Ken sidestepped a punch from Little Mac and responded with one of his own. Little Mac ducked, and got hit with a Shoryuken for it. The attack sent Little Mac down for the count. Ken walked over and offered his hand, Little Mac took it and got back up on his feet. "That was a good fight. You and Ryu may have the same moves, but you don't use them the same way. Ryu's a lot safer than you," Little Mac said.
"Yeah, he complains about me being too stylish sometimes. You did good, I've fought boxers before and you're a better fighter than some I can name. You've got a long way to go before you can beat me though," Ken said.
"We'll see about that, next time we fight you're going down," Little Mac said.
"I'll have you know my last name is 'Masters' for a reason," Ken said. The two of them made their way into the halls of Smash Mansion and towards the dining hall. "Anyway, how has Ryu been doing here? He doesn't talk about himself that much."
"He's a nice guy, a little hardcore though. I don't think I've ever seen him do something that isn't about fighting. It's kind of hard to talk to him sometimes," Little Mac said.
"That's Ryu alright. He has all of these different worlds open to him and all he cares about is who he can fight and where he can train. Honestly, I'm a little worried about how little he's changed, even after some of the stuff he's had to go through." Ken said. He had been proud of Ryu for overcoming the Satsui no Hado, but he was still worried for Ryu's future. From day one Ryu had always been a little old fashioned, or archaic to put it less kindly. As the world kept developing there was a chance he'd just be left behind, and Ken didn't want to let that happen. There was no Shoryuken without Ryu or Ken.
The dining hall was already crowded when Little Mac and Ken arrived, the two of them split up after walking through the door. Ken grabbed an open seat next to Ryu and served himself some pasta. Ryu's plate was full, but rapidly had its contents depleted and refilled by Ryu. "How was your fight with Little Mac?" Ryu asked.
"You were right, he has a ton of talent. His fighting style is a little boring, but he knows how to adapt. Still, he's only as stylish as his opponent," Ken said.
"That's because he knows what to focus on, unlike some people," Ryu said.
"Hey, you're not slipping that one past me. From what I hear Little Mac can read you like a book now," Ken said.
"That's why I've been practicing some new techniques. Once Little Mac realizes all you care about is being flashy, he'll take you down quick," Ryu said.
"I'm not flashy, I'm stylish. There's a difference," Ken said. Both Ryu and Ken laughed at that.
"How have Elisa and Mel been?" Ryu asked.
"Great. Mel is growing up fast. You really need to visit more, he keeps asking if Uncle Ryu will be visiting for Thanksgiving, and then he's probably going to start asking about Christmas," Ken said.
"When are those? You know I've never been one to keep track of the holidays," Ryu said.
"The fourth Thursday of November and December 25th. You have a smartphone now, you have no excuse for not knowing the date anymore," Ken said.
"Honestly I just leave it in my room most of the time. I can never figure out how to use it," Ryu said.
"You really need to get with the times Ryu. There's no point in using your fist for the sake of the future if you don't stick around to see it," Ken said.
"That's the only path there is for me. I may not be able to visit your family for the holidays, but I'll use my strength to make it so that you can spend it with them. I'm not just training to become stronger anymore, I'm becoming stronger so that I can make a better world for Mel and the next generation. I know my path may look unchanged from your perspective, but I know and accept what's waiting for me at the end of it," Ryu said. It wasn't necessarily the words that made Ken frustrated, it was how Ryu said them.
"My idea of a better world is one where you visit my family for Christmas every year, or even have a family of your own. I think it's pretty lame to wield your strength for the sake of others and then stick to yourself for the rest of your life," Ken said.
"It's not that I'm avoiding people, you know me better than that Ken. I just want to keep moving and challenging more people. That's why I don't have as many chances to visit you as you'd like," Ryu said. Ken grunted and turned his concentration to the pasta in front of him. He didn't accept defeat, but further arguing was futile at that point. Ryu wasn't a man of words, he was a man of action. An argument would have to be backed up by action to make any real impact on Ryu.
The tension quickly defused when Ken shifted the subject to complaining about how much of a stick in the mud Guile was, though it couldn't be denied that Guile was a good uncle to Mel. From there Ken mentioned the rumors of some monster raiding old Shadaloo bases, and talked about how his first day at Smash Mansion had gone so far. When Ryu had finally eaten his fill he got up and left to do some training. Ken stayed behind for a chance to talk more with the other Smashers.
"What I am going to do with you Ryu?" Ken asked himself. He looked around the room and listened to distract himself. Richter was talking to some of the others about his girlfriend back home. That's when it hit Ken. "I guess I have to get Ryu's foot in the door for him and play matchmaker. If he got a girlfriend and then a wife, he'd have to think about something that isn't fighting."
"Did somebody say matchmaker?" Robin asked. He had been seated next to Ken during the entire conversation with Ryu.
"Were you eavesdropping?"
"I'm sitting right here, I didn't have much choice in the matter. Anyway, if you want to play matchmaker I have quite some experience with that," Robin said. Chrom and Lucina groaned in unison at that.
"Then let's get started. So, who are our options? There's no way all of these women are single," Ken said.
"Let's see, for eligible singles we have Lucina, Samus, FT, Kamui, Bayonetta, Palutena, and Rosalina. As you can see both Chrom and Lucina herself are giving us death glares so she is off the table. I don't want to imagine what happens when FT and Ryu end up in the same room so definitely not her. As goddesses Palutena and Rosalina are probably out of his league. So that leaves Kamui, Bayonetta, and Samus," Robin said.
"I don't think either Bayonetta or Samus have the time for romance, and neither does Ryu," Chrom said.
"Kamui it is then," Robin said.
"Wait, Robin no, that was supposed to be shutting you down not helping you," Chrom said.
"This is what you get for all of those times you placed yourself in far more risk than necessary. Besides, Ryu not being the type for romance is why we're doing this in the first place. Come on Ken, we need to plan our strategy in private," Robin said. He and Ken departed from the dining room as Chrom facepalmed and Lucina sighed. Reflet saw them leaving from her spot on the other side of the dining hall, and quickly ran to catch up with them as they walked down the halls toward one of the lounges.
"Brother, who are we playing matchmaker for?" Reflet asked.
"Ryu. Ken thinks he really needs to get into a relationship so we're going to provide Ryu a little push," Robin said.
"Now that is going to be a challenge. Just like when we had to get Tharja off your back by pairing her with Libra. Except instead of a one track mind we're dealing with one of the densest objects in the universe, Ryu's head," Reflet said.
"You know as his friend I feel like I should fight you for that, but I can't exactly argue against it," Ken said. He pushed open the door to the lounge and let the twin tacticians get in first. "Now, if Ryu is ever alone with somebody he's definitely going to try and train with them. We need some way to cut him off from that without actually being there," Ken said.
"Maybe we could unleash some Risen on them while they're alone, and then Kamui can fall for Ryu as he heroically defeats all of them and protects her," Reflet suggested. Ken and Robin gave her a harsh look. "It was just a joke, come on Robin, do you really believe I'd go that far for our matchmaking addiction?"
"Maybe we can arrange some kind of special event, then give Kamui and Ryu seats right next to each other and away from all of their friends. We can put them between K. Rool and Wario so they don't talk to anyone else. Inkopolis has a lot of bands, we could try to get some to perform at the mansion," Robin said.
"Ryu isn't the type to attend a concert, trust me. If it isn't a fighting tournament he won't show, and if it's a fighting tournament he'll compete. We have two versus two battles here right? Why not find some way to pair Kamui and Ryu up for those?" Ken asked.
"It's going to take way more than that for the likes of Ryu. What we need is for them to train together and then distract them with something at least vaguely romantic. Like surprise fireworks, or maybe we could tell Ryu about all of those abusive, guilt tripping letters Kamui has been getting, and then he'll comfort her," Reflet said.
"I'm missing a lot of context here," Ken commented.
"Kamui and her twin Corrin are royalty being fought over by two different families they have connections to, they fled to Smash Mansion in order to get away from all of that. Unfortunately, Master Hand is big on cross world communication, so there's been a non-stop stream of letters begging them to come back," Reflet said. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
"I think Kamui needs a lot more than just a boyfriend from the sound of it," Ken said.
"But don't you see, having a boyfriend would help her out greatly. If those siblings of her ever find their way here then Ryu can walk up to them and go 'hey my girlfriend said she didn't want to talk to you so back off, you don't really care for her the way I do,' and then Ryu and Kamui will have children who can combo the Shoryuken into assuming their dragon form and will establish a dynasty of-" Kamui was interrupted by Robin punching her in the gut. She leaned against the wall for support. Ken raised an eyebrow.
"Don't worry, I always do this when she gets like that. It's just another Tuesday for her," Robin said. Ken wondered what kind of weirdos he had gotten himself involved with. At least they were the entertaining, mostly harmless, kind of weird.
"Let's just start with Ryu and Kamui training together for now. There's no way Ryu is getting in a relationship with someone who can't give him a good fight," Ken said.
"Right, simple steps, and I'll keep the fantasizing to myself," Reflet said. The trio of matchmakers walked out into the hallway, where they saw Corrin walking somewhere. "Oh Corrin, what a coincidence, do you know where your sister is?" Reflet asked.
"She said she wanted to try training with Ryu by the lake out back. She wanted me to go with her, but I made a promise to visit the museum with Meta Knight," Corrin said. Ken, Reflet, and Robin all exchanged looks with each other.
"Oh, I see. Guess we'll talk with her later, wouldn't want to get between Ryu and a potential training partner. We're going to take Ken up to one of the balconies to try and get him into bird watching. Have fun at the museum," Robin said. Reflet and Ken followed him towards the staircase as Corrin continued on his way, oblivious to what was really going on. Ken had to slow himself down so he didn't overtake Robin.
"So where are we actually going?" Ken asked.
"The balcony, but we're watching Ryu and Kamui instead of birds," Robin said.
"I've got some special binoculars that can also let us hear what they're saying, I'll go get them," Reflet said. When they reached the top floor Reflet ran off to her room while Robin and Ken made their way to the balcony. They could see Ryu and Kamui in the distance, but due to the distance it was hard to tell what exactly they were doing. Reflet quickly joined them with binoculars in hand, there were only two pairs. She kept one for herself and handed the other to Ken despite Robin's protests. Robin crossed his arms and took a seat on the couch as Ken and Reflet stood by the edge of the balcony to use their binoculars.
"It's just, I feel so weak. I was told to pick a side, and I couldn't bring myself even to say no. When Master Hand gave Corrin and I the chance to run that's exactly what we did. That's why I want to train with you. You're always so confident and focused, if I could just have even a little of the strength you do, I'd be a way better person," Kamui said. She looked into the water of the lake. Ken instantly felt guilty for the eavesdropping. In his defense, he had thought it was literally just training. Not something as serious as that. He was in too deep now to look away.
"I'm still not yet ready to take a disciple, but I can train alongside you. And I don't think you're weak at all," Ryu said.
"You don't?" Kamui turned to look Ryu in the eyes.
"Everybody around you tried to steer you down a certain path, and you resisted them. That too is a form of strength, to stay true to who you are no matter how hard people try to force you to play their twisted games. It took me a long time to find that strength. Don't let anybody make you believe that you're weak, or that you need to play by their rules to become stronger," Ryu said. Kamui fidgeted with the pouch on her belt that held her dragonstone.
"Thank you, Ryu. Someday I do plan on returning to my own world with Corrin, and finding some way to settle this mess I'm stuck in. And we're going to do it our way. Though we may have no choice but to fight. When that time comes, would you be willing to help me?" Kamui asked.
"Of course, you'll need a few friends to stand by your side when you meet your siblings again. My strength exists to fight for the future, and when you fight to take control of your fate I'll be there. Now let's have a practice battle, maybe that will make you see you already have all the strength you need," Ryu said. Kamui laid her Yato Blade on the ground and assumed a fighting stance. She and Ryu charged at each other.
"Well, that's not exactly what we wanted, but at least Ryu seems to have said the right things to cheer Kamui up," Reflet said. She put her pair of binoculars on a nearby table and sat down next to Robin on the couch.
"Ryu really is looking out for people, just like he said he would. Not that I had any doubts. It's just reassuring to see it in action," Ken said. He was watching the practice fight through the binoculars. From how Kamui fought Ken could tell that Ryu really had made an impact on her. He had an unconventional way of making a better world, but Ryu was still getting results. It was also obvious that Ryu was going to win against Kamui, however that wasn't the point of the battle.
"So, what's the next step going to be? From the sound of it they got off to a good start, I never saw them interact that much before today," Robin said. He had taken a small tome out of his pocket and was flipping through it. Ken tossed his pair of binoculars to Reflet and turned to face her and Robin.
"Let's not force things too much. They met up on their own without us doing anything, we should just watch and not ruin anything with our meddling. I think I should have more faith in Ryu, even if I'm not going to drop this issue with him," Ken said.
He's definitely going to need a push if you want him to get romantic. Well luckily as a fellow lady-" Reflet jabbed Robin right as he was about to make a comment "-I'm in the perfect position to help give Kamui advice and pass it off as normal girl talk. You two can have fun trying to get through Ryu's thick head. After we watch them for a bit to make sure we know what we're doing obviously," Reflet said.
"Since you two are volunteering to help me is there anything I can do for you in return?" Ken asked.
"Unless you have a way to keep Ridley or K. Rool away from the teleporter room I can't think of anything. Those two keep on causing trouble, but since they're Smashers they never get put down for too long," Robin said.
"Ryu mentioned some of this to me. I told him not to worry about our world since we have lots of good fighters. Guile already knows to be on the lookout for people obviously not from our world, right now he's busy tracking down that weird monsters whose been raiding old Shadaloo bases and…"
"Are you okay Ken?" Reflet asked.
"I just realized something. I think Ridley may have made a few trips to my world already. There's been word of something that matches his description raiding a bunch of places that used to belong to this one evil organization, Shadaloo. Let me send a quick text to Guile, he'll be able to confirm that I'm right," Ken said. He pulled out his phone and sent a picture of Ridley to Guile. The response was almost immediate and exactly what Ken expected. "It really is Ridley."
"Of course it is. Whenever something happens now it's always because Dark Samus told Ridley or K. Rool to do something. If you want to stop Ridley you better catch him in the act, the moment he's back in the mansion you won't be able to touch him. Robin, go plan something to ruin Ridley's day. I'm letting Peach know about this," Reflet said. She got up from the couch and marched back into the mansion hallways.
"Could you put me on the phone with Guile? I think I have a plan on how to handle this," Robin said. Ken made the call and handed his phone to Robin.
It had been a long time since Ken had to go inside a Shadaloo base. "You know, this looks exactly like the kind of evil base that shows up in those TV shows my kid watches," Ken said.
"You're not supposed to talk while waiting to ambush someone," Robin said. The two of them had hidden behind an upturned table in the corner of the room. For an abandoned base it didn't show many signs of decay, the upturned table was one of the few signs that the base had been forcibly shut down. At the back of the room was a computer terminal, crouching in front of it was Guile. The sound of something inhuman approaching rang out through the base. Then Ridley walked into the room.
"So you're the one who's been raiding all of those old Shadaloo bases. I don't know what you want, but nothing with Shadaloo involved is any good. Surrender now or else," Guile said.
"Oooh how scary, you're crouching in a corner," Ridley said mockingly.
"Sonic Boom!" Before Ridley could react the wave of ki struck him in the chest and knocked him back. Snarling, Ridley took to the air and tried to fly around the incoming projectiles. Guile's Sonic Booms intercepted Ridley no matter where he went, each hit earning an even louder scream. Eventually Ridley had enough and tore through the Sonic Boom with his claw, then dive bombed Guile.
Robin readied his tome, but Ken stopped him from using it. "Flash Kick!" In an instant Ridley's chin and Guile's feet became intimately acquainted. Ridley fell in an arc towards the ground. "I can do this all day big guy," Guile taunted. Ridley pulled himself up from the floor. Before he could make another move Ken jumped up and fired a Hadouken at his head. That sent Ridley down for the count.
"I didn't even need to do anything, you two are good," Robin said as he got up and walked around the table.
"Always helps to have backup. Besides this ambush was your idea. So, are you taking this thing back to that mansion?" Guile asked, gesturing to Ridley's unconscious body.
"Actually, you can keep him for now. I bet there are a lot of questions your superior officers would like to ask him. We'll try to stall Master Hand's attempts to get him released as best we can, if you get anything out of him let us know," Robin said.
"Got it. Thank you for all of your help," Guile said. He held out his fist, Robin gave him a fist bump.
"You can head back to the mansion on your own Robin, while I'm here in my world I'll go home and visit my family," Ken said.
"I'll see you later then," Robin said. He activated the transport back to the mansion and faded from sight. Ken and Guile then began the frustrating work of dragging Ridley's unconscious body out of the base.
A/N: Street Fighter is another franchise where I had to do some digging on the lore, so special thanks to the Street Fighter wiki and one of my friends for all the help they gave me. This chapter may have a bit more comedy in it, especially compared to the previous one, but hopefully I got across the genuine concern Ken had for Ryu beneath the shipping silliness. Reflet has been a mostly comedic character so far, but she does have a serious side, it's just that the scenes she walks into happen to be the lighthearted ones. I don't intend to turn this into a shipping fic so don't expect to see actual Ryu x Kamui in a later chapter, though I may have accidentally sold myself on the ship for future fics so who knows. And I'd like to apologize for Ridley once again getting beat up, I guess it's kind of his thing now.
Next up is Incineroar.