Chapter 59

The first bout was a random draw of names, which turned out to be Ellis and Rick. The women drifted over from the bar to watch and Sledge tried to intercept Jane, but she flowed smoothly around him and into Ken's arms.

Each man tossed a hundred into the bowl, then went out to the ring. As they limbered up -- or postured at each other -- Ken thought about the conversation he'd had with Sensei that very morning.

"So you're playing in Costa's fight club," he'd said.

"Not my first choice," replied Ken.

"Yes. As I understand it, Angelo Costa is very good at getting people to do what he wants," said Scott.

"I'm thinking of calling and declining," said Ken.

"That is, of course, your choice," Sensei had replied. "However, if you do decide to participate, remember that it is not only your honor that you're defending."

"I wasn't aware I was defending anyone's honor," said Ken.

"You are known to be my student," said Sensei. "Normally, it would matter little if you won or lost as long as you were honorable. Angelo Costa, however, is a different story. I expect you will do nothing less than your best."

"Why is Costa different?" asked Ken. "I mean, as long as I fight honorably, why would it matter if I won or not?"

Sensei said nothing for a moment, then:

"Trust me. It matters."

Ken brought his focus back to the present. One of the women, the one wearing an extremely short skirt and a mostly see-through top, was in the ring with a red cloth in her hand. She looked at each of the men, who nodded at her, then lifted the cloth and shouted, "Go!"

Ellis quickly moved in with a backhand to Rick's head. Rick blocked and tried to counter with a kick, but Ellis was already out of reach. The guy was pretty damned fast.

The two seemed reasonably well matched, with Ellis being a bit faster. Since each fight only lasted five minutes, they were eager to get some advantage. If no one scored even once, then the match wouldn't give either of them a point. No points, no chance of winning -- and the money still stayed in the pot.

Finally, Ellis managed a combination which forced Rick to step one foot out of the ring. Costa blew a whistle and declared a point for Ellis. However, neither was able to get the advantage after that and the match ended one to zero.

Now that the ice had been broken, anyone could challenge anyone. Ken would have thought that Sledge would have been all over him to fight, but it was Craig who gave him a challenge.

"You know," said Ken, "if you'd mentioned that we were playing for money, I'd have brought some."

"Too rich for ya?" asked Sledge, "or you just being a fucking pussy?"

Costa laughed. He knew Ken had more than enough money to cover the fights.

"Don't worry about it Ken," he said. "Not everyone carries cash. Just choose a color from the pile of chips. You can write a check or something later."

Ken shrugged and chose blue for his chips and tossed one in. Then he walked out to the mat.

For months he'd trained almost every single day. Even if he didn't go to Sensei's studio -- or Sensei didn't come out to the mansion to teach -- he practiced in the home studio, usually for a few hours. He and the rest of the Circle had trained at the mansion just this morning, before his talk with Sensei. But for all of that, the number of sparring partners he'd had was relatively low. Sure, he fought in the Sunday sparring session, but those were Sensei's best students, and he'd come to know them pretty well over the months. These people were brand new.

Ken walked into the ring and took his place, looking intently at his opponent. Craig was just six feet tall, but extremely heavily muscled. He'd probably be slow in general, but was surely slower than Ken. Still, he didn't move like someone who was muscle bound.

The woman started the fight and Craig rushed Ken, his intent to use a flurry of fast kicks and punches to force Ken out of the ring. He was a bit faster than Ken had anticipated, which meant that he had to block and give up a few steps, but only a few. As the man tried to continue his push forward, he found himself hitting the ground and trying to breathe. Ken had hit him with a front snap to his stomach and he'd never seen it coming.

Craig quickly rolled to his feet though and this time set himself.

"Nice shot," he said, showing that the kick hadn't actually hurt him. It probably had, but he wouldn't acknowledge it.

"Thanks," smiled Ken. "You..."

Craig didn't give him a chance to finish; instead he attacked with a combination that started with a feint to Ken's head with his right hand to mask the actual kick to the ribs he was trying for. The moves were fast and powerful, but now that Ken was prepared they weren't nearly fast enough. He ignored the fake and glided forward to brush the kick by him. The hand that brushed away the kick made a tight circle and Ken landed a heel palm strike (fingers to the side, of course) to Craig's ribs. Craig hadn't realized just how close he was to the edge of the ring, nor had he counted on the power of the strike, so he stumbled over the line before he could recover.

"Point!" shouted Costa.

Ken was somewhat at a loss once Craig got back into the ring. He didn't know very many submission holds. He knew how to fight from the ground -- which was where most fights ended up -- and he knew ways to get out of submission holds. But Sensei's training was more of the "put him down and get away" type. Putting Craig down probably wasn't going to work very well. He could do it, but knocking someone out or really damaging them was against the rules.

Craig threw a few more punches, more careful now with his technique. None came close to hitting Ken. Ken did manage to draw the man close to him, and get him out of the ring one more time before the match ended. Craig was winded, but Ken was not.

"You ain't gonna be pullin' that pussy shit with me," said Sledge, once Ken was finished.

"You mean winning?" asked Ken with a grin. "Who knows? Stranger things have happened."

Next up was Costa and Rick, and Costa dispatched him with relative ease. Rick fought like he was enjoying himself and wasn't really in it to win. Ken watched Costa very closely while he fought to see what he'd be up against. The man's moves were smooth and powerful -- clearly he was very experienced.

"Damn! Not such a good day for you, eh Rick?" asked Ellis when the bout was over.

Rick shrugged, clearly not caring all that much that he'd lost.

"Ya win some, ya lose some," he said.

"An' it's time for you to lose," said Sledge, smiling at Ken.

Ken just smiled and nodded towards the ring. He was under no illusions that Sledge would be honorable in the ring. He could be wrong, but he didn't think so. Sledge seemed like the kind of guy who would use every trick in the book as long as it wasn't too blatant.

The fight started and Sledge did the one thing Ken wasn't expecting. He just stood there and smiled, waiting for Ken to make the first move. Ken started to circle, and Sledge just turned to keep facing him. He noted that Sledge, for all his trash talk, seemed completely cool and calm in the ring.

Just to see what he'd do, Ken threw a lazy punch and the man, who swatted it out of the way with an amused look on his face. So Ken threw another one, but followed it up with a much faster kick. Sledge blocked it, then exploded into action with a powerful front kick and a flurry of punches, two of which were punishing body blows that landed. It also drove Ken out of the ring and lost him a point.

"Now we got that shit outta the way, you should just stay out," smiled Sledge. "That way I you don't get that pretty face all messed up."

Ken stepped back in the ring, wincing and holding his ribs. The second he did, Sledge attacked. Sledge was a much bigger man and had decided to depend on his mass to take Ken out of the ring again. Plus it was clear Ken was favoring his ribs from the hard blows Sledge had landed.

Ken was waiting though. His ribs didn't hurt all that much -- he'd been hit much harder by Eric -- and he was far, far faster than Sledge. He got in two shots to the floating ribs, then a much harder elbow to the man's back, and this time it was Sledge who went out of the ring.

"Oh you little shit, you're gonna pay for that," growled Sledge, quickly returning to the ring.

He looked pissed, but Ken was sure it was an act. Angry people tended to make mistakes and for some reason he didn't think Sledge made many. In fact, he was beginning to think most of the man's attitude was an act, and that the guy was actually quite cool and calculating.

They traded blows and blocks with Ken slipping the power of the other man's shots every time. He stayed well away from the edges of the ring, but was mindful of the timer. If all he'd had to do was put the man down, he could have done it. He was far faster and far stronger, although Sledge probably had him when it came to experience. But Ken wasn't about to display those abilities, not to mention the fact that really hurting someone in the ring was against the rules.

It was coming down to the end of their time. Sledge was soaked with sweat since Ken was giving him much harder run than he'd expected. Sledge had him by at least forty pounds of muscle, and that mass should have given him a huge advantage. But after the first few strikes, he'd landed almost nothing, while Ken seemed to be able to score whenever he wanted. Finally though, Sledge saw an opening and drove straight in with a punch that, had it connected, would have probably knocked Ken cold. Ken, who's back was at the edge of the ring, simply side-stepped, grabbed Sledge's arm and pulled.

It shouldn't have worked. Casual on lookers would have assumed that Sledge had over balanced himself and that Ken had taken advantage of it. Casual onlookers would have been wrong: Sledge was perfectly centered.

However, so was Ken.

He used some of his considerable strength and pulled while at the same time shifting just enough so that he tripped the other man who stumbled forward. Sledge had no time to recover. The power of the grip on his wrist and the force of the pull -- never mind the sneaky trip -- was enough to put him out of the ring. It didn't help that he essentially fell flat on his face once he was on the other side. The timer went off, and Ken was the winner.

Sledge was immediately on his feet, his fists balled at his side. Ken was waiting for him though and the man quickly calmed himself.

"That was some sneaky, low ball shit," he said.

Most everyone was laughing and clapping. Sledge was damned good and didn't lose often, even to Costa, who was the acknowledge champ of their little fight club.

"Sorry," said Ken. "Guy like you is just too big to play fair with."

"Yeah well I want a rematch," growled Sledge. "You won't get away with a chicken-shit move like that again."

Costa intervened.

"You have to wait your turn," he said. "I think Ken's next match will be with me."

"Sure," said Ken, "just give me a bit of time to catch my breath."

"Yeah, cuz you look like you're outta breath," muttered Craig.

There was one more fight, then a break while everyone got some water. The woman all cooed over the 'big, strong men'. Jane, of course, was all over her Master, pointedly keeping Elaine away from him. Elaine had been one of the first to walk over to Ken after the fight with Sledge.

"Don't use up all your energy," she'd purred, rubbing up against him and clearly not caring that he was wet with sweat. In fact, she actually ran a finger along his arm, then licked it off, making a yumming noise. "Cuz when you win I just know you'll want to have the energy to use me nice an' hard."

Jane slipped into his arms blocking out Elaine and stuck her tongue out at the other woman.

"We'll let you know when your 'services' are needed," she'd said with a lofty tone of voice, making a shooing motion at her. It was clear she was kidding, and Elaine just laughed and walked away.

"Just remember slut," said Elaine, wiggling her ass as she walked away, "if Angelo wins, I'm gonna get to play with you too. And I play hard."

Jane smiled and gave her a sweet little finger wave.

"You look like you're having fun, Master," whispered Jane.

"It's a little nerve wracking," he said in a low voice. "I can win this, but I don't know if I should."

"You should let me fight," she whispered. "I'd love to get my hands on Sledge."

"That's not happening," replied Ken.

"I know," she replied with a melodramatic sigh, "I'm just a trophy for your use."

"And how would you feel if Costa was the one to use you tonight?"

"If that's your wish," she replied, then added in a thoughtful tone, "but honestly, I don't think you should lose today. Lose one or two, but I think coming out the overall winner would be a good thing. Plus, I rather doubt that Sensei would be happy if you didn't."

Ken looked at her startled. Sensei had said as much to him, but he had no idea where Jane had come up with that idea.

"What would make you think that?"

"Honor for our Studio and our Sensei is at stake," she said, as if it was completely self evident.

"You've been watching too many Bruce Lee movies," Ken replied.

"Whatever," she said, waving her hand dismissively in the air. "But if you lose I'm betting Sensei's gonna be pissed. And your next sparring match with him will be ... uncomfortable."

Ken sighed, but knew she was right.

The men were gathered around the ring again and Jane and Elaine were leaning against the bar watching.

"Angelo's gonna win you know," said Elaine.

"Would you care to bet on that?" asked Jane.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well ... if Angelo wins, you come and play with us for twelve hours," said Jane. "If Ken wins, you can have me all to yourself for the same amount of time."

"Wait, what?" said Elaine surprised. "That doesn't make any sense."

"That would depend on my goal, now wouldn't it?" smiled Jane. "Ken's going to win -- not only this fight, but overall. I'm sure he's going to want you as part of his winnings. I thought you'd appreciate a chance for just you and me to play."

Elaine's eyes narrowed. She knew that Costa always played to win but she also knew he wanted her to get close to Ken and Jane and find out what she could about them. Ken was good, but Costa was better -- far better. He rarely lost a fight and he wasn't going to this time. Since he also would win the overall -- and no doubt pick Jane and her as his winnings -- taking this bet would get her close to both Ken and Jane for an evening. It wasn't the ideal situation, but she'd take what she could get.