“My final fight,” Ken said quietly, looking at his wife’s beautiful face before his mind was enveloped by the thought of the fight alone. It was too difficult to shake off the concern so soon after finding out about his new daughter. He almost didn’t want to leave them now.
“I better make this a good one, then.”
Tugging at his black martial arts belt, Ken made his way down through the crowd, slapping hands and screaming, “Woo, yeah!” with a smug grin. He felt his adrenaline lift as the noisy crowd jeered at him. He loved every moment of the howls, and taunted with his finger and danced on the steps to the stage. He didn’t care what they were yelling, it didn’t matter.
“I see the party hasn’t started,” he screamed into the boisterous booing audience, cocking an exaggerated eyebrow at them.
As he walked onto the stage, Ken took a final look at himself. His red gi, the same style as Ryu’s, looked bloodier than ever.
Having noticed Ken’s arrival, the ringleader announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Mirror Tale Stadium, where you have journeyed to witness tonight’s main event! Let the battle commence between two of our homegrown fighters from this great country, the United States of America. Let’s go for broke!”
Ken paused, his eyes focused on the face of his adversary. Taut brown face, sculpted black hair, small serious eyes, and the unmistakable ninja outfit which was the same color as his uniform. The face brought Ken a faint childhood memory, but nothing immediate came to mind. He tried to read the broad black kanji on the other fighter’s chest, but he couldn’t quite make out the characters.
“Presenting America’s legion champion, KEN MASTERS!”
The audience leapt out of their seats, jeering and cheering him on to the stage. Ken shook himself out of his trance, mechanically rolling against the sandy pit to further excite the crowd.
“And tonight’s special opponent, America’s finest Bushin Ninja, GUY!”
Guy’s heart thumped with fierce intensity as the crowd hummed in his ears like a shrieking clarinet. He used his index finger to calm his pulsing temple, then opened his eyes, breaking the image of the blue tornado that he envisioned himself to be. The bell rang in a short sequence and the hot lights of the cameras shone on them, but for a second neither of them moved.
Guy gulped as he saw Ken staring oddly back at him. His features were just the same as Guy remembered, well built and confident-looking. Ken raised his dark eyebrows at him as his frown melted into a smug grin.
“Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” Ken yelled, jumping on the balls of his feet with his fist half-unclenched at his side. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”
Guy nodded back at him, his face serious. An image of Gouken’s dojo appeared in his mind. The wooden house was shadowed by overgrown green trees, a short distance away from the lake where Guy had met the Shotokan boys. Even back then, Ken was cocky.
So this is a reunion of some sort, this will be interesting, Guy thought respectively. He took a few deep breaths in the muggy air before he could find his voice.
“I would have never guessed my final fight would be met by you,” Guy said, humbling himself into his stance. “At least now I expect a decent match.”
Ken smiled at the comment. “It’s not smart dressing in red, buddy,” he hollered back, massaging his knuckles. “You’re cramping my style.”
Guy froze in his stance, waiting for Ken to launch an attack. He knew Ken’s fighting technique well. Ken’s flash and quick style was a little too similar to his.
“C’mon,” Guy said, relaxing his shoulder for a friendly handshake. “Let’s give the crowd something to really talk about.”
They shook.
“Let’s,” Ken agreed with him, smiling. “After all these years, my friend. Just remember, a thin line separates us. I call it ‘talent’.”
The sole of Ken’s foot dug into the dirt as he made a sprint toward Guy. Quick to notice the movement, Guy hurled his weight forward, leaping into the air with a solid kick, flying past his opponent. As he landed, he quickly blocked the spin kick Ken administered behind him, tried to grab him, but only felt empty air. Guy felt his back crack, then his face exploded with pain. Ken was punching left, right and low. He was fast, faster than Guy had remembered. Ken smirked that cocky arrogant smirk - but his face dropped. Guy quickly pummeled a fist into his tight stomach.
Ken winced, bending back to see Guy’s leg swish past his nose.
Their speed created a vacuum of dust. Guy snapped a punch forward. Ken ducked but felt his face crushed by Guy’s knee. Shaking the pain off, Ken jumped high into the air, smacking Guy on the shoulder with a kick. Ninja’s move like shadows, and Ken knew he had to wear his opponent down before the fight was his. As he spiraled down, Ken’s kicks continued, sucking Guy into a whirlpool until he had little balance to stand.
“Keep moving, ninja,” Ken spat, blocking a quick sidekick. “You can’t outrun me.”
Guy furrowed his eyebrows, trying to look for a real opening from which to strike his opponent. He hadn’t expected Ken to be powerful too, and he felt his arm deaden from blocking. Now he regretted not letting Maki hit him with her baton while they trained. During their recovery, his muscles would have tightened.
“You can’t beat what you can’t touch,” Ken smirked, driving a short uppercut under Guy’s chin, followed by a butt that left them both momentarily dizzy.
Guy hobbled backward, grabbing his jaw. He had to keep an eagle eye on his opponent. He didn’t dare close his eyes. He followed Ken around the stage with a foot’s distance of a gap. He needed the space to direct his kicks and throws, and he’d be damned if his space was invaded.
Ken balanced himself onto a roundhouse kick, but missed delivering a sharp strike to Guy’s open chest.
“You didn’t see that coming?” Guy mocked, but Ken only laughed, and quickly brought him to his knees with a sudden ankle sweep.
“You’ve got a lot to learn before you can beat me, Guy. Get up,” he demanded.
The crowd screamed a hounding roar. It was as though the stadium was on fire, a conflagration created by the energy the fighters generated on the stage. Rena screamed at Guy, her face full of frenzied encouragement as she jumped out of her seat. Maki did exactly as her sister, but her heart burned with great disappointment.
“GET UP, GUY. YOU CAN DO IT!” Rena shrieked, feeling her throat go coarse and achy with her unending shrill cries. “DADDY WOULD BE PROUD!”
“Dad wouldn’t be proud,” Maki scowled, annoyed by her sister’s fake support. “He isn’t doing anything we’ve practiced.”
“Of course he is,” Rena said defensively, grabbing onto the front of her brown dress. “He did that kick thing, didn’t he?”
“Oh, shut up. You don’t know the first thing about fighting. We’ve trained hard for him to win, but he’s obviously not ‘with it’.”
Hurt by the comment, Rena fell silent, watching Guy chase Ken with a perfect cross counter. “I think you’re too harsh on him,” she whimpered, pretending to take another sip of beer from the half-empty bottle.
“You clearly haven’t seen him train alone, have you?” Maki said, punching the air aggressively as she shadowed Guy’s techniques with her eyes. “NOOO!” she yelled, angry. “That was the perfect opportunity for the Kyuteishi.”
Rena grabbed her sister’s arm, feeling pained by Guy taking in a few more hits. “Can you be honest with me?” she heard herself say, but Maki wasn’t listening, she was too involved with watching the match.
“Ouch! What’s wrong with you?” Maki barked, rubbing her arm from Rena’s sudden harsh pinch.
“Your relationship with Guy is totally platonic, right?” Rena asked.
Maki pretended she didn’t hear the remark, but felt her heart choke in panic. She kept her eyes fixed on the stage.
“You spend so much time together. I can’t help but feel left out,” Rena said plainly, slowly chewing o
n her upper lip. She looked genuinely sad.
Maki tried to think quickly. “Yeah,” she managed to say, in an unconvincing tone. “We’re just training buds.” Like Rena, Maki chewed on her lip.
“We’ve been engaged for years. What’s he waiting for? Why doesn’t he marry me already?”
“Do we have to do this now?” Maki said angrily.
“Look at him on stage, getting beaten up by that man. It makes me feel sick. I hate it. I hate it all.”
Maki nodded her head, pretending she understood. Unlike Rena, Maki loved to fight, to grow strong as a woman and make men quiver before her. Having power made her feel invincible. Perhaps Genryusai would be more willing to see Guy married off to her, rather than force it upon Rena. Given the circumstances, this would be a great opportunity to tell Rena about their affair, but for the time being her focus was completely on the fight.
“If we marry,” Rena yelled above the noise, “and he comes home injured, what am I going to do? If he wanted to be with me, he would have married me years ago. I hate this long engagement. Maki, I have a secret to tell you.” Rena pursed her lips for a second, watching Maki’s brow furrow deeper.
“Spit it out, will ya?” Maki yelled, angry that she was missing Guy’s big fight because of this exchange with her sister. Something else she had to ruin!
“I’m going to call it off,” Rena said, tears streaming down her pale face. “He’s better off being with you.”
Then she squeezed Maki’s hands.
“I’ll persuade Daddy to marry you guys. You can grow to love Guy like the way Guy grew to love me.”
Maki tore away from her sister in order to gaze at the stage. An eruption of barrack filled the stadium as Ken and Guy wrestled in a huddle.
“Why are you telling me this now?” she demanded, gesturing to Guy on stage.
“Just be with him, Maki,” Rena almost begged. “Here...” she said, slipping her engagement ring onto her sister’s finger. “...It belongs to you now.”
Shocked, Maki gazed at the silver band on her finger. “This is crazy. Do you know what you’re saying?”
“He’s yours if you tell me you want to be with him,” Rena choked, wiping tears away from her half-smiling face.
The ring fit perfectly, as if it had been made for her. Rena sometimes complained that the ring was a little too big. Perhaps it had belonged to Maki all along. She looked at Rena with little trust, all the while trying hard to control the thunderous rhythm of her heart.
She felt Rena’s hand squeeze tightly for an answer, but before she could decide on her words, Maki blurted out “I love him,” unable to stop herself. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears, and she felt them stinging her cheek.
“I knew it,” Rena said in a small voice, impulsively slapping Maki in the face again. “Whore! You and him, behind my back. I knew it all along,” she yelled, trying to steal back the ring from Maki’s sweaty fingers. Then she hit her again. She flailed wildly, slapping and punching, calling Maki a bitch, her face blotchy, wet, and shaky. Maki didn’t move.
On the stage, Guy huffed, balancing his weight on his good leg. Ken had definitely got stronger over the years. Guy’s injuries were proof enough, but a sprained ankle was hardly an excuse to lose this match. Swallowing saliva, Guy dashed forward to drop a flying elbow. He thrust an uppercut, then tried to stamp his foot into Ken’s shin, but he missed.
“Now for the home run,” Ken said, shifting into his famous fighting position.
Spinning on his toe, he swiveled to drive a string of powerful roundhouse kicks. A fierce vortex of fire followed behind him with each kick that intensified in power. Guy ducked the first kick, and the second, but Ken’s technique sucked him, trapped. Ken hopped onto his other foot then continued the modified hurricane kick until the sole of his foot became sore.
Guy crashed to the ground, coughing out copious amount of dust clouds that entered into his mouth. He could feel a mixture of fluids making its way out of his throat.
Ken hobbled on the landing, pleased to hear the raging crowd on the left. “And that’s the power of Shotokan. Next time, I won’t be so easy on ya,” Ken hollered for the sake of the cameras.
He lifted his arm to the victory, smiling weakly in search for his wife in the crowd, but the lights in the stadium suddenly blinked on and off in rapid succession. A shattering crash filled the room. Sprinkled glass showered over the crowd as light bulbs exploded in a domino effect.
“What the...” Ken gasped, shocked.
The screams from the crowd converged into a sudden unified screech. In the darkness, he turned to where he thought Guy would be but saw a harsh strobe of light in front of him. A darkened face blocked his view, smiling widely at him, teeth almost glowing in the shadows. The dark aura hit Ken hard in the chest, totally drowning his senses. There was no time to react. Instead, a quick flash of light overcame him.
*****
Chapter 30:
CONFESSION