By Eli-Kun

Two teenagers got into similar fighting stances. One of them was American. He had blonde hair that almost reached his shoulders. He grinned at his opponent, a Japanese boy.

"So Ryu, shall we begin?" the American asked.

"Sure, Ken" Ryu responded.

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Why am I always the one to make the first move?"

"You're impatient." He grinned back at Ken. Ken raised an eyebrow, which didn't match his blonde hair. He shifted his weight and crossed his arms. Ryu stayed in his defensive fighting stance.

"Intentionally leaving an opening to get me to attack? I'm not falling for that" Ryu said. Ken stuck his tongue out as a response.

"Are you afraid to attack me?" Ryu asked.

"No, just tired of it. We should do something different for a change." Ken responded.

"You are afraid."

"Am not! Anyway, if not attacking makes me afraid then you've been afraid of me all this time."

"Huh?"

"I'm not explaining anything to you."

Ken suddenly lunged at Ryu during the brief moment his guard was let down and pulled down the pants of his Gi. Ryus' face turned bright red with anger and embarrassment. Ken burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Hey Ryu, nice butt!" Ken guffawed. Ryu narrowed his dark eyes as he readjusted his Gi. Ken was still laughing when Ryu tackled him. Ken responded by placing his foot on the other boys' abdomen and flipping him. They both quickly got up and resumed their stances.

"Finally, I'm getting some action" Ken said as he blocked a jab-reverse punch combination. He did a simple forward kick, which Ryu dodged by sidestepping.

Ryu followed it with a foot sweep, which Ken jumped over. He turned that into a jumping forward kick. Ryu grabbed his foot and twisted. Ken landed on his hands. Ryu let go before the other boy could bring him down with him. Ken did a quick handspring to get back to his feet.

"I'm taking you down" Ken said. His sparring partner smirked at this remark. Ryu did a swift roundhouse kick which, Ken ducked under. He did an uppercut, which Ryu avoided. They continued to spar in this manner. They blocked and dodged eachother's attacks. Gouken watched his students train. He noticed that neither of them were holding back. These two seemed to be the most dedicated of all his students.

"Ken, Ryu that's enough for now." Gouken said.

"Hai, sensei" they both responded. They bowed to eachother and to him. Gouken went off to meditate, leaving Ken and Ryu to themselves. Ryu resumed training. He was practicing basic moves. Ken sat cross-legged and stared at him punching and kicking at air.

"Hey, Ryu!" Ken called to him. Ryu didn't seem to hear him. He continued to train as if nothing else mattered. Ryu never seemed to do anything but train. He certainly wasn't much for conversation. He was possibly lost in thought most of the time.

"Ryu!" Ken continued to try to get his attention, "Hey you! The guy with the cute butt!" Ryu looked to see if his Gi was still fully on then he looked at Ken. Ken laughed. Ryu lunged at him. He rolled out of the way.

"C'mon Ryu, take it as a compliment" Ken said. Ryu glared at him. Ken glared back, before sticking his tongue out. Ryu laughed.

"Ken, don't you ever take anything seriously?" Ryu asked.

"Sure, I do. This is just more fun." Ken responded, "you should learn to lighten up."

"Lighten up?"

"Yeah. Don't you ever think of anything other than training?"

"Of course."

"Like what?"

"Things."

"What kind of things?"

"Um, I'm not sure I could tell you."

"Why?"

"Uh..."

"C'mon, we're friends. You could tell me anything."

"Promise you won't make fun?"

"Well, I might tease you a little but nothing beyond that." This made Ryu seem more nervous. Ken became serious.

"Ryu, what is it?" He asked.

"Uh Ken, can I ask you something?" Ryu asked.

"Sure" Ken responded.

"Have you ever kissed anyone?"

"Why? Is there a girl you like in a nearby village? Ryu has a girlfriend! Ryu has a girlfriend. Ryu has..."

"Ken!! I'm serious!"

"Okay, okay. Actually, I have but it was a while ago, before I met you."

"What's it like?"

"I can't really explain. Sometimes it could be really nice. I can't describe how. You've never kissed anyone?"

"Don't know how."

"I could teach you." Ryu's eyes widened then narrowed at Ken's remark.

Ken smiled at him and looked into his eyes. He gave Ryu a look that said "Trust me". He took Ryu by the hand. He used his other hand to tousle the short, spiky black hair of the other boy. Ryu started to blush. He gulped before asking what Ken was doing. Ken didn't answer. He simply tilted his head and kissed his shocked friend on the mouth.

Ryu felt Ken's lips touch his. He never experienced anything like this before. His heart seemed as if it was about to jump to his throat. He put his arms around the American and returned the kiss. It seemed as if their lips were melding. His mind was becoming blank. They eventually broke away panting. They were both so intent on the kiss that they forgot to breathe.

"So, how was that?" Ken asked. Ryu was speechless. He was still trying to catch his breath. His face was flushed. He probably would've collapsed if Ken wasn't there to support him. Ken looked at him with concern.

"Ryu, are you okay?" Ken asked.

"I…I...I'm fine" Ryu stammered as a response.

"You sure?"

"Y...Yeah." Ryu suddenly smiled, "I liked that".

"Good, now you try."

"Nani?"

"I wanna see what you learned."

"Are you serious?"

"Kiss me."

"Um, Okay."

Ryu kissed him with some hesitation. His lips lightly touched those of Ken. his kiss gradually deepened. This time Ken was the one who blushed.

"How was that?" Ryu asked when they broke away.

"Uh…that was good for a first attempt."

"That's all you could say?"

"Uh..."

Ryu smiled at Ken, looked into his eyes and said "I guess I didn't do it right. Could you teach me again?"