"What do you mean, there's a new stipulation for K. an opponent?" Ryu asked.
"Read it yourself, man," Ken said. He handed Ryu the promotional packet given to all fighters entering the World Tournament. The two friends were right outside the offices for sign-up. They'd been in every entry of the tournament since it's inception, and so neither had been expecting a radical shift in the rules. Ken, however, had a huge grin on his face as he watched Ryu read.
" . . . this is . . . ludicrous!" Ryu read it over again in case he'd misunderstood something. He hadn't. "You mean, the only way to legally defeat an opponent now is to . . . "
"Is to beat their ass," Ken finished for him. "Give 'em a good ol' fashioned spanking until they submit. Heh, of course the way you force them to take it is left up to you, so I'm sure there'll still be plenty of martial arts here. There'll just be a bonus for winning now, and an extra taste of humiliation for the losers."
Ryu was still reading the paper and frowning. "I don't know . . . This seems so . . . "
With a laugh, the blond American slung an arm around his Japanese rival. "What's the matter, Ryu, getting cold feet? Afraid I'll whup your bare butt like I used to back when we trained together?"
"As I remember it was usually YOU getting punished, and over our master's knee," Ryu replied stiffly. He considered Ken's smirk. " . . . On second thought, maybe this isn't such a bad rule after all. Even at your age, you could certainly still use some discipline . . . "
Ken laughed again and gave Ryu's shoulder a squeeze. "That's the spirit, buddy."