieter corner of the party area, helping herself to some of the food. Other than the highlights in her hair she doesn't look all that different to Linda.

"Umm.... Excuse me... Are you Ms Iwa Hoshi?" she asked politely.

"If you're here to kick my ass and haul me home, take a number and get in line." All the while Iwa kept an eye on the other side of the party. Linda followed her line of sight and gasped, seeing that Chun Li and Ryu were there, surrounded by their friends. She hoped that she wouldn't be spotted and be on the receiving end of her lecture and be sent packing home.

"Umm... my name's Linda."

"Don't know any Linda."

"Gen sifu's student... the one with the heart condition."

"Ah, the songbird."

"You've heard of me?" She asked hopefully. This may work out somehow.

"My colleague is a fan of yours."

"Let me help you."

"They didn't tell you the whole story did they?" Iwa made a circling motion with her finger.

"......"

"That my lunk of sensei didn't take the chance to save me when my master offered him the one chance in a fight to do so. All because my good sifu thinks that it's a freaking trap."

"I'm sure Chunny jie didn't mean it that way."

"Were you a witness to that? How do you like it Songbird? To have the people you trust, leaving you to the one person who tortured you before?" she hissed.

"Give them a chance."

"What? Aren't you the latest in the line of young girls who follow them around? How quickly they replaced me." She laughed sarcastically. It made Linda wonder if Iwa had gotten the wrong idea.

"And who is your friend. Little squirrel?" A tall blond hair man joined them, a glass of wine in hand. The unmistakable face of near perfection. Linda caught a look of disgust on Iwa's face and it was gone as quick. Steeling herself, trying not to let the anger overcome her, her fist clench and unclenched. The calm smile on his face was practically taunting her.

"The colleague I mentioned." Iwa absently waved.

"Such a lovely dove." Being the gentleman he is he took Linda by the hand and kissed it on the back. His eyes never left her. She drew it back sharply.

"What brings you here?"

"Can I not be here? With such beauties present such as this little dove and that lovely sifu of yours."

"Dammed...." Iwa let out a low hiss. Chun Li did spot Linda trapped by Vega and was coming this way. The Wushu Mistress nearly stopped in her tracks when she spotted the almost-hidden-from-view Iwa.

Linda noted the eyes of the older woman held much relief and worry for both young women. And yet there was much anger and resentment in her wayward disciple's eyes. What went wrong with their relationship? Is there no hope for salvation? Why are they glaring at each other like that? Is there some kind of silent conversation going on?

"Ah detective, a pleasure to be graced by your beauty again. As you can see the little squirrel is well taken care of." He was touching the scar on his face.

"Chun Li. Is there a problem?" Ryu had came looking when he saw Chun Li was there. There was steel in his eyes when he caught sight of the Spanish ninja. And as Linda had noticed before, the same look of relief and worry when he caught sight of Iwa. It made Linda wonder if there was something deeper. Iwa reaches up to the earpiece in her ear and then glares at the couple, a taunting smile broke upon her face.

"The master sends his regards. He hopes that you both will not disappoint him." With that she brushes pass them and disappeared into the crowd. Linda almost missed seeing Chun Li squeeze Ryu's hand for support. The Spanish ninja was gone too.

*~~

The party had slowly broken up, with just a few stragglers left. At the fighters' table, Guy carefully counted out seven hundred dollars.

"So who won?" Guile asked.

"It was actually pretty close," Guy responded.

"Okay, so who was at the end of the line?" Alex asked.

"Guile." The Bushin master arranged the bills facing the same way in order of highest value first.

"That can't be right!" Guile shook his head.

Guy said, "Charlie came in first, with Luke and Ming close behind."

"Aw, damn!" Luke exclaimed.

The men watched as Guy handed Charlie his money.

"Relax," Charlie assured them all. "I'm willing to share the wealth. Whoever makes it through their first round fight I'll buy them dinner."

*~~

Overall, in Aaron Volpe's mind, the party had gone fairly well. He had played in a little game with a couple of the other fighters but now, he had to get his tournament partner settled in his room. Dan Hibiki had passed out in his chair at the table for a good portion of the night.

Aaron pushed the elevator button to his floor as a young woman entered the lift with him. She pushed a button for her room level, pausing as she studied him.

"Volpe?"

He blinked, staring at her as the elevator doors closed. "You... know who I am?"

Her eyes widened. "You... don't recognize me."

He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry... I..." He cleared his throat. There were so many things he wanted to ask, but his mind was too fast for his mouth to register the questions. "So..."

"I haven't seen you in years," she shook her head in amazement. "And-" The elevator doors opened to her floor. She looked back at him and exited. "We'll talk more later, okay?"

"Wait, miss, I don't even know your... name..." He sighed as she disappeared and the doors closed.
 

Somewhere Along the Rooftops -
2322 HRS -

John had already changed out of his casual unmarked grey outfit and into his tactical black uniform, picking up his weapon and equipment stash from it's hidden location and checking to make sure the bug he had planted on Iwa's clothing was responding properly. He had barely caught sight of her as she made her way out of the luau. Memories of the luau made John flinch a little at the thought of his partner. How the hell had he ended up with a female wearing such a... He quickly shook his head and focused back on the current priority, fighting off the blush hidden underneath his black facewrap.

Heagy crouched down atop the rooftop as he double checked the signal and confirmed that it was indeed coming from below him. Adjusting the tracker for a few minutes he was able to pinpoint the signal and began to secure a rappel line. Two rooms down from his position, third floor. Backing off the ledge slowly, Heagy started his first bound as he rappelled down the side of the building. Stopping outside the target room he slowly unlatched the window, quite surprised that the window was unlocked despite his luck.

As soon as his feet touched the thick carpet of the room instinct begin to take over as he drew his silenced Beretta M9 from its leg holster and did a quick sweep of the room. After making sure that the latrines and rest of the room was clear he begin to search the room for any information that may turn out to be vital against Shadowlaw or hint why Iwa was doing what she was doing. A frown formed over his features when he opened the doors to the closet. Pink... There was lots of pink... not to mention flowery and feathery looking garments. High heel shoes and hose were also inside. The most disturbing items were the sets of claws and masks that lined the top shelf. This was Vega's room.

John quickly shut the closet as he felt a few beads of cold sweat run down his forehead and spine. Checking his tracker one last time Heagy realised that the signal was coming from the adjacent room. "Don't ask... don't tell... don't ask... don't tell..." John muttered to himself over and over as he drew his electronic lockpick from his tac vest and began working on the connecting room. Heagy prayed that the combat stress psychologist would have some advice for getting over this little bit of information that he really just didn't want to know. The lock finally gave way with a quiet click before he opened the door and repeated the process for the second door.

Looking around the room slowly before closing the door, John frowned a little as his eyes tried to readjust to the lack of light since the drapes were shut. Making his way over to the dresser he begin to quickly rummage through the drawers as he searched for papers, discs, notes, books, or anything that could give some insight on Iwa. Letting his emotions cloud his senses, Heagy failed to realise that someone was outside the door in the hallway until the doorknob started to turn.

His fist clenching instinctively as John dropped into a ready stance as Iwa stepped into the room slowly while flipping on the lights with Maru riding on her shoulder. Complete silence fell over the room as both individuals stared at each other in utter silence. Iwa's expression of shock slowly turned into one of cold rage as she reached inside her vest and drew her customized Beretta 92 FS. "You... you... pervert!"

John blinked for a moment before he realised he was clutching something in his hands. In either hand was a pair of white cotton panties. John let out a brief shout before he jerked and dropped the feminine articles as if they were covered with a deadly neural poison. He was certain his cheeks were bright red underneath his facewrap and could feel the front the material by his nose becoming soaked in blood.

Iwa stood about 1.5 meters in front of John with her heavily customized Beretta 92 FS aimed level at his chest, a red dot showing up on John's solid black tac vest from Iwa's laser. John cursed himself for letting his guard down and double cursed himself for holstering his own Beretta M9 when he noticed that Iwa's Beretta hadn't been cocked yet. It would be close, but there would be a fraction of a delay thanks to that.

Lunging forward and making a grab for Iwa's pistol, John gambled on his speed against Iwa's own agility. Iwa flinched and pulled the trigger, the silent weapon firing its dart and the projectile just barely grazing John's arm before imbedding itself into the adjacent wall. The young soldier quickly reacted by using his thumb to press the unlocking mechanism of the weapon while using his forefinger to rotate the slide release. Iwa responded with a fierce forward kick to John's midsection, sending the young man flying back though he kept his grip on the slide and yanked it free.

Ryu's pupil threw the useless lower receiver to the side and rushed forward as Heagy pushed back to his feet quickly. Hoshi produced a thin dagger from her vest as Heagy reached behind his back and drew a tanto style shank with his left hand. Iwa's stab came in low and fast towards his left thigh though John's block managed to catch the blade, the sound of metal striking metal followed by the scraping of blade on blade. Iwa's eyes cut low as she noticed John's right hand moving towards his M9 and roughly pushed Heagy back before delivering a powerful side-kick that strongly resembled the Joudan Sokutou Geri. The young soldier went tumbling backwards through the glass doors and slamming back into the stone railing of the balcony.

John quickly drew his Glock 19 and took up a classic shooter's stance with his left hand supporting his right on the weapon. Iwa froze where she was as her eyes narrowed a little, making no hostile movements towards the SABRE operative. Suddenly John felt a familiar pair of claws scratching away at the back of his head and flinched as he began slapping at the angry squirrel with his left hand. By the time he sent Maru rolling across the floor into the room and had turned back towards Iwa, Chun Li's pupil had what looked to be a sake bottle in one hand with a Zippo lighter in the other.

John cursed silently as Iwa lit a small wad of cloth stuffed into the mouth of the bottle before she threw the small Molotov Cocktail towards the balcony. Cursing his luck and praying that he would survive, Heagy launched himself off the balcony towards the alleyway below. The firebomb exploded as it shattered on the balcony, sending flames in all directions for a moment before the flames died down a little, burning steadily on the concrete until their fuel supply was exhausted or it dripped down below.

Heagy slowly rolled out of the dumpster with a grunt, once again cursing his extreme luck though this time it had been extreme good luck since he didn't appear to have any critical wounds or broken bones. Looking upwards briefly at the burning balcony, John took off running into the streets before ducking into a different alleyway and letting out a deep breath. Once he was sure no one had followed him he began to do a quick inventory followed by a more thorough check of his physical condition.

Iwa watched as the darkly dressed figure disappeared from view into the shadows then let out a slow breath as she pulled a curtain over her broken door, the flames burning out. Retrieving the upper and lower receivers of her Beretta, she slowly began to reassemble her weapon with a frown. Whoever it was may have been a pervert but also knew a good bit about weapons. Maru quickly moved towards her with something silvery tangled around his body and tail. Leaning down for a moment Iwa smirked a little as she removed the item from the squirrel. A pair of dog tags with a simple steel cross dangling from it. Clenching her fist around the dog tags she lifted Maru up to her shoulder, "That explains the blood...."

John confirmed that he had avoided any serious injuries and that all his weapons were accounted for before he drew an envelope from his cargo pocket. The envelope contained his room key and he hotel he was staying at as well as brief directions. Frowning as he read over the note, John suddenly felt another chill run down his spine. He was staying in the hotel he had just run from. His eyebrow began twitching a little as he read that his partner would be staying in the room connected to his. It was official: this mission was completely FUBAR.
 

The Next Day
5 Miles East of Diamond Head

The man barely looked up as the hostess set a cup of Kona coffee at his table, he merely continued his reading, his eyes focused on his laptop. He sat at the back of the small family restaurant, his window booth giving him an excellent view of the ocean.

Just several miles east of Diamond Head, Locke had stopped by the quieter, more residential area of Oahu to do a little research... as well as run a few errands. With the tournament starting, the entire staff at the Makai was swamped. He and Meliza hadn't had the chance to talk yet... it must have been close to two-thirty a.m. when he heard her come back to the suite last night. Apparently, she had plenty to do after last night's party finished. When he left for his mid-morning errands, she was still asleep. Hopefully, they'd be able to talk soon.

He took a sip of his coffee, skimming the words on screen when a waiter came up.

"What can I get for you?" he asked, his voice tilted with a slight Polynesian accent.

"Number five special."

"Okay, sounds good. You're from the mainland, aren't you?" the waiter asked as he finished writing down notes.

"Yeah..."

"You just move here? Most people from the mainland are tourists and don't come out this far..."

Locke nodded in response. "Seems quieter. How's business here?"

"Not bad." He gestured to the laptop. "That's a nice thing you got there. Part of work?"

"I'm a consultant. It helps in research." The lie easily slipped out.

"So you know about companies, brands, and stuff?"

"I-"

"These speedboats always pass by my place near Makapuu in the morning. Nice looking things. I'd get one for myself but it's really not practical. But my cousin's looking for one." He flipped to a fresh sheet on his notepad and began to make quick lines. "You know this company logo?" He showed Locke his sketch and pointed at certain parts. "Only these are white and these are red?"

Locke frowned slightly. The geometric shape was very simple. But when the colors came together...

Umbrella.

"I don't think so," Locke shook his head.

"All right. Thanks. I know for sure my cousin would have wanted a boat like that. Guess we'll keep looking..." He then turned away to give the chef his order.

Locke glanced outside towards the ocean, his mind quickly processing the information he just discovered. Why would they be on this side of the island? He remembered Meliza telling him that anytime any representative from Umbrella came to the property, they usually came in by car from the airport.

He grimaced, trying to keep down the wave of uneasiness inside of him.
Something was definitely not right about this whole tournament. He should have gone a little deeper in his research.

After his meal he'd head back to the Makai so he could delve further into his search. He had time. For now. And all the Kona coffee to keep him company.