SPARRING PARTNER
Silver Rayne
Chapter 5

One more night went by but this one proved to be more destructive than the last. They had retired for the night, relaxed and happy but it did not last. Hours later, Ken was tossing and turning in his sleep, enduring a nightmare only he could see.

“Ken. Wake up,” Ryu whispered urgently. He shook Ken only to get a fist in his mouth. “Oww!” His lip had been split but he kept shaking Ken until he awoke with a start.

“Ryu! I’m sorry, did I wake you?” Ken pressed his thumbs to his temples and rubbed at them. “What a nightmare.”

“You’re no sleeping beauty,” he commented, showing Ken what he had done.

“I didn’t mean to…Ryu, I’m sorry.” Ken hugged Ryu and kissed his bleeding lip, feeling horrible for lashing out, even in his sleep. How could he have struck the very person who was protecting him?

“Don’t worry about it. At least I know you can still pack a punch. Were you dreaming about him?”

An angry look entered Ken’s eyes. “Yeah, I don’t know what he looks like or who he is but somehow, he manages to haunt me…even in my sleep. What am I going to do?”

“We,” Ryu corrected him, “are going to wait until your father catches this guy. Now that he knows how terrible his security is, he’s adding more members to his staff and making this place airtight. There’s nothing to worry about. Even I couldn’t get in or out now without somebody noticing.”

*Sure, an impenetrable fortress.* That couldn’t be good for them. *What about my freedom?* The last time Mr. Masters had increased security was when Ken had returned safely from being kidnapped by Bison. In the first few months, it was like living in a bottle, unable to make contact with the outside world. Even his gardens had been off limits unless he was accompanied by a bodyguard. How would they have their privacy?

“You need to clear your head and get some fresh air.” *And there’s no way I can fall back to sleep.* Ryu went over to the window and pulled up the blinds. The weather seemed to be stagnant, holding the same sunny disposition each morning they woke up together. That brought a smile to Ryu’s face, knowing that he and Ken were destined to be with each other. “How about we got out.”

“Out? What kind of out?”

“A date. Leave everything to me.”

*Ryu and the word ‘romantic’ just don’t get along in the same sentence.* He hid a devilish grin and shrugged. “Okay, lover. Let’s see you show me a good time.”

Before Ryu went to get changed, he made sure that Ken would never tease him again so early in the morning. His lesson ended well, at least Ken had enjoyed being taught a thing or two. He would demonstrate skills other than fighting ones, treat Ken to a night on the town.

They started out the day by going for a long stroll through a park, losing Ken’s bodyguards halfway into it. Then Ryu took Ken to a movie, sitting as close to the back as he could manage. After the movie, dinner came and went in the form of fast food to leave them with the rest of the night ahead of them.

“I never knew that eating cheap could be so much fun!” Ken sprung into Ryu’s arms, clinging to his shoulders and kissing him intimately.

As they stood there, out on Ken’s front porch, Ryu was amazed at how fast Ken caught on. He had to exert more of his energy to keep up with Ken’s energetic pace. Ryu trapped Ken’s tongue in his mouth and gently pressed his hand to the bulge in Ken’s pants. He grinned and kissed Ken quickly, pulling him into the mansion. “That didn’t take long,” he joked, rubbing Ken beneath his pants.

“You’re one to talk.” When Ken grasped Ryu’s own hardened cock, the dark haired youth almost yelped.

“Hurry up, I can’t wait any longer.” Ryu urgently dragged Ken to the stairs and from there downwards to where the guest rooms were. There was no time to go all the way across the mansion to Ken’s own private wing. He pushed open the closest door and, laughing quietly to himself, threw Ken onto the bed to pounce on top of him.

*********************************************

Inside the personal office of Mr. Masters, the middle aged man was filing away some recent contracts which he had made up. All that they required was his signature but he was feeling a tad bit under the weather. There was something going around, a flu perhaps. Whatever the case, he had been unwilling to join his wife at a cocktail party because of it. She understood, knew that he worked too hard and had gone on by herself. Mrs. Masters was a remarkable woman and he loved her for it.

Thomas Masters clicked off his desk light and stretched. Another fulfilling day had passed, he would get lots of rest tonight.

Then, the phone rang. Not the house line but his private line, the one that only his wife and son used in case of an emergency.

“Hello!” He waited and it seemed like ages before somebody responded.

“Thomas Masters? This is a concerned parent calling regarding Ken. Have you noticed that half of your security detail didn’t check in tonight?” As Thomas was about to reply, the man interrupted. “Your son is in trouble, Thomas. That stalker has him cornered on the first floor of your mansion. In the room opposite the stairs at the bottom. Hurry! His life depends on you, Masters.”

“Who is this? How do you know Ken is in trouble?,” he demanded to know.

“Are you going to ask me all of these questions of ensure that your son is safe and sound tucked in his bed?” A quiet snicker was muffled on the other end.

Not letting the man get another word in, Thomas slammed down the phone and rang a couple of his guards. They rushed to the room which had been specified and without even pausing to knock or listen, Thomas broke down the door.

What he saw nearly turned him white with sheer horror. One of the security men had snapped on the overhead light, reflecting it off of Ryu’s bare back and whatever else was showing beneath the blanket which was half covering him. The way Ryu’s back was arched and Ken rigid underneath him was solid evidence of what they had been in the middle of.

At first, Thomas tried to shake his head, as if by doing that, the image in front of him would disappear. Ken didn’t know what to say or do and neither did Ryu. All they could do was decently cover themselves up, disappointed that they were both unsatisfied.

“Sir, this isn’t as bad as it looks,” Ryu pleaded. “Ken and I…”

“SHUT UP!” Thomas glared at Ryu, his security team falling behind him. “How dare you attack my son in my own home. I always knew there was something wrong with you, Ryu. Now I know, you and your corrupted ways aren’t welcome here. It was you all along…you are Ken’s stalker!”

“He wasn’t attacking me! I consented to it.” One glance at Thomas’ face and Ken knew that hearing his son admit it had just sent him over the edge. “He isn’t the one.”

“You consented to it?,” he mocked. “So, you’ve corrupted him too, Ryu? Well, I’m going to make sure that you never, ever touch my son again. Or anyone else for that matter. You’re going to regret what you did here tonight.” He nodded to two of the security men. “Take him to the back of the house and wait for me.”

“NO!” Ken got up, clenching a blanket to his waist. “None of you are going to do anything to Ryu. You have no right to judge me for being with him. I love him!”

Thomas reacted instinctively, taking Ken’s proclamation of love as an evil thing. He furiously backhanded his son across his face, knocking him back onto the bed. What came next, none of them would have expected. Ryu rose up from where he had been lying and punched Thomas straight in the nose. The force of the blow broke the man’s nose and sent him tumbling into his security men.

“What kind of man hits his son for choosing who he wishes to love? I love Ken as well and will not tolerate you punishing him.” Ryu didn’t even realize his own strength, couldn’t imagine the injury he had caused Mr. Masters. He thought that everything would be alright, that it was settled. How could it not be when Mr. Masters own personal motto was, ‘an eye for an eye’?

The second Ryu touched Ken’s arm to make sure he was alright, Mr. Masters exploded. “Arrest that man now! If he doesn’t come easily, KILL HIM!”

The security men were unsure, they had served both Ken and his father for many years. Which man did they owe their loyalty to? Some of them knew how irrational Thomas was being but they could not state their own opinions.

“You would kill him for loving me?” Ken went for his father’s eyes, he was beyond logical solutions.

“Ken!” Ryu held Ken back and started to pull back on his pants. “I don’t want to come between you and your father. I’ll leave.”

“That isn’t your decision to make. If you go, then I’m coming with you.”

“If you go with him, then I will kill you both! You are not my son! My name has been disgraced with your sick actions. I’m ashamed that my wife ever had you!” Thomas whirled on his men, yelling at them. “I gave you an order. Take him now!” He shot Ryu a murderous stare which seemed to bored straight through the young man’s heart.

All six of them attacked Ryu, battering his arms away from his face, trying to get a clear shot in while restraining him. He was unable to completely defend himself because Ken was behind him. It would be unacceptable to allow Ken to be hit for what he had done.

“HADOUKEN!!!” The fireball which left Ken’s fingers only temporarily phased the men because he still didn’t know how to draw everything he had into one blast. The only thing he was certain of was that his Hadouken came from his emotions, unlike Ryu’s. He was not about to allow Ryu to keep defending him when there was nothing to be gained.

“Come on!” He pulled Ryu out of the room, catching his lover’s weight onto his shoulder when Ryu tripped.

Ryu didn’t want to be a burden to Ken but his right eye was laced with blood. He couldn’t see straight and it was affecting his balance. One of the men had gotten a lucky hit in, an elbow strike with sharp buttons that had nearly taken out his eye. But, Ken would not let him lag behind, couldn’t permit him to rest or falter. For Ken knew his own father’s rage better than anything else about him. The man would not calm down, holding to his orders until one or both of them were dead. There wasn’t a thing he could do when his father was putting paychecks on the table for each of the security guards.

“Ryu, can you stall them? I need to get something from my room.”

“Be fast!” He watched Ken sprint up another set of stairs and hurry over to his bedroom.

“Surrender now or we will be forced to apprehend you by force.”

Ryu grit his teeth and narrowed his good eye at the group. “You should have said that before one of you cut my face.” He stayed where he was as they advanced on him, letting them get nearer until they were close enough to lay their hands on him. “Now it’s my turn.” He gathered up his reserved powers and attacked.

“TATSU-MAKI-SEMPU-KYAKU!!!” (Whirlwind kick) The transition of one kick to another made the men dizzy but also beat the living daylights out of them. A vacuum of wind sucked them in to be swept out by powerful kicks from Ryu’s feet as he spun off the ground in a circle. *Where is Ken? There are going to be three hundred guards here any minute now.*

A car horn blared from outside, followed by Ken’s shout. Ryu fled out the front door and vaulted over Ken’s Ferrari door to sit in the passenger side. He landed on a pile of papers and a locked box as the red sports car peeled out of the estate grounds. “What’s this?” He popped the lock and read a sealed parchment, confusion in his eyes. “Ken, since when did you have your own house?”

“It belongs to me. I just never told you…it was going to be a surprise.”

“How long have you been hiding this from me?” According to the paper, the piece of land and the house on it had belonged to Ken for as many as five years.

The car swerved on the way out of the gates and kept going. It wasn’t until then that Ryu noticed Ken was entirely naked in the driver’s seat. Only the flimsy sheet clung to his waist, revealing everything. Ryu pulled off his shirt and spread it out over Ken’s lap.

“You couldn’t find the time to get your pants on?,” he teased, although halfheartedly.

“It was more important that I get these papers.”

“My name is on the deed to this house…when were you going to tell me?” Ryu was stunned at Ken’s secret but even more so that Ken had been saving up for a future with him.

“When the time was right. It isn’t right now…but…” Ken covered his eyes with his hands, beginning to cry. “I can’t believe that he was going to kill you.” The shiny tears trickled down his cheeks, causing the car to head out of the lane and into his blurry vision. “My own father…”

Ryu wrapped an arm around Ken’s shoulders and used the other to steer the car back into the lane. At least he thought it was the lane, his own eyesight was at half strength. They stayed that way for most of the ride, occasionally shifting in their seats, both of them distraught over what had happened. A few times, the blood in Ryu’s eye stung badly, causing him to coax Ken into taking back the wheel. Neither of them spoke but they could tell what the other was thinking.

“Is this it?”

The sound of Ryu’s voice brought Ken back from where he had been hiding, deep within his emotions. He was astounded to find out that Ryu had been guiding the car down the road while he had dozed off. How could he be so foolish? Pushing the self-blame back, he looked to where Ryu was pointing. The car was parked in front of a set of wooden gates, left to idle while Ryu double-checked the address.

Inside of the gates rested a fairly big sized house, blue and white trim on the windows and porch, a two door garage and a nice, big lawn. A couple of squirrels were scurrying about inside of the water fountain towards the front door, chasing a pigeon that refused to leave. The grass was burnt but still present in patches and flowers bloomed everywhere.

“It looks better than the last time I saw it.” Ken climbed out of the car, holding Ryu’s shirt firmly around his waist. His bare feet touched hot asphalt, bringing back nostalgic memories and warding away the unfortunate incident still fresh in his mind.

This was their home, where they could find peace and be together. No one would walk in on them or invade their privacy. A new life could be forged within those gates, absent of hatred or bigotry.

“Wow! You sure picked a real beauty,” whistled Ryu. He could get used to the idea of calling the lonesome house, ‘home’. It was more than he had expected from his former dwellings of tents and rented cabins in the wilderness. “Do you still have the keys?”

A jingling chain full of keys flew over Ryu’s head but was caught before they hit the ground.

“Open the gates so I can drive in.”

Ryu unlocked the padlock securing the gates together and swung them open. Then he hopped back into the car as it raced up to the house. “Didn’t you hire anyone to take care of this place?”

“No, I was doing that by myself. Looking after a house is a big task.” He offered Ryu a smile and together, they ventured into the house.

It was incredibly dusty inside, mothballs running rampant in the closets. But, all it required was some polish, a vacuum cleaner, a bucket and mop. Other than that, it was brand new and all theirs.

“Ryu, can I borrow your pants?”

The smile on Ryu’s face disappeared. He couldn’t turn around to face Ken. “I’m not in the mood,” he apologized.

Facing Ryu’s back, the expression on Ken’s face became more depressed. “I can’t buy us any food wearing your shirt for pants.”

Ryu sighed and embraced Ken tightly. “I didn’t mean for it to sound that way. Are you sure you’ll be okay by yourself?”

“I’ll be fine.”

Ken left to go shopping wearing pants too big in the waist and a shirt designed for someone with Ryu’s broad shoulders. He would have to get himself some clothes before buying food. His disheveled appearance made him feel worse. So he entered a men’s clothing store, picked up whatever was in his size and laid them out on the counter.

A lady stores clerk smiled at him and rung in his items. “Cash, credit card or would you like to apply for one of our own cards?,” she asked politely.

Ken passed her his credit card which named him as being a very high status customer. The lady’s smile widened as she scanned it through. But…she scanned it in a second time and then a third. By the fourth time, she had pressed the buzzer under the desk and was now giving Ken the reverse of her happy smile. She was observing him as if he were a common criminal.

“What’s taking so long,” Ken asked, his impatience showing in the way he tapped his fingers on the counter.

An elderly man came up behind Ken and gave him back his credit card. “I’m sorry sir, this store cannot accept your card.”

“What do you mean you can’t accept it?!! Do you know how much money is on this?” He flung it back on the counter. “Try again, you probably didn’t enter it properly.” Ken’s own temper was legendary and second only to his father’s. He was a paying customer and didn’t like to be treated like a thief.

“Your card has been invalidated. That happens when someone has had their cards…stolen.” The manager lowered his icy eyes on Ken and handed back the card. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave, sir.”

Outside of the men’s clothing store, passersby were stopping and listening in on the conversation. Some were whispering and identifying Ken as an escaped convict and he could barely dispute it with his hair all wild and eyes bloodshot.

“I don’t believe this!” Ken backed away from the manager, confusion evident in his slow departure. He wanted to yell more but didn’t know what to say. His card no longer worked? Had his father already canceled it? Did Mr. Masters even have the right to do so when his money had been earned? Ken’s entire teenage years could be recalled in hours of desk work done for his father’s business. How could he have taken it all back?

Ken ran from the store, bumping into people and not bothering to say ‘excuse me’ or apologize. He didn’t stop until he was back in his car and driving faster than the speed of light. More stores came and went, some of them in the middle of nowhere, others were big department stores. He tried credit card after credit card, even his bank book registered a big, fat $0.

Late the next morning, he returned to his house, discouraged and fighting off hunger. Ryu greeted him at the door and clung to him as if he had been dead for hours. “You worried the heck out of me!” He pulled Ken into the kitchen where the floors and cupboards sparkled. “Where have you been? I thought that something happened to you.”

“I have nothing,” Ken said softly. He sat down on a chair and hung his head in his hands. “He took everything from me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Ryu poured Ken some tea and joined him at the table. “There’s plenty of canned stuff in the cupboards and more than enough tea.”

“My dad took all of my money. He canceled my credit cards and emptied my bank accounts. We don’t have any money to pay the bills. There will be no hydro, no gas, no food, no clothing, no…”

Ryu kissed Ken, desperately wanting to quiet him. He wanted to show some concern over their poverty but really didn’t care. All that mattered to him was Ken and if they needed money, he would get a job. The pair of shorts he had found in one of the bedrooms were too tight but he would rather go around naked than not have Ken. “Your father is wrong. He can’t control you like this. We will find a way to solve this, Ken. For now, our love is all we need.” He kissed Ken again and was relieved when Ken kissed him back.

********************************************

Although Ken woke up before Ryu later in the afternoon and went out to get a job, he was dismayed to find out that no one wanted to hire him. He had more qualifications than the men and women already working where he wanted to apply. But, every business threw him out, not even granting him an interview. Anything that had an opening for business related jobs or even secretarial would not listen to Ken. They had been paid off by Mr. Masters and would not let Ken work.

Ryu had no more luck than Ken did. Every time he walked into a shop or business asking to be hired, they threatened to call the cops. Not even the local bakery considered Ryu’s plea for employment. The billions belonging to Mr. Masters swayed everyone he wanted on his side.

All that was left was for Ken to attempt to contact his mother. He dialed her private line and let it ring for minutes. Finally, the line clicked.

“Mom?!!”

“Call here again and I will have you arrested for harassing me,” Mr. Masters warned on the other end. “You don’t exist to her. You aren’t her son!” He slammed down the receiver.

Ken burrowed into the sofa in front of the fireplace and absorbed the warmth coming from it. He was grateful that Ryu was adept at finding wood and cooking from scratch. After all, Ryu had spent all of his life fending for himself and roughing it where there was no cozy houses or microwave dinners.

“Was she home?,” Ryu asked. He was stretched out on the floor, a thick woven blanket around his shoulders.

“No.” Ken watched Ryu studying the flames and wondered how everything could go wrong but never with Ryu. They didn’t even fight or argue, their minds and hearts were in sync with each other. That was what he needed, to be whole and that was only possible with Ryu. “Are you mad at me?”

Ryu looked up and beckoned Ken to lay beside him in the blanket. Ken did so and immediately felt his spirit soar. Ryu made it all seem worthwhile. “I could never be mad at you. Don’t hate me for this but…I loathe your father. He is a spiteful demon in my eyes. Does he think that you suddenly became gay one day and that it is my fault?” Ryu stroked back Ken’s hair and tossed another branch into the fire. “I rarely have these negative feelings because they are petty. But the way he judged me made it all too easy for me to hate him. Look at what his narrow view on life caused!” He touched the swollen cut over his eye.

“I shouldn’t have been fooling around with you where he could have found us.” Ken tried to kiss the cut but Ryu held him back.

“He might have walked in on us in your bedroom or somewhere else. It isn’t your fault nor is it mine. We expressed our love and this is how we are punished? That man will get what is coming to him one day. There is one thing that I will promise you, nothing will ever break us apart.” He released Ken and felt those soft lips graze his eyebrow. “We don’t need their money. Humans have been on this earth before money was ever invented.”

“Ryu, can you stop now? It isn’t like you to become infested with anger and hatred. If anyone wants to hate my dad, it should be me.”

“For what he’s done, I can never forgive him.” Ryu moved over so that Ken’s lips rested on his own. The rest came naturally and didn’t require any concentration. Ryu kissed Ken hard and long to prevent him from seeing the crystal tears swimming in his eyes. In his hand, he clutched something important. He had wanted to give it to Ken after their lovemaking in the guest room but now the opportunity was lost.

*Why do we have to be tormented for loving each other?* Ryu squeezed Ken until he could hardly breathe. *First it was that stalker and now his own father.* He eased up on Ken, thinking while keeping him occupied. *We made no noise, I’m sure of it.* He thought back to the seconds up to the moment where Mr. Masters had invaded the room. *How did he know we were in there?*

Next to the sofa, the phone rang, scaring Ryu out of his reverie. “Maybe it’s my mom!” Ken smiled at Ryu, unable to hide his excitement. He lifted the receiver up, still beaming. “Hello!”

“My lovely Ken, I have been trying to get through for some time now. Have you been chatting with Mrs. Masters, that enchantress? Oh wait…she wasn’t home, was she?”

Ken looked to Ryu, his voice stuck in his throat. Something about his gaze must have gotten Ryu’s attention because he grabbed the phone from Ken. “Who is this?,” he demanded to know.

“Ryu…my foe. I’ve eliminated everything that Ken cares about from his life. Can you guess what I missed? The competition, my thick dimwitted friend. You are the only thing standing between me and pretty-boy. Do you know what I do to the competition?”

“Don’t threaten me. I’m not scared of you and neither is Ken. This has gone far enough and I want it to end!” Ryu gripped the phone and ground his teeth together.

“I can see that you aren’t scared of me. In fact, I listened to you talking and realized that you seem to have forgotten me completely. I’m insulted…miffed even. Maybe you need a reminder.”

The phone went dead. Ryu clicked the receiver again but got no dial tone. “That is the other person on this planet that I hate.” His control over his emotions was temporarily broken. “Ken, make sure you locked the front door, I’m going to check the back.” He had not even gone two steps when a rock crashed through the front window.

“Now he’s throwing death letters through the windows,” Ken snarled. He went to pick up the rock.

*That doesn’t look like a rock.* Ryu knocked Ken to the floor and watched his whole world fall to pieces.

End of Chapter 5