Chapter 3: Ryu's First Match

After Ryu recovered from his injury, Mega Man showed him his room. There were two beds with white, fluffy pillows and purple sheets on each side of the room. There was a small refrigerator at the other end of the area, and there were two wooden dressers near the beds.

Next to the bed on the left, there were boxing gloves hanging on the wall. There were also a variety of weight lifting equipment pieces strewn about.

Mega Man chuckled nervously upon realizing who was Ryu's roommate. "Uh…I think you got Little Mac as your roommate."

Ryu shrugged. "I'm sure that I'll be fine. It's as simple as not making fun of his height, right?"

Mega Man nodded. "Yup. Anyway…I hope to see you soon, Ryu!" With that, he waved farewell to the man.

Ryu sighed, sitting on his bed as he took off his red headband. Staring down at it, he began to think of home…

Ken, Chun-Li…I wonder how they're doing?

Closing his eyes, he started to think of all the times the three were together, fighting in tournaments...

"HEY!"

Ryu jolted from his daydreaming. He turned to see the same, short man from earlier.

"Oh. Little Mac," he said, not minding Little Mac's tone.

"What are you doing here?!" Little Mac cried, his face red.

"Mega Man brought me here. We're roommates apparently," Ryu explained.

Little Mac stared at him. "Great…" he sighed, turning his back to him. "Just don't make fun of my height again. Or I'll punch you in the same place like before."

Ryu cringed, not wanting to think about the pain he felt earlier. "Note taken."

"Anyway…" Little Mac sat on his own bed, taking off his boxing gloves. "Whatcha doing in the Smash Mansion anyway?"

Ryu placed his hand on the back of his head. "Well…I was just invited."

"Invited, huh?" Little Mac asked as he grabbed a bar of chocolate from his pocket. Opening the wrapping, he began to eat it. "I thought that Master Hand was done with giving out invitations."

Ryu shrugged. "Apparently not."

"Well…welcome to Smash, I guess," Little Mac said, finishing his bar of chocolate and throwing the empty wrapper in the small trash can.

"You guess? Still salty from me calling you—" Before Ryu could say any more, Little Mac glared at him. Ryu immediately shut his mouth again.

Little Mac sighed. "Yeah. I guess so."

Ryu shook his head, amused by this man.

Then, a loud, booming voice was heard over the intercom.

"EVERYONE GATHER AROUND THE SMASH ROOM FOR A NEW MATCH! THE FIGHTERS ARE…RYU! AND…LITTLE MAC!"

Ryu smirked. My first match…

Tying his headband back on around his forehead, he looked down at Little Mac. "Looks like we're going to fight after all."

Little Mac's expression then mirrored Ryu's. "I'll show you what I'm made of," he taunted, chuckling.


The two entered the Smash Room, where there were bleachers full of the other Smashers. There were cheers all around, most of them calling Ryu's name. There was a large screen in the front. Another screen, which was just a hologram with a variety of stages showing, was near it. There, on a director-like chair, was a pair of large, gloved hands. There were spotlights on the ceiling that were shining down onto the screens.

Ryu gazed around in amazement. He'd seen tournaments with crowds and stages, but never one like this.

"WELCOME TO SMASH, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" One of the hands, who was shaking uncontrollably, called out. "IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER MATCH!"

The crowd roared.

"HERE WE HAVE…RYU FROM STREET FIGHTER!"

A light swiveled around to shine on Ryu and the man closed his eyes tightly. The crowd cheered again. Ryu opened his eyes once more and he smiled.

"AND…LITTLE MAC FROM PUNCH-OUT!"

Another light shone on Little Mac, and the younger male waved at the crowds.

"SHOW 'EM WHAT YOU GOT, MAC BABY!" a voice yelled from the crowd.

Little Mac waved at a particularly fat man with a darker skin tone, who was waving back.

"Wish me luck, Doc!" Little Mac called.

Ryu and Little Mac walked towards the hologram screen.

"Now…the two will fight in the Omega stage, Battlefield!" the other hand shouted.

The crowd once again cheered.

Ryu watched as Little Mac placed his hand on a picture of a small battlefield with two platforms. Then, an omega symbol appeared, and a portal opened up on the hologram.

The two fighters walked into the portal…and they were teleported to a large platform without the smaller platforms.

"THREE…"

Ryu got into his fighting stance.

"TWO…"

Little Mac placed his fists up, ready to strike once the timer runs out.

"ONE…"

The two stared at each other, both ready to fight.

"GO!"

Little Mac rushed towards Ryu. In preparation, Ryu crouched and began to charge up his Focus Attack. When Little Mac was close enough, Ryu sent out a powerful punch to his gut. Black aura came out of his fist as Little Mac fell to the ground.

This was Ryu's chance. He charged up a kick and his foot met Little Mac's face. The boxer grunted in pain as he flew slightly into the air.

Ryu tried to use his Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, but he barely missed Little Mac's head and the boxer took the opportunity to grab him, retaliating with a punch. He then threw Ryu to the ground and Ryu bounced up into the air.

He's tough…Ryu thought as he landed back on the ground.

Little Mac attempted to strike him in mid-air, but Ryu managed to use Shakunetsu Hadouken to burn him up. Little Mac fell back to the ground, and Ryu used another Shakunetsu Hadouken to hit him again.

However, it missed, and Little Mac got back on his feet. Ryu rushed towards him and sent a flying kick at him. The boxer cried out as he flew through the air. He jumped back down on the ground, and the two rushed towards each other.

Ryu stopped suddenly and when Little Mac got close enough to him, Ryu did a short elbow hit and Little Mac was once again sent flying.

When Little Mac went back to the ground, he got up and ran back over to Ryu, sending a punch in the other fighter's direction. The older man slid out of the way and got behind Little Mac.

Unfortunately, Little Mac turned around and struck Ryu with a flurry of punches. With the final punch, Ryu went flying.

Ryu hit the ground and next thing he knew, Little Mac was above him. He shielded himself from another flurry of Little Mac's attacks. As soon as Little Mac stopped, Ryu punched him into the air.

When the boxer returned to the ground, Ryu grabbed him, and after kneeing him a few times, he kicked Little Mac back up into the air.

Little Mac returned to the ground once again and Ryu attempted to use Shoryuken, but he missed and Little Mac grabbed him and punched him in the face. He then threw the older man up.

When Ryu fell back to the ground, Little Mac sent out a vicious punch which missed Ryu by just a hair.

Ryu charged up his Focus Attack again and punched the boxer in the gut. Little Mac said nothing as he fell to the ground, hunched over in pain.

Ryu then sent another flying kick at the boxer and Little Mac was sent offscreen. He screamed as an explosion was heard.

"ONE STOCK LEFT FOR LITTLE MAC!" a voice boomed.

Ryu saw Little Mac returning from a glowing platform and the boxer returned to the fray.

When Ryu approached him, ready to strike him again, Little Mac once again grabbed him, punched him, and threw him up.

As soon as Ryu hit the ground, Little Mac began assaulting him with a series of punches, sending him flying almost off the stage.

However, Ryu jumped back onto the platform and grabbed Little Mac. After kneeing him once, he threw him down onto the ground.

Little Mac recovered quickly and when Ryu was about to strike him, Little Mac ducked to the side and sent a quick air punch at his face.

Ryu recovered quickly and when Little Mac started to charge up his next punch, Ryu got up and swiped his feet under the boxer's, knocking him down.

However, Little Mac rolled behind him and with another powerful punch, made Ryu fly off the stage and offscreen.

Ryu returned from a floating platform, ready to fight once more.

"ONE STOCK LEFT FOR RYU! Oooooh, ladies and gentlemen, this is a close fight!" the voice boomed again.

Ryu jumped back to the main platform and ran forward to Little Mac. The two duked it out near the edge with punches and kicks flying through the air. As they edged closer to the ledge, a Smash Ball appeared over their heads. Little Mac was the first one to see it and he rushed towards it, trying to break it.

"Huh?" Ryu asked. However, realizing that the item was important, he also attempted to grab the ball, only for Little Mac to break it open with a final punch. His eyes began to glow and a strange, white aura surrounded him.

"OH NO!" the hands cried simultaneously. One of them then called out, "LITTLE MAC HAS THE SMASH BALL! RYU'S IN DEEP TROUBLE NOW!"

Little Mac then raised his arms and the glow around him intensified.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!"

With a loud cry, Little Mac transformed into a bigger version of himself, Giga Mac. He smirked down at Ryu, who attempted to kick him to no avail.

"Who's short now?!" Giga Mac called as he sent out a much stronger punch to Ryu.

Ryu screamed and he was sent flying offscreen again.

"GAME!" the hands announced.

Little Mac returned to his normal self and he was sent to the middle platform. Doc jumped into the arena, grabbing Little Mac's arm and raising it up.

"That gold is all yours, Mac!" Doc cried, cheering him on as Little Mac posed for victory.

Ryu was in the background, clapping for Little Mac with his eyes closed, as he reflected on the fight. He's a formidable fighter…I shouldn't have underestimated him…Ryu thought.

With that, they were sent back to the Smash Auditorium and Little Mac was off to the side, speaking to Doc.

"Hey." Ryu waved at the two.

Little Mac turned and smiled. "Good game out there, Ryu."

Ryu nodded. "You did well. I respect that. And…" the older man rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry for making fun of your height."

"And sorry for punching you…er…there," Little Mac apologized.

"Apology accepted." Ryu smiled.

One of the hands, named Master Hand, flew towards Little Mac, holding golden coins. "Here's your prize!" he exclaimed.

"Thank you," Little Mac said, taking the coins.

Master Hand turned to Ryu, giving him silver coins. "Better luck next time."

"It's quite fine." Ryu nodded as he took the coins.

Once the fighting was said and done, Ryu and Little Mac walked out of the auditorium.

"So, uh…" Ryu tried to say.

"Hm?" Little Mac hummed.

"I hope we get along for now. Even though our first encounter was…not so pleasant."

"Same, Ryu." Little Mac nodded, smiling. "Say, I'm starving. Want to grab some lunch?"

Ryu nodded. Food would be good for him after a match. The two headed out to the Smasherteria, chatting the whole way there.


A strange man wearing a dark-colored cape watched the two from a screen. Beside him were two large men, their gazes focused on the glowing monitor.

"So…Ryu joined this Smash Tournament, huh?" the man with the cape said, smirking. "Perhaps I could get more data from him…"


Constructive criticism is welcomed!

Beta reader: h34rt1lly