SPARRING PARTNER
Silver Rayne

Chapter 7

Thunder roared in the sky and lightning seared across it as the first drops of rain pelted down. The sun abruptly vanished, leaving only the flashes of light to illuminate the earth.

The disturbance of nature made Dan feel omnipotent. He accepted credit for the awful weather, thinking that he had created it. It almost relieved some of his anxiety but not much. His legs were cramping, all of his muscles taut from the task of keeping himself upright. Was Ryu really going to come back and kill him? Well, he would not be around to find out. If he could only get his head out of the noose Ryu had made for him.

"Your incompetence astounds me, Dan."

Dan glanced over and smiled when he saw who it was. "Did you see it? I broke the both of them. Their torture was so satisfying."

"If you had broken them, you would not be hanging from the ceiling." He shook his head, very unimpressed by Dan’s gloating. "Our deal was the exchange of intelligence and power for you and the death of Ken Masters for me." The evil one dug his nails into Dan’s jaw, forcing his head down at an impossible angle. "What went wrong, Dan?"

"Is it my fault that Ryu got out of those chains? You told me that they would hold him."

"So, now it’s my fault?" He glared into Dan’s eyes, turning his confidence to chalk.

"N…n…no. Ryu was stronger than I thought he would be. Look at what he left in my back!"

"He should have stuck it through your quivering heart!" The evil one slammed his hand into Dan’s chest, drawing out the extra powers he had given to him. Then he used his other hand to punch Dan between the eyes, stealing back his heightened intelligence. "This is what you get for disobeying me!"

Dan screamed an unholy curse as he was ripped to pieces, shredded before his master for not completing his task. There would be nothing left for Ryu to kill if he ever did return to look for Dan.

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

Wandering aimlessly around in search of a hospital was painstaking enough but when it began to rain, Ryu nearly voiced his discontent. His bare feet were frozen and worn down into bleeding, the blood washing off of his leg with the chilly rain drops. Where wasn’t he bleeding?

The poor weather also had an adverse affect on Ken. He had slipped away again and nothing Ryu said or did could bring him back. If they didn’t find the hospital soon, either one or both of them would end up with pneumonia. Worse yet, anybody Ryu pleaded for help or directions would ignore him. He was on his own.

Then, when his situation could not have gotten any worse, a small voice inside of his head proved him wrong. *He’s coming.* Ryu looked past the torn shirt to see Ken’s eyes open halfway, fearing someone who he could not see.

"Who is coming? Dan?" *No, Ken said that the man who was hiding had come to kill Dan. Then who? Who, Ken?* "Ken?" He shivered a little more, clamping down on his next question to walk through a massive puddle spanning down the street. Why weren’t the sewage drains working? It hardly mattered to him anymore, he was more concerned about Ken. The silence ate at his nerves, bringing back flashes of Dan and the numerous times he had belted Ken. "Please speak to me," he almost begged.

The street was coming to an end and unfortunately, it curved back the way they had originated from. Of all the times to get lost, Ryu had chosen one of the worst. Here they were, drenched in an oncoming storm and he had led them to a tall, chain-link fence. He couldn’t have possibly done worse under the circumstances. Why were there so many dead-end streets in this city?

Just as he was about to turn back, Ryu felt a tingle in his arms. The rain began to hit the ground with a bit more force, splashing in all directions. Or, were those splashes the announcement of a threatening force on the horizon. Ryu crouched behind some bushes and lowered Ken onto the muddy grass, leaning him against the fence. All the while, he kept his eyes on the road behind them. "I want you to stay here, okay?"

"Ryu, don’t go." Ken clutched at Ryu’s arm, pleading with him. "You promised."

"I did. And I won’t break that promise. But, there is someone following us and I’d rather be safe than sorry."

"He killed Dan."

"How do you know that?" Now, Ryu was extremely concerned, more than before. How on earth could his love know all these things? Hopefully, Ken was not developing some unknown form of telepathy. It wasn’t entirely impossible with the level of concentration they put into their practices. But why Ken? *I am twice as focused as him. Why haven’t I sensed anything? This other man is an empty void to me.*

"Because…I know him." His eyelids fluttered once before closing, his body slumping backwards to be supported by the fence.

Ryu made sure that Ken was breathing okay and hidden from sight before he allowed himself to face the blind evilness. He was startled to see that the man didn’t care if he was seen. His arms were moving briskly at his sides, fists at the ready but he was barefoot. One foot sloshing into mushy waters, making waves for his other foot to mirror. And there was nothing about him that wouldn’t be considered scary. From a distance, the sharp outline of his hard muscles could be viewed protruding from tanned skin. Like Ryu, he also did not wear a shirt or shoes. *What am I thinking? He is a killer! I am not like him.*

"Ryu…you are the weakling that I believed you to be." It sounded similar to a laugh but the voice wasn’t capable of pulling it off. So, his sense of humor was warped, nothing new there. Half the people Ryu fought in tournaments spent nearly eighty percent of the round hollering at him in amusement. Right before Ryu T.K.O.-d their ass within the beginning seconds of the first round. Why should this man be any different.

"And why is that?" Was he getting annoyed at him? No. Those feelings were not beneficial to him, had to be pushed out of his head. When his emotions started to rear their ugly heads, Ryu would crush them at their roots. He knew how Ken fought when he was angry. Careless, flaunting style over quality of movement, and dropping his guard with every attack. *I won’t let this bastard get the best of me.* "You set this whole thing up, didn’t you? Paid Dan to harass Ken, to pick away at my morals. Well, it didn’t work. I let Dan live."

The man shook his head solemnly. "I was referring to your little bed-mate. Where is sleeping beauty? If you were half the man you claim to be, stowing Ken away somewhere would not be necessary. The great, brave Ryu should be able to fight me and protect his lover all in one fell swoop," he taunted. "Or, is my information out of date?"

"Why don’t you come over here and I’ll show you what kind of man I am."

"First, I want your lover to see you crushed to worm food. Is he watching? I really hope he is. When your blood starts to drain down this street with the acid rain, he will want to come forward. Maybe not though…Ken is just a worthless fling to you, isn’t he? I wouldn’t date a tramp like that if I were you." He took a few steps closer, smiling when Ryu recoiled, acting as if he’d been stung. "And that’s who I happen to be, Ryu. You."

"No! This…it can’t be…you aren’t real." Ryu found himself glaring at the man, inspecting him from the dark, mess of hair on his head, to the worn skin on the bottom of his feet. He was wearing the same pants as Ryu, faded and ripped in all the same places. His skin color matched identically to the original, the eyes mimicking Ryu’s horror.

"Aren’t I?" The other Ryu smirked, an expression which seemed totally unnatural for the real Ryu. "This is what you get for messing with forces you don’t understand. This is what you deserve for being a murderer. You created me. Now, either kill me or die."

"Who the hell are you?"

"Dark Ryu. The product of a one-time experimentation with a power you couldn’t handle. Remember Akuma? You attempted to eliminate his evil from the face of this planet. I bet your little honey doesn’t know anything about that piece of history from your past. Well, you failed Ryu. Akuma lives. And by trying to imitate his Shun Goku Satsu (Raging Demon) attack, you released everything that was evil from within you. All the pain. The hurt. The anger, hatred and lust. All of the emotions which you loathe the most. Which could destroy you if not controlled. I am your desires gone wrong. Your ambitions unrequited, love turned into hate." He paused once for effect, coming even closer to his carbon copy. "I am you…only better and without all of your stupid ethics and remorse. When I kill, I don’t care."

But, Ryu was still not convinced. "I saw Akuma destroyed…fallen…there was no…" He stumbled over his words. "You are lying."

Dark Ryu made himself comfortable in the Shotokan stance which Ryu favored for performing the Hadouken. "We’ll see. I have a plan. A grand plan full of wonderful aspirations. First, I destroy you, the flawed prototype of me. Then, I’m going to see just how gullible dear Ken is. I’m willing to bet that he hasn’t interfered because he’s unconscious. Am I correct?" He sighed loudly when Ryu opened his mouth to object. "Oh, give me a break! It’s so obvious. You’re in no condition to fight me and win, Ryu. Listen to my perfect scheme. With you out of the way, all I have to do is fill in for your absence. Ken won’t know the difference. Although…there is the matter of how he’s mentally inferior to me. I’ll just convert him into a nice, loyal sex slave…shouldn’t be too hard."

That was it. Ryu couldn’t take much more of Dark Ryu’s rambling and blown up ideas on how his life should be run. "Ken is more intelligent than you could ever be. He would see through your charade immediately. Love is based on emotions, things which you lack. Let me demonstrate." Then, gathering all of his chi into a tight ball of electromagnetism, Ryu grabbed it loosely before shooting it forward.

"HADOUKEN!!!"

The fireball clearly sailed down Ryu’s line of intent, knowing just where it was supposed to hit. Only, Dark Ryu intercepted it with a little trick of his own. Leaping into the air, he held himself aloft for more than thirty seconds, heaving smaller fireballs at Ryu which sparked red with flames.

"MESSATSU-GOU-HADOU!!!"

Dark Ryu laughed as his double hopped along the ground, dodging each of his fireballs which exploded into the asphalt. They left enormous craters behind, smoldering and cooling down under the torrent of rain. "What’s the matter, Ryu? Can’t you take the competition?"

As Dark Ryu landed, Ryu rushed him, sliding down on the slippery ground. But, his legs opened up and closed like scissors, catching Dark Ryu’s ankles between them. Then, he was bringing the evil man down with surprising force. Ryu was in no mood to be nice about it, so he added a good kick to Dark Ryu’s crotch for emphasis. "Don’t you dare compare yourself to me. I’m nothing like you." He kept Dark Ryu grounded by performing a deafening Tatsumaki-sempuu-kyaku (whirlwind hurricane kick) which knocked the man into monsoon season. Dark Ryu crashed into one of his craters overflowing with water, sputtering as he rose.

"This has been fun, Ryu. Don’t think that I didn’t appreciate your wasted efforts." He spat the water out of his mouth, wiping his chin and smiling. "However, I have an agenda and this has taken up enough of my time. I’ll tell your honey that you love him…while I’m loving him." Dark Ryu deflected Ryu’s hazardous kick, chuckling heavier. "You idiot! If you were more like me, you could have been a king. Taking what you want instead of going through the tedious process of earning it. I’m taking what is yours. Everything. And nothing you can do will stop me."

Dark Ryu’s eyes ignited into a fiery red, his hands bathed in a transparent mask of blood. The marking of the men and women he had dismissed from existence. Of what he had taken by sheer brute force. "It ends here, Ryu." His hands opened up in front of him as Ryu watched, mystified and at the same time scared beyond any fear he had ever felt. Dark Ryu’s left leg raised, bent at the knee, bracing himself.

"No!"

"Yes."

There was nowhere for Ryu to run. He couldn’t reveal where Ken was, there could still be the opportunity for him to escape. The street. He could make it down the street. Taking off at lightning speed, he felt the blood oozing out of his wounds, trailing behind him, designing a path for Dark Ryu to follow. And he did, gliding over the ground on one foot, arms stretched outwards. Ryu kept running, tripping, falling a couple of times until…it was too late. A pair of needle sharp hands grabbed him from behind, wrenched him into a tighter grasp. They gripped his shoulders, made him look into the eyes of death. Those eyes were hollow.

"SHUN GOKU SATSU!!!" The voice of Dark Ryu snarled inside of Ryu’s head, electrified his very soul. Once, that finishing move had been his last option in defeating Akuma. It promised death upon contact. *Ken…I failed you.* That was his last thought as the world dropped into a fireworks display born in hell. Popping noises filled his eyes, bright lights flashed inside of his head. Then, Ryu knew nothing, heard nothing, saw nothing. His stiff body was dropped ungraciously onto a mound of mud, his blood washing over his cold flesh.

"That was your undoing, Ryu. Even in death, you could not shut your thoughts off from me." Dark Ryu prodded the body with his foot. "I’m going to enjoy playing with your honey. Maybe I’ll find out why you were so possessive over him." He closed Ryu’s unseeing eyes with the brush of his hand. Then, he returned to the spot that Ryu had been guarding, unknowingly giving away Ken’s location. "Ken!" There was no response. So, Dark Ryu used a bit more effort while scanning the area with his keen vision. "Are you okay? You can come out now." *So, maybe you aren’t as stupid as I thought.* "Ken?"

Inside the bushes, Ken pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, wanting to answer Ryu. His throat was constricted, the words wouldn’t come out. Then, when he was able to call out, he realized that he couldn’t. Something was wrong. The voice was dancing inside of his thoughts again. Unfulfilled thoughts mixed in with his own. Mainly, they were of destruction, contemplating chaos and suffering. One thought stood out from among the rest. In it was the body of Ryu, a corpse buried under the hot sun in the desert. Far from where anyone could respect the contributions he had made to life. He was to die without anyone to mourn him.

"Ryu!" Ken tried to scream but it came out as a cough. What was wrong with him? Ryu was fine, standing several feet to his right side. Maybe it was all the stress from the events of the past few days. But, he knew it had to be more than that when Ryu found him. Only, the feelings he had at that moment were not of relief or happiness. He was afraid and could barely hold those feelings aside to greet Ryu with a smile. When the man smiled back and touched his face, he nearly screamed. "Is he gone?"

"He? Oh…yeah." How did Ryu talk? Dark Ryu was having a bit of trouble navigating himself around Ryu’s normal speech patterns. His idiot double kept his voice gentle and soothing while Dark Ryu anticipated yelling at Ken. It would be funny to see Ken jump ten feet in the air, unaccustomed to his lover turning him into a dog on a leash. "Um…let’s go home now."

A bit of doubt crept into Ken’s eyes. "Ryu…" How had Ryu managed to make him feel like such a wimp with that one suggestion? "I need to go to the hospital. My ribs…"

"Your ribs? You’re complaining about a couple of bruises?" Dark Ryu made a wild gesture at the blood which wasn’t his dripping down one leg. "I was the one who got a knife in my leg. Do you think I’m all stitched up after having to break through some lousy chains to save your ass? If anyone needs to go to the hospital, it’s me."

"I’m sorry." Ken bit his bottom lip, never having heard Ryu raise his voice or speak nastily to him before. "Can you help me up?"

"So, suddenly you can walk? Have you been faking it all along? I have to feel all sorry for you and carry you like some infant child and now…you tell me it was an attention grabber?"

"No," Ken pleaded. He was trying so hard to get Ryu to calm down that it didn’t occur to him that arguing with the man was highly abnormal. "Please, I don’t want to fight with you." The hand which helped him up was rough and uncaring, releasing him as soon as his feet were planted solidly on the ground. But, Ken couldn’t stand on his own and collapsed, Dark Ryu snickering at his frailty. "Why are you acting this way?" He squeezed back the tears of hurt, refusing to look up at the man.

"Because you embarrass me. I’m fed up with protecting you and pretending that you’re the only one for me. Open your eyes, you are not my one and only. In fact, you’re only a distant number on the list of guys and girls that I sleep with. I only wanted you like an owner wants a pet. How does that make you feel, Ken honey? Are you upset that you aren’t my special sweetheart?"

"Stop it!" Ken covered his face with his hands, sobbing at Dark Ryu’s feet. "I love you. I didn’t make Dan come after me. This isn’t my fault."

"It is." Dark Ryu knelt in front of Ken and moved forward to kiss him. "The way you act, even the way you dress, you invited Dan to do this to you. Don’t blame him after you acted like a little, cheap slut."

"Bastard!" Even though Ken had no more strength left and was seriously injured, he somehow managed to find the power to slap Dark Ryu very hard. "Get away from me."

"Ken…" Dark Ryu touched the swollen area of his cheek where he had bitten off a chunk of the flesh inside of his mouth. *He still wants to fight. Remarkable. There might be a legitimate reason why Ryu was with him after all.* "Let’s not get into that kinky stuff in a public place."

"Stay back," Ken warned when the man advanced on him. "I didn’t understand until now. Even if you hadn’t been acting like a jerk, I still would have seen this eventually. I recognized those voices in my head…they weren’t Ryu’s. But, you aren’t Ryu, are you?"

"Very clever. I didn’t expect you to catch on so soon. Ryu did. He said that you weren’t as stupid as I presumed you’d be. But, then again Ryu is dead. Now, what are you going to do with your faithful protector drowning in his own blood? I have an idea. Why don’t you join him." As Ken attempted to crawl away, Dark Ryu summoned his powers once more.

End of Chapter 7