章 17: A Minor Legend Begins
Vincent rested a hand on his neck and cracked it, wincing in pain all the while. He managed to hide his frown pretty well.
'I took too much damage.' He'll have to heavily sleep this off.
Just because he set the broken bones back in place, doesn't mean that the injury was rendered null and void. Vincent winced again as he set his clavicle back in place, the sound of two things hooking together reverberating in his ears. He rose the arm above the shoulder and was satisfied when he could do it with pain he could deal with..
The American hopped off the arena and strolled over to Ohta's location. His hands were resting in his pocket and his fighting spirit dipped to an extremely low amount with a slouch giving the appearance that he's not much of a fighter. It's not so much as him putting up a deception as much as this being a very comfortable stance for him.
There's also the fact that he was greatly satisfied with the battle. He went straight to low-energy power saving mode the instant it was finished.
Vincent's face showed surprise, however, when he noticed a reasonably tall man with bleached hair.
His width was all muscle. His muscles had muscles. Vincent was amazed that there was an Asian with this much muscle mass before he remembered Katsuya and then he wasn't surprised anymore. Including him, this man possesses a particularly dense stature.
His punches would definitely hurt.
Vincent donned his characteristic lazy smile and greeted the man with two fingers raised.
"Yo."
"...You really remind me of someone else." The large man's response had a hint of fond exasperation in its tone.
"A-ah, Vincent! This man is Wakatsuki Takeshi, the Wild Tiger. He's an extremely strong fighter in the Kengan Matches and the man who possesses the most matches in the history of the matches! He's a great symbol!" Vincent's boss was already explaining the man's fame, his hands flying in a jerky motion.
"How many wins and losses?" was Vincent's simple question.
"304 wins and 2 losses." Wakatsuki responded instead. Vincent looked over the man with a newfound appreciation. It was then that his expression changed and Wakatsuki understood a critical difference between the Aikido master he fought against before and the man before him now.
Vincent was excited to fight. He carried himself in a lazy way, but there was a fierce fighting spirit that shone with the light in his eyes.
Even if he was tired now, he would switch right to combat mode no matter his condition.
"Really now. That's illuminating. Hey Ohta, do you think you can schedule me a match with him soon?" The overweight CEO froze. His legs began trembling and his eyes were on the verge of watering.
He really hired a crazy man. He knew he did, but his absurdity seems to only be the surface hiding the many layers of increasing craziness dwelling within the man. He's an instrument of chaos that seemingly wants to die in Ohta's eyes.
The Wild Tiger coughed, making Ohta feel like he was saved. He spoke up with a disbelieving tone. "You want to fight against me soon with injuries that wouldn't heal soon? I recommend waiting a few months until you've fully recovered. That would be best for the both of us."
Vincent rubbed the back of his neck. "Mm, you're probably right, but I still want to fight you now. If you won't fight me though, then I'll wait a few months."
In the corner of his eyes, he noticed his boss's expression go through a rollercoaster of emotions.
It almost made him laugh. He truly did want to have a go at this Wakatsuki Takeshi, but he knows that fighting him while he isn't in the best shape possible would be severely detrimental. The chances of him winning diminish greatly in his current state. However, despite all of those disadvantages and the concern of his CEO having a conniption, the desire to fight even when Vincent is injured only increases the more injuries he sustains.
Fighting right at the border of death is such an enticing prospect. It's not that Vincent wants to die in a fight. He wants to prove that he'll never die in a fight. Even if he faces down the strongest man in the world and has his heart and lungs crushed, he'll continue standing and living in spite of all that. His pride and ego won't settle for anything less than surviving everything.
The Kengan Matches allowing deaths in-ring means this is the ultimate stage to prove himself. Vincent once again cracked his neck, a dangerous thing to do right after breaking it. The people around him whose eyes were still locked on him, shivered from that action. They all turned away from him.
"Come on Ohta. I need to rest after all this."
"Well then, it was nice meeting you Mr. Wakatsuki. We'll have to be going then." Vincent yawned and Ohta gave a light bow before the two departed the vicinity. The crowd in the venue began to thin as more and more people exited with the match still on their mind.
Some felt disappointed that it ended in a forfeit instead of one man dying or getting defeated while others are glad the match wasn't too vicious this time...though one of the fighters did have his neck broken.
One of the fighters, a wrestler to be specific, clicked his tongue as he just missed the opportunity to strike up a conversation with Vincent.
'Ah well, next time then! Maybe I could even ask my boss to hook me up in a match with him?' He entertained that thought for a period of time.
However, it wasn't only him who was interested in Vincent. Bosses of big businesses and corporations began trading information with each other, selling and buying stuff about the American. They needed to know their potential opponent and after today, they can't afford to lack anything about his fighting style. Where he came from, what martial arts schools did he practice at, his age, etc. Nothing could be overlooked.
There was also the possibility of poaching him from his current employment.
Vincent defeated Murobuchi Gozo, Hong Xiao-Hu, and now he defeated a man of the Kure Clan. Let alone the concept of third time's a charm, the third person he defeated was a proper assassin from the clan. They could no longer chalk things up to beginner's luck.
Just like that, the American's fame began to grow within the Kengan Matches.
"Why did you forfeit?" And naturally, Vincent's name became a little known within the Kure Clan as Reiichi was questioned by Horio. "The patriarch's a little annoyed that somebody was able to make one of ours forfeit."
The blond Kure could only rub the back of his head in consternation. "Well, for one, he was able to get me over a minor blockage I was being annoyed with in the art of killing. Another reason is..." The man hesitated for a moment before continuing anyways with a look of minor annoyance plastered on his face.
"It'd be difficult to defeat him without using the Removal. I need to practice the Clan's techniques more." The larger man, Hollis, hummed while cupping his chin in thought.
"I see. That is indeed a good reason, but now we have to go and prove to the world that we haven't slacked in the slightest just because one of us managed to be defeated by an outsider. ...Oh, before I forget, did he pass the test?"
"Yeah. He has hesitation in his attacks for some reason, like he's lacking confidence in his fighting ability, but his skill is good. His body is abnormally tough as well to shrug off a broken neck like that. There's something strange about it, but I wasn't able to figure out what."
"Patriarch will be mollified by that then. Let's return."
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