Work Text:
Under their shadow
South Town
The Sakazaki Dojo
Tuesday, 9:15 PM
After a long afternoon of giving Karate lessons to a small Group of students every hour after lunch, Ryo Sakazaki is busy putting all the equipment away to call it a day. He's wearing his trademark orange gi, a bit of flair he decided on to contrast with the more old fashioned white gi which, albeit being considerably more rooted in tradition, he considered to be boring. How could the instructor of a karate school claiming to be about ‘Extreme Style’ sport a look that was so dull and played out? It couldn’t be him!
Ryo hears a familiar voice coming from the entrance door that greets him with a playful tone:
"Are you done cleaning those floors there, Ryo Sensei?"
The familiar voice belongs to Robert Garcia, a long time friend to the Sakazaki family, and also practitioner of the Kyokugenryu School of Karate started by Ryo's father, Takuma.
"What brings you here Garcia? Last lesson ended at 9, and you haven't been here in a hot minute," Ryo reproached. "I get that Tournament Season is a few months away, but if you're gonna be representing our way of Karate, you can't be slacking off and show up only when you have spare time, you know?"
"Hey, relax buddy. I'm back!" Robert replied, as he adopted an open posture, extending his arms as if to receive the lecture he knew he had coming. "I'm back, I'm here now, and that's all that matters," Robert continued in a conciliatory tone. "I've been stretching every morning you know?" And as he said this, he moved into a side facing kick stance. "You couldn't escape my kicks fast enough if you tried, Sakazaki!"
As he finished articulating the sentence, he threw two kicks at a safe distance from Ryo's head. Robert's legs extended fast enough for his pants to make a distinctly audible whooshing sound. Ryo was startled, but not necessarily impressed.
"Look Bobby, you and I know you've got talent. Let's get that out of the way," Ryo said in a stern tone. "But when we're out there in the public eye, people don't just see 'Robert Garcia', millionaire, playboy, philanthropist. They see a member of the Kyokugenryu Team. That's our legacy, the ‘Extreme Style’ developed by Takuma Sakaki," said Ryo, while staring directly into Robert's eyes. "That's my name on the line too. My reputation, this dojo, our livelihood."
It’s pretty evident that the responsibility of keeping the Sakazaki Dojo running the way it should rests entirely on Ryo's shoulders, and it’s getting to him. Every day he carries out his duties with almost military discipline, to remain a reputable master to a small group of apprentices that help him pay the bills. Robert's more laid back attitude towards life is the perfect match to help keep Ryo's balance when they spend time together. He notices Ryo's responsibilities are clearly wearing him down, so he lets out a quip to try to lighten the mood.
“Ryo, my man, you’re the best instructor around here. You’re not gonna lose students just because I skipped a couple of sessions!” Robert's voice sounded very carefree.
“A couple? Try a handful of weeks . And yeah, if we perform badly in tournament matches, that’ll definitely hurt the morale of the students. They’ll end up abandoning their lessons, and”
“Ok, ok, I get it. Point taken.” Robert interjected.
“And we can’t afford to lose any students. This Dojo is running on fumes as it is,” Ryo added.
“Look Ryo, if money gets tight, just say the word. I can pay you double for my lessons.”
“It’s not about that,” Ryo looked away and muttered, “that’s not going to solve things.”
“You know what? We should go out for drinks. On me, of course. It should help you unwind from all the stress around here.”
“Unwind? Rob, get serious, it’s Tuesday,” Ryo replied, annoyed. “You can’t buy me with your free drinks, or over paying for lessons you ain't even taking.”
"It's okay if you're not in the mood tonight, bud. We can go out some other day closer to the weekend, maybe?"
"Bobby," Ryo replied with an annoyed tone, "you don't understand anything."
"Anything? I wouldn't go as far as to say that. I mean, I've been around the block," Robert rebutted, in a slightly less relaxed tone, this time around.
"Yeah, you heard what I said,'' Ryo continued, as he picked up the last pad to put it away in the closet. "Waking up early to keep this place running, projecting an image of success, discipline, power. Being a sensei to many groups of Kyokugenryu students is something I take very seriously. Meanwhile, you have it all, and you don't even have to worry about paying your own bills."
Ryo finished that last sentence with a bitterness that left a tense silence lingering for more than a handful of seconds. As he walked towards the corner of the room to turn off the lights, Robert had finally come up with an answer of his own.
"So, you think I have it all." He said in a less enthusiastic tone of voice. He continued:
"Have you ever considered how 'he who has it all, has all to worry for'?. Even Shakespeare said ‘Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown’, you know?” Robert rebutted. The quote really caught Ryo's attention, as Robert rarely engaged in serious conversations, let alone in one that would elicit a quote from a historically renowned writer.
"There are no crowns here, Bobby," Ryo replied, "only the struggle of trying to make ends meet in this old Dojo."
"Well, at least Martial Arts are something you're good at, and that gives you a purpose," Robert responded with a defiant look, fixated in Ryo's eyes. "You chose this path for yourself, and everything about it has your name and signature on it."
"Kyokugenryu is my family's heritage, it's who we are," Ryo responded.
"Well, I didn't show up here for weeks because I was taking care of my family's business as well," Robert said, "so we're in basically the same position, don't you think?."
Sure, Robert's parents spared no expense to give him all he could possibly want without having money be a worry on his mind, but they never gave him a solid goal where to direct his energy and efforts. Everything seemed so meaningless against the prospect of taking over the family's highly profitable business, and following in his father's footsteps. The freedom that he craved for to forge a path of his own was not really on the menu.
Ryo took a moment to let those words sink in, and he was hit by the reality that neither of them were entirely their own man, they kept walking in the path that those that came before them had laid out for them… They were living under their shadow . Each with their own struggles that may not necessarily closely resemble one another’s, but still a burden to be borne.
And yet, their paths had crossed up and put them in this point where they are some of the most accomplished martial artists not only of South Town, but maybe even the entire World. Their talent and discipline set them apart, and made them regular competitors in one of the most distinguished tournaments — The King of Fighters.
After the brief moment of silence between them, Robert could notice that Ryo’s shoulders were no longer tense and realized his words hit home. In any case, Ryo’s claim resonated within him too, and put a compromise on the table. He proceeded to offer: “How about this: Let me come take the lessons along with the rest of your students this week and the next. I’ll be under your instruction no questions asked, and do things your way 100%. After that, next Saturday we can have a sparring session, and you can let me know what points about my technique I have to work on. I’ll catch up, but I gotta start from the bottom! What do you say, Ryo Sensei?”
As Ryo listened to his friend’s request, watching him out of the corner of his eye, proceeded to turn his entire body to face Robert directly, and with a stern but more relaxed tone in his voice responded: “We’ll start tomorrow at 7 PM sharp, and you’ll take the lessons with both the 7 and 8 PM groups. I bet they’ll be enthusiastic to see you around.”
“Well, I hope so,” Robert responded with a smirk on his face.
Ryo continued:
“I need you to show that extra effort to inspire them, and keep your wisecracks and quips to a minimum. I want everyone to be fully focused on the essence of Kyokugenryu Karate, understood?”
Robert looked down, made the tiniest of bow downs with his head, and replied with a small grin on his face.
“Understood, Ryo Sensei!”.
As they both started walking towards the door to leave the Dojo for the day, Robert bumped into Ryo’s shoulder softly, and as they stood right there very close to each other, Robert said in a low voice: “I’ll be glad to remind everyone who the Mightiest Tiger is,” to which Ryo replied with a defiant look in his face, but still in a playful tone “And when you’re back into shape, I will be glad to remind you who the Invincible Dragon is.”
Robert put out his hand in the form of a fist in front of Ryo, and quipped “Don’t threaten me with a good time, Sakazaki.” Ryo then bumped Robert’s fist with his own and answered:
“...Game on, Bobby.”