In Memory of Gokuen
The reunion of two old friends, Ken Masters, and his long time sparring partner Ryu should have been a joyous occasion.
It had been a long time since these two friends and rivals had been together in one place, and with Ken's wife Eliza having joined them, it seemed like they had much to celebrate. Ryu couldn't deny being glad to see his friend again, unfortunately, there was not as much to celebrate as he'd have wished.
"I can't believe it." Ken was despondent. "Are you serious Ryu? Master Gouken is dead?"
"It's true Ken." Ryu answered, though his voice showed even he couldn't fully grasp it. "I wish it wasn't, but I saw it myself." He'd immediately checked his master's body and found no pulse. He was sure he had died.
"How…how did this happen?" Ken tried to grasp it, but he could only barely do so.
"I only caught the tail end of it, but he was fighting someone…I…I can't describe him. He was like some demon." Ryu still remembered the look the red haired man gave him after he'd slain Gouken. "He seemed to fight using a style similar to our own…but far more brutal. Even then, Master seemed stronger but…"
"What happened?" Now it was Eliza who asked. She couldn't help but want to know, hoping to help in in way she could. "Did you call the police?"
"I called them after yes." Ryu answered her. "Along It took a while since there aren't many phones at the old training ground. "As for what that man did…I've never seen anything like it. It was… well, you've watched Ken's matches Eliza, and I'm sure you know just what we can do." Eliza only nodded.
"Well, even if the police had been there, I don't think they'd have been able to stop him. He's just something beyond the normal authorities." Ryu continued. "That last move of his…I couldn't follow it at all. Master dropped his guard for a mere moment, and suddenly that was it. He was slain in an instant." He could never forget that horrific scene: Gouken prone on the ground, unmoving, while the monster who'd killed him stood over his body. Just thinking about it made Ryu feel sick.
"It's just…if it was anyone but you telling me this Ryu…"
"I think we all need to find a place to sit down. It sounds like you've been through a lot Ryu." Eliza cut in again. There was no lightening this somber mood, but at least she could lend some support to her husband and friend in this dark time.
"That's a good idea Eliza. I know a place we can go. You can tell us the rest of the story there Ryu, plus…we need to honour him as well."
"Yeah. Lead the way Ken." Ryu could agree on this. Paying homage to their late master was something he definitely wanted to do. Plus, spending some time with Ken and his wife would help him deal with his feelings on everything…
It would probably be the last time he had an opportunity to do so.
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They'd found a small restaurant and sat down to a meal, while Ryu gave them the rest of the story.
Once the more somber aspects of their get together had been dealt with, they decided to get move on to more upbeat discussion.
"Do you remember that time you challenged Master Gouken to a sparring match?"
"Oh…oh that massacre. Yeah, I remember." Ken winced at the thought.
"I take it it went bad?" Eliza was enjoying the stories of Ryu and Ken's time with their old master. Ken had told her quite a bit about those times, but she always got the feeling he embellished a little. "Because this guy told me that he won in 10 seconds and then was declared the king of Shotos."
Ryu started laughing.
"One word: Shoryuken." Eliza stared at him.
"Lets just say, it took Ken a while to get down from the roof and leave it at that." Ryu just smile, and Eliza started cracking up. Ken face palmed.
"Dude, we promised we'd never talk about that one!" Ken said.
"I recall you stating that nothing would be off the record." Ryu countered.
"Agreed. I want to hear more about this joker of a husband of mine." Eliza was having the time of her life. "Plus, he's never told me what a shoto is at all."
"Well, how about the story of the time I hung Ryu from the tree we used as a punching bag?" Ken mounted his counter attack, hoping he could take some of the heat off him.
"I remember that. Gouken found it hilarious. Said it would teach me to keep my guard up and mind my surroundings."
Ken smiled. "It was his idea."
"WHHHAT!" Ryu wasn't one for raising his voice, so when he flipped out, both Eliza and Ken collapsed, the latter barely holding back his laughter, while the former began giggling.
"Oh my god! I'm dying…" Eliza couldn't help herself.
"Ryu said the same thing. You never could handle wedgies." Ken said. Ryu grunted.
"That's not funny at all."
"No man, it's pretty funny." Ken said. "But that was the Master; stern, and a hard task master, but still a guy who could enjoy himself."
"It sounds like he was quite the man." Eliza wished he could have known him even for a moment.
"He was larger than life." Ryu added. "It's so hard to believe he's gone."
"I know. I mean, I always thought if the Grim Reaper came for him, he'd just give it a Shoryuken and then tell him to come back when he did some more training." Ken joked.
"I could see that happening." Ryu smiled. "He was truly one of the greatest fighters on the planet. The world is lesser for losing him."
"So…what are you going to do?" Ken asked.
"Excuse me?"
"C'mon Ryu! I'm not dumb. It's like you said: no normal authority could hope to catch the guy who killed someone like Gouken! With the things we can do, it'd be pretty unlikely for this dude to be brought in by some normal cop! You're planning to go after this guy aren't you?"
"…."
"That's crazy and you know it! And it's not like you to be so reckless either!"
"I know that but…I can't let this go Ken! This man slew Master Gouken, and he's using our style! If I don't stop him who will!"
Ken wanted to say something more; he knew exactly how Ryu felt but, he also had other things to consider.
"Well, if you're going to do this Ryu, then I think it's only appropriate that we come with you!" It was Eliza who broke the silence, saying something neither man had expected. She cut Ken off before he could say anything. "I know you want to do the same as Ryu, but you don't want to leave me alone! And I know you think it's crazy for me to want to go near any of this, but our vows weren't 'oh this is too hard! lets give up!' They were, 'until death do us part!' You always made it clear that Gouken was like a second father to you, and there's no way I'm going to keep you from getting closure, or sit on the sidelines waiting for you to come back either! So lets go!"
Ken was speechless.
"I think you've lost this one Ken." Ryu said bluntly.
"You stay out of this!" Ken said. He turned back to Eliza. "I …I honestly don't know what to say honey. This…this is dangerous on a level that even I'm unsure about. Are you positive about this?"
"About you going with Ryu, or me going with both of you?"
"Both."
"As sure as the day I married you dear. Whatever we do, we do together."
"Definitely lost." Ryu repeated. Ken gave him a dirty look, but it didn't last.
"Alright. I guess we're in. I thought I was supposed to be the crazy one."
"You are." Eliza said. "It's one of the things I love about you."
"Alright then! Master, I swear that, whoever it was who took your life, we'll find him and bring him to justice, no matter the cost!" Ken raised a glass, and his best friend and wife did the same.
"To Gouken!" He said.
"To Gouken!" Ryu (who was just drinking water) and Eliza repeated.
"May he watch over us, wherever he may be." Ryu added.
"And may he achieve a perfect victory against the Reaper!" Eliza joked.
Ken laughed again, and Ryu just smiled.
"Oh, I'm sure he will. I'm sure he will."
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Phew. It's been a while. When I started this account, I expect to have some regular stories up, but real life (and laziness) got in the way, and here I am only posting my second tale. This was inspired by a similar scene from the Udon Street Fighter comic. I wanted to put my spin on it (and spread around my personal theory that Gouken could beat up the Grim Reaper himself XD), so here it is. I actually think I wrote this sometime in 2015 or 2016 two, so it took me a few years to actually put it up. It's short, and will likely get lost in the shuffle, but for those who do read, I hope you enjoy.