Bab 11: Onlooking
The CEO of Under Mount burst through Vincent's door only to see the man doing pushups to keep his body in shape. The overweight man was sweating from the run to his room, good news already spewing from his lips to assuage the extremely bored expression on his fighter's face.
"I have a match for you!" The American paused. His eyes gleamed as he hastily stopped his exercise and ran up to Ohta, almost manhandling him.
"A match? With who? Show me!" He nearly shook the poor man until his head popped off. Dizziness and nausea slowed down the information he was going to convey. Vincent belatedly realized that and stopped. He wore a sheepish expression at Ohta's deadpan annoyance.
"...It's this man. I know what you're going to say in advance, so just don't underestimate him." A piece of paper showed a general overview of Vincent's opponent. When the foreigner saw who he was facing, a strange expression appeared on his face. He was confused, not only because he's seen this guy before, but also because he didn't and still doesn't feel any real threat or sense of oppression from him.
It could be some form of deception given that his boss is saying not to underestimate him, but...
"Alright," Vincent nodded. He wouldn't underestimate him, but he'll let him get the first attack like he did for every fighter he's ever faced. It's just his style to go second. "Is that it?"
"I thought you'd be more ecstatic than that considering how depressed you were when I told you there'd be no fights for a month." Vincent shrugged his shoulders. He got over it. Getting bent out of shape over something for more than a day also isn't his style. "Considering you bothered me everyday."
'Did I really do that?'
"Well, that's fine too. I bring more good news!"
"Two fights on the same day? You shouldn't have." Vincent joked, knowing that his boss wouldn't do something that crazy.
Indeed, the fearful expression on his face told him what Ohta thought of that better than any of his words could convey. He rapidly shook his head. "Absolutely not! I only came here to tell you that the Fang is fighting today. Do you want to come see?"
Vincent narrowed his eyes in thought. There's the idea of him going in blind to raise the excitement he'll get out of the fight all while getting close to death, yet from all the hype surrounding this man, impatience is starting to build. Vincent wants to see this Fang in action. He gave a strong nod.
"Yeah. Let's go see. I need to know just about the legend whose unmatched, undefeated streak might end by my hands." Those words were nothing short of arrogant. Ohta helplessly shook his head right as he caught the fleeting smile on Vincent's face before motioning him to follow.
"By the way, where are your glasses? I really recommend you wear them so you can see the match clearly."
"Don't worry. I ran out, but I'll get some more later. Wearing glasses is just a running joke between me and another guy."
"Hm. If you say so." Ohta's skepticism only made Vincent shrug. He could explain that he had perfect vision, but it was more amusing to keep the misunderstanding up.
The car ride was longer than usual, around thirty minutes give or take. Vincent's left foot was repeatedly tapping the interior of the car. He made sure to keep it quiet enough that it wouldn't annoy his boss and the driver, so only he was annoyed by his own impatience.
He couldn't wait to see the Fang. He doesn't know his name, he doesn't know what he looks like, and he has no clue how strong or what his fighting style is. This blindness when fighting the man would've been arousing to the point of unconsciousness, but he unfortunately couldn't escape the whim of avidity.
The location of the fight this time was an abandoned building. The structure was worn from wind and rain, rust damaging the pillars and the ground. The smell of dirty concrete blasted Vincent in the face, prompting him to wrinkle his nose. Nobody else in the venue, however, was bothered by this because of the simple fact that they were waiting with bated breath.
They basically weren't breathing at all.
"Just from the fact that the Fang is fighting, everyone is silent? Now, I'm really glad I came." The American's expectations have been set to the max. Now he's just waiting for them to be surpassed as they should be.
Vincent's head snapped to the left, looking at a large man clad in a kimono. He was only slightly shorter than Vincent, yet his build was definitely no less than the American. His muscles almost made him fit in the clothes that seemed a size too large and his hands were massive as well. There was an odd languidness in his eyes, yet the aura of power emanating from him could not be understated. Vincent instinctively understood that this man was stronger than anyone else he's seen in the Kengan Matches so far.
A grin split his face. This is definitely someone worth fighting.
"Nitoku came back only to face the Fang?! He might as well give up before he's forced to retire early for good!!"
"You never know! This could be the day that the Fang loses."
"Don't even joke about that, idiot."
Vincent rested a hand on Ohta's shoulder. "Hey boss, can you give me a rundown on this Nitoku?"
"Ah, yes." The overweight CEO rose a finger and subtly pointed at the fit man. "His name is Tokuno'o Tokumichi. His gimmick, you could say, is to spread out his fights. He seems to retire after every fight before coming back many months later. He has eight straight wins though, so don't look down on him, you hear?"
Vincent nodded. "I can tell his strength just from looking at him."
"Without your glasses?" For Ohta to snark at Vincent means the man has gotten used to him. The foreigner smiled at that.
Suddenly, all chatter died down in an instant.
"It's..."
The temperature dropped by at least ten degrees. The pressure of the building dropped, like everyone was thrown into the eye of a storm. Unanimously, whether or not a person could sense fighting spirit, everyone turned toward the right where a titan of a man stepped forth in a bodysuit. His bare feet crushed the ground and the man's grave expression silenced everyone under its gaze.
"Well, well..." All except for one. Vincent chuckled to himself at seeing one of the strongest people he's ever met in his life. His hands shook, but not from fear.
The last time he trembled and sweated this hard was when his fighting spirit was lit to the maximum. In that fight, he threw everything he had and had orbital bones broken, ankle shattered, skull fractured, chest laceration, clavicle breaks, shattered shoulder, and a knee dislocated. He threw everything he had. He threw away everything in his mind, but the heat of the battle.
There were probably some other injuries he forgot from the concussion, but this Fang possesses the ability to do just as much damage.
While that was a burning volcano, the atmosphere this time rivals a tundra.
"The training this fighter must've gone through..." Vincent nodded to himself, fully satisfied. His expectations were surpassed. He no longer has any lingering doubts about participating in the Kengan Matches.
"Fang!"
"Fang!"
"Fang!"
"Fang!"
Shouts began shaking the entire building. The fighter who parted the darkness was the strongest man in the Kengan Matches. He had no equal and dominated everyone. Everyone here was going to see him do battle with another man, so their excitement was bursting through the roof.
This was the Fang of Metsudo, Kanoh Agito.
The old chairman's aura was overshadowed by his fighter, but everyone still noticed him later when he rose his hand. Cheering of the Fang was stopped and he merely said one word.
"Referee."
"Yes!"
The referee snapped to attention and performed his role with greater focus than he's ever done in his life. He's refereed matches where the Fang fought before, but he feels this one will be slightly different from the rest.
"Take your stances!!" His voice boomed.
"Begiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!!!"
The two men charged at each other with the force of wrecking balls.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone