Chapter 4: Growing Friendship
Little Mac raised an eyebrow as he watched Ryu scarf down his chocolate muffin. After he finished, Ryu grabbed some bread next and shoved it in his mouth. The boxer's nose scrunched up; he didn't even touch his own food since he was too busy watching the older man eat.
He sure has an appetite, Little Mac thought.
Ryu's voice interrupted Little Mac's thoughts. "Hey."
Little Mac whipped his head around to look at Ryu, whose gaze was fixated on Little Mac's food.
"You going to eat that?" Ryu asked, pointing at the burger that sat on the boxer's tray.
Little Mac nodded, forcing himself to smile. "Uh, yeah! I'll…I'll just—" he stuttered before grabbing his burger and taking a bite. The taste of the ketchup, mustard, and meat hit his mouth and he groaned at the delicious mixture of flavors. He was glad that Ryu had asked before taking the burger because he'd actually wanted to eat it.
Ryu shrugged, indifferent, as he continued to stuff his face.
As the two ate, Little Mac asked, "So uh…where you from?"
Ryu stopped slurping his noodles, a strand still dangling from his mouth, when he turned to face Little Mac. "Streef fither," he answered with his mouth full.
Little Mac's forehead scrunched up as his eyebrows lowered, his nose wrinkled in disgust. "Don't talk with your mouth full," he reprimanded him.
Ryu finished slurping up the noodles and he repeated, "I'm from Street Fighter."
Little Mac raised an eyebrow. "Street Fighter? Never heard of such a world. Do you go out in the street and beat up random people?"
Ryu chuckled, as a smile spread across his face. "Well, not really," he answered. "There were tournaments for fighters all around the world, including me. What about you?"
Little Mac took another bite of his burger and chewed it completely, swallowing it before he replied, "I'm from Punch-Out. I'm just a boxer who just…well, boxes to win championships."
"Ah, I see…" Ryu said, nodding.
They ate the remainder of their meal in silence, rising at the same time to walk out of the Smasherteria.
The two walked down the hallway in silence. Little Mac was panting and pulling at the sleeves of his shirt in an attempt to cool himself down. He stopped walking to wipe off the sweat that was dripping down his face.
Ryu stopped walking and turned to face the boxer. "You all right, Mac?" Ryu asked.
Little Mac glanced over at Ryu. "Y-yeah! Just—" Little Mac tried to respond, but Ryu interrupted.
"You're sweating. Are you sure you're okay?" Ryu raised an eyebrow, his voice filled with worry.
Little Mac nodded. "Yeah. Of course I'm fine! It's just...hot in here," he grabbed the collar of his black shirt and pulled it slightly to prove his point.
Ryu nodded in understanding. "Yeah, it is kind of hot in here," he agreed, untying his wet headband and staring down at it. "Do they even have any air conditioning here?"
Little Mac laughed and replied, "We do, but thanks to Kirby and Wario the other day, they're still broken."
Ryu chuckled as he tied his headband back around his forehead. "That sucks," he commented.
There was awkward silence between the two until Little Mac spoke up. "Say...were you holding back in our fight?"
Ryu stared at him, one of his eyebrows raised. "No. Why?" He wondered where the boxer was going with this.
Little Mac placed his hand at the back of his head as he asked, "Well...wanna spar tonight before dinner?"
Ryu grinned, nodding. "Of course."
"Good," Little Mac nodded as well. "I'll be waiting there."
It was sunset outside the Smash Mansion; the low sun's muted rays tinting the sky various shades of orange and turning the clouds a blood red. They filtered down over the Mansion, transforming its facade from the usual ebony color into a softer, burnished shade.
Ryu headed over towards the 'Outside Battlefield', which was a rectangular arena with compacted dirt as its surface. A Smash Ball symbol had been painted on the dirt, its white lines faded from the constant sparring that took place there. Surrounding the field were wooden benches placed here and there along the outer edge, for spectators to witness the sparring matches if they wished. Because of the time of day, the benches were currently unoccupied and Ryu spotted a lone figure, Little Mac, waiting at the field as he'd said he would be.
As Ryu neared the edge of the field, he could see that Little Mac had already started practicing, his fists flying as he punched Sandbag over and over again and after sending it soaring through the air with a final punch, he noticed Ryu behind him and turned around. "Ah, there you are," he said, smiling.
"Hey," Ryu greeted. "So, ready to spar?"
Little Mac nodded. "Of course."
The duo walked to the center of the arena and stood on opposite sides of the center of the Smash Ball image. Little Mac raised his gloved fists up and asked, "Ready?"
Ryu got into his fighting position. "Ready."
Little Mac lunged towards him, his arm extended out to the side, his fist heading straight for Ryu's face. Ryu sidestepped out of the way and swiped his feet under Little Mac, causing the boxer to fall to the ground, his jaw clenched in pain.
When Ryu began to throw fast punches however, Little Mac rolled out of the way and got up from the ground. Ryu rushed towards him and attempted to kick him but Little Mac placed his fists up, blocking every hit.
Ryu then grabbed Little Mac and kneed him before throwing him across the field. Little Mac hit the ground hard but quickly recovered and rushed back at Ryu. Before Ryu could defend himself, Little Mac sent a wicked punch to Ryu's chest.
"OOF!" Ryu grunted, falling to the ground.
"Had enough?" Little Mac taunted with a grin plastered on his face.
Ryu looked up at him and smirked. "Not yet!"
Ryu jumped up from the ground and with a spinning kick, struck Little Mac in the face. The boxer hit the ground on his back and before Ryu could punch him again, Little Mac hopped to his feet and crouched, swiped his fist under Ryu's feet, knocking Ryu to the ground.
Little Mac attempted to grab him then punch him but Ryu rolled out of harm's way, and as soon as he got up from the ground, Ryu retaliated by kicking him in the face.
"GAH!" Little Mac cried out as he was sent flying. The boxer then landed on his feet and before Ryu could land another hit, Little Mac got up and he sent a powerful punch at Ryu's face. It was Ryu who went flying this time and he hit the ground with a resounding thud.
Little Mac stood over Ryu, both of their chests heaving as they fought to catch their breaths, their hearts pounding from the intense match. Both of them were drenched in sweat and beads of moisture lined Little Mac's forehead, mirrored by matching drops falling down Ryu's face.
When Ryu attempted to get up, Little Mac extended his arm for Ryu to grab. "Good job," the boxer complimented with a smile.
Ryu's expression mirrored Little Mac's as he grabbed the boxer's outstretched hand. When Little Mac pulled him up from the ground he commented, "You did well too, you know. I respect that."
Little Mac placed his gloved hand on the back of his head, blushing. "Thanks…"
When they heard a bell ringing from the Mansion, they both knew that it was dinnertime.
"Well then," Little Mac said as he took off his gloves. "Let's go eat. All that sparring worked up an appetite!"
Ryu chuckled as the two walked back toward the Mansion.
The glow from the screen reflected back onto the man's face, causing it to turn an unnaturally pale shade. He watched the images of Ryu and Little Mac, trekking back towards the Mansion, his eyes narrowed in concentration.
He pressed a button on the console in front of him and the camera feed switched to a list of statistics for Ryu. A mockup of the martial artist sat beside the numbers and the man placed a finger on his chin.
"Ryu seems to have grown stronger since the last time we met…" the man commented, chuckling evilly. "I just need some more data so I can decide whether I could use him...in the meantime though, I'll just have to keep an eye on him."
Constructive criticism is welcomed!
Beta reader: h34rt1lly