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A/N: 5/13 – I rewrote the beginning of the story.
3rd Person Perspective
The floor shakes and creaks as they move violently.
Sweat splatters on the floor, and the heat is rising like a fog.
“Ugh!” (Koichi)
The other man’s strong arms pinned him down, and he was leaning from above. Kure slides over Koichi’s body, who struggles to shake it off, as if sailing through a rough wave.
The two of them are entwined in a dizzying array of positions—and before he knew it, they’re nose to nose with each other, and there’s a sly smile on Kure’s face.
“Well, it’s over… Give up.” (Kure)
“Guu, ugh… Ahh!” (Koichi)
Along with Koichi’s death scream, the rose petals arranged in the vase fall.
Soon the room is quiet as if a balloon has burst.
Kure stands up quickly glancing at Kouichi who is still crawling on the floor and breathing heavily. He wipes the sweat from his muscular, marble-like upper body with a towel.
“Yes, thank you for your hard work. Shall we take a break?” (Kure)
“Ugh…” (Koichi)
Koichi is lying down on his back. He accepts the towel and water bottle from Kure, but he is not able to immediately get up.
This is a detached building on the grounds of the Hamada mansion. The group members and guests use it as a sleeping area, and on the first floor, there is a wooden training room. Normally, it’s around the time when Dago has too much free time and is busy with the underlings, but for the past few days, it’s been mostly reserved for Kure (and Koichi, who trains with him).
“Is your elbow okay from the arm-hold earlier?” (Kure)
“Heh, I’m fine. I tapped out before it broke.” (Koichi)
The technique of tapping at high speed just before the end of the game has become a part of Koichi’s repertoire. Though it is not something he is proud of.
“Let’s go for the next ten taps, shall we?” (Kure)
“Uh, okay…” (Koichi)
It was a game of how long Koichi could hold out before Kure took the first ten taps. The first time they did this, Koichi was able to get a lot more than just a few minutes of sleep.
“Shaa!” (Koichi)
After the break, Koichi’s movements were sharp for the first few strikes. His body was light, and his vision was clear. He is aware of the sharpness of the fists and kicks he delivers.
(Nevertheless…) (Koichi)
(Damn it!) (Koichi)
—Even so, he still can’t hit Kure. Ninety percent of his attacks are handled, and the remaining ten percent are blocked. At first, he was hesitant to aim at Kure’s face in practice, but now he has no hesitation in swinging his fist through Kure’s face.
“I see, I see, your steps are slow.” (Kure)
Kure, who had blocked Kouichi’s charge, took a light step and moved out of the way. He was now being told he was too slow, and that he was not to be afraid to take a step.
“Shaa!” (Koichi)
Koichi followed up with a short exhale and a left thrust, extending his fist at the same time as he stepped forward. Kure then swung his hand and was rebuffed.
Then, Koichi came in close to the opponent until they were nose to nose and landed a series of body blows. This, too, was blocked quickly with folded arms, and he was he received a shoulder throw.
(Why?)
(Not a single hit–) (Koichi)
A front kick, a spinning kick, a short hook, and an elbow strike–the techniques taught to him by his seniors in the Underworld Tournament are easily deflected, as if they were child’s play.
For “fighters” who do not have the ability to use hypha weapons (hard hypha), they may prepare other weapons, but they are usually not cost-effective (even more so for beginner hunters like Koichi). Therefore, they inevitably hone their fighting skills using their own body as a weapon.
Kouichi is an orthodox fighter who uses his hands and feet in a well-balanced manner (what is commonly known as “karate-style”). He has honed his skills through the teachings of his seniors and through the “killing blow rule” of the Underworld Tournament. He was aware that he was still lacking in ability, but at the same time, he was proud that he had experienced enough to be competitive with hunters of the same age and in the same level range.
But now…
He struck once again with a left-hand thrust. The moment his wrist was grabbed,
(Here it is!) (Koichi)
Koichi twisted his arm to tighten the side and pulled it in, forcing the restraints to come off.
(Now!) (Koichi)
Kure’s eyes widened as he was knocked out of his stance, and he followed up with a right hook to the face.
With perfect timing, a semicircular fist is sucked between Kure’s eyebrows—cutting through the air.
“Ah!” (Koichi)
In a split second, Kure closed in, one foot was caught, and Koichi was knocked to the floor.
“Ah!” (Koichi)
His fist is twisted around and forced to lie flat on his back, the soles of his feet almost touching the back of his head.
“Ah…” (Koichi)
He couldn’t resist and tapped the floorboards at high speed. Somehow, Kure let him go–before they break his lumbar vertebrae.
But this is the second time that the puny confidence he secretly held in his heart has been crushed.
“Yeah, well… normal or a little above normal, or something like that.” (Kure)
Koichi casually asked about his evaluation, but the answer he got was a refreshingly frank answer. Kure is rather absorbed in groping his right wrist.
“Um, then… is it okay if I’m here? Mr. Kure’s opponent should be Brother Dago or someone like him…” (Koichi)
“No problem. It’s just a matter of getting my body back in shape, so someone like you would be fine.” (Kure)
“Is that so?” (Koichi)
It seems like it’s being said too bluntly, but the fact that he was able to fulfill his role was enough for him to be satisfied for now.
“So, that’s the end of sparring today. I’m going to dive in a nearby metro area tomorrow to prepare for the real thing.” (Kure)
“Eh, ah, that’s a bit…” (Koichi)
Hamada has strictly ordered Koichi not to let Kure out of this city. There’s no need to worry about fleeing in front of the enemy or a sudden cancellation, but if something happens to Kure, it will affect the survival of the clan.
“If you want to get ready for the tournament, wouldn’t Brother Dago be better? The Metros around here don’t have such high-level Metro Beasts…” (Koichi)
Kure puts his hand over his mouth and makes a gesture to hide his smile.
“Well… there are some techniques that can’t be tested against humans.” (Kure)
Koichi was too horrified to reply. On the other hand, he is questioning whether Kure is going to use that technique in the coming fight.
“Going back to what I was talking about earlier, you are not bad at all. If you continue to accumulate experience, I think you will become a reasonably good hunter.” (Kure)
“Ah… Thank you.” ()
Koichi’s confidence didn’t even recover a bit, but if he thinks about it, he’s only about four or five years younger than Kure. However, the difference in level is around 30–this is the difference between geniuses and normal people, how harsh reality is.
“That’s why… Well, I really didn’t mean to get into your situation, but I’m just wondering why a promising young man like you is hanging out with gangsters. You’re still young, can’t you at least earn your own food?” (Kure)
It was the first time on the third day that Kure had asked Koichi a personal question.
Koichi wondered how he should answer. He might as well prolong the conversation to regain his strength.
“Um… I need money. I need money to maintain the place where I grew up.” (Koichi)
“I see.” (Kure)
Judging from Kure’s expression, it doesn’t seem like the question was just a casual conversation.
Then Koichi began to talk as if he had just opened the dam. He talked about the Yoshimoto Garden, where he grew up, the principal who took over for his parents, his younger brothers and sisters who live there, and the circumstances surrounding them.
“The management of the place also involves the director and other important people. If we lose this fight and lose the clan, I don’t know what will happen to… the garden. …So, for the sake of the director and the kids there, we can’t lose…” (Koichi)
“… I see, so that’s what it is. Interesting.” (Kure)
Sensing Koichi’s displeased expression that it wasn’t such an easy conversation topic, Kure hurriedly shook his head, saying, “Sorry, my bad.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. I didn’t care about the troubles between the yakuza, but I found two interesting things.” (Kure)
“Two?” (Koichi)
“This case is all about, ‘Let’s make it clear which side is under which’. The idea of black-and-white in a grey area tournament, but I was wondering why it was at this time of the year. I thought maybe the cancellation of the festival the other day had something to do with it.” (Kure)
The recent Sugamo Founding Festival was canceled for all subsequent dates due to one incident of “terrorist infiltration” on the eve of the festival.
The neighboring cities were notified promptly, but this did not stop the influx of visitors who were unaware of the situation, and the people of the city could not throw away all the preparations they had made for this day. The rest of the day’s events were organized by the [Peasants].
The rest of the day was consumed by the revelry of the citizens. Most of the stores did not even make half of their original sales estimates (the city council and the various associations are currently discussing “compensation” and “indemnification”), but this is an unfortunate case to backstreet residents such as the Hamada Clan.
Originally, the festival had been heavily guarded. Although thorough inspections were carried out to enter the city, including luggage checks, identification, declaration of address for Free Folks, and an increase in the city entry tax, this did not prevent terrorists and bandits who attacked the mayor’s residence from entering the city.
As a result, checkpoints were further tightened after the eve of the festival, and all Free Folk and those with stamps indicating criminal records were prohibited from entering the city. The stores in the backstreets and the events that Hamada Clan had planned were completely deserted. Hamada complained that he had not been able to get the 30% of the earnings he had hoped for, and the “Strangely Naked” was probably in a similar state of shock.
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