章 16: Unpredictable Outcome
Referees exist to call a match when it's done. Deciding on when a match is finished is up to their interpretation, but there are times when both fighters are conscious and a match is still decided. When an opponent is disabled enough that they can't fight or when they surrender, the referee is allowed to call the match without repercussions.
Vincent's neck was snapped. He is not conscious. He is unable to call the fight. The referee was slow to react, but he was going to carry out his duty.
"Uh...the winner–Ah!"
Reiichi nearly snapped his own neck at the speed he turned around. "How...?"
"I finally have a handle on your rhythm. Should've expected that I'd have to experience a killing move to see through a killer." A cracking sound reverberated, something akin to a lego pieces connecting.
Like a zombie, Vincent rose from a near-death experience. His snapped neck was snapped back into place with his own hands. His wide open eyes zeroed in on his surprised opponent. Vincent gave the man finger guns and grinned widely in appreciation for his abilities.
"You're pretty good, Kure! I actually blacked out for a sec there! It's been a while since that happened."
Make no mistake, Vincent is a human being, even if he can be a very strange one. Coming back from having a broken neck while only setting it back in place to resume the battle; resetting a broken arm while still maintaining full mobility with it was an oddity as well that served to prove Vincent's strangeness. An odd emotion swept through Reiichi's core.
It could be compared to excitement. He's a man who loves death matches above all else and he also loves martial arts as well. For there to be a man that can take a killing move and come right back up means that he has an extremely nice sparring partner if he can sucker Vincent into acting as one.
'He passes with flying colors. Now, the rest is bonus stuff.'
While the two fighters were raring to go again at each other, the unfortunate referee didn't know what to do. A man had his neck broken, which means he should call the match in favor of the one who obviously has a working neck...but what is this? What does he do? Does he just continue to watch the rest of the match?
He nodded to himself and steadied his tumultuous mind. His job as a referee is to see the match through. If two opponents still possess the capability and will to fight each other, he mustn't call the match.
The audience, on the other hand, were silenced by Vincent's zombie-like endurance. Watching him snap his neck back into place while standing made some of them shiver. Even the fighters watching shook from that act, though whether or not it was from excitement or fear remains to be seen.
For example, one of the larger men who fights in the Kengan Matches had his eyes light up from the suplex executed by Vincent. He has half a mind to invite him to a wrestling match and see what the man's made of not only because of that wrestling move, but also because of his ability to take punishment and keep going.
'Hm, he does need to put on more muscle though if he really wants to take this path. I'll have to think up a good stage name as well.'
Vincent tried exercising one of his arms, but he winced from the broken clavicle. That's something he can't really set back into place considering the look that his opponent is giving him.
If he were to try, he'd be attacked immediately, so he's stuck to keeping that hand below shoulder level.
Vincent and Reiichi took measured breaths before one of them burst into action almost faster than the other one could think. Reiichi reached his top speed using the footwork beaten into him by the Kure Clan. He rushed at Vincent from an angle.
'Rising Elbow.' Vincent read his next move like a picture book.
However, instead of dodging it, he executed some mild footwork of his own and stepped into it directly before it reached its full rise. The power still hasn't reached maximum, so he used one hand to reach at the wrist before pulling up on it faster than Reiichi was prepared..
'Vincent Style Aikido: Null.'
The power was completely dispersed and the Kure felt his connection to the ground disperse as well. It was as if he was standing on water, but only with the assistance of someone else. So, Vincent dropped put his heel right behind Reiichi's heel and snapped back, leading his wrist downward into the ground.
It was a hard takedown done with the flare of Aikido.
'I see, so it really was Aikido...!'
This wouldn't be enough to take down this assassin though. If Vincent pulled up any further, he would lose function in that arm, so he used his other hand to strike at the man's unguarded armpit.
Vincent couldn't block it with his other arm because of the clavicle injury, thus he was forced to leap back all while avoiding a kick from below.
The Kure got to his feet in an instant and charged at Vincent from a different angle. The American once again met the attack directly.
"What is he doing? Other people are recognizing it as Aikido, but that doesn't seem like him..." Ohta was muttering to himself off to the side of watching the match. He had his own concerns of his fighter's broken neck, something he couldn't just put to the side.
"It's tai sabaki. He's using the whole of his body to face attacks, a style of repositioning or footwork to simplify. It is strange that he's using irimi only to respond with hardness instead of softness, but the core of it is Aikido."
"Oh that makes sense, but uh...who are you?" Ohta turned around to see a muscular giant of a man. The CEO then remembered that he actually knows this man and screamed. "Wakatsuki Takeshi?!"
The Wild Tiger gave a light smile. "Correct." He then turned to look back at the match just to catch Vincent stomping on Reiichi's attempt at a rising knee.
First-class fighters, however, do not fall for the same trick twice. Reiichi used the foreign momentum from his leg stomping to the ground to increase the power to throw a mighty fist that seemed to increase in size.
The speed and power was double what it would normally be.
Vincent was almost too slow to respond. He ducked under the fist into an extreme low stance, even lower than a horse stance. His knees were greatly bent and it seemed like the best position for Reiichi to throw a low roundhouse kick to the temple, finally ending the fight.
'It's a good time to finally wipe the rust off with an opponent like this.'
'I'm close to achieving a new level of mastery in the killing arts, I just need this to last a little longer...'
Reiichi's mind nearly came to a screeching halt when it looked like his foot passed right through Vincent.
The people who were watching below saw him evade that attack even from a low stance like that. They were cursing in their hearts when they recalled Vincent stating he wasn't really good at martial arts.
'If you're not good at martial arts, then what do you call timing that evasive maneuver so closely! Fuck off!!'
However, Vincent didn't even want to cut it that close. There's a reason he wanted to use this guy to slice off bits of rust that built up in his skill. He's mediocre, almost bad with this stuff, so it's going to take a bit. He wants this to last longer.
"I never expected a westerner to be this good at Japanese martial arts." All of a sudden Reiichi decided to begin some small talk. Vincent, not seeing any reason to refuse, obliged him with a casual smile.
"Yeah, I decided to pick this stuff up years ago. I probably wouldn't have had as much of a good time if I hadn't." His smile then gained an impish tint to it. "I can also show you what I picked up from China."
He didn't give his opponent a time to respond. It was a type of deceitfulness he rarely used There was zero windup from staying in a standing position to going at full speed. Vincent reached a new level of agility before Reiichi instinctively struck out with a lightning-fast jab that seemed to pass through the American.
What he picked up from Japanese martial arts was to deal with people attacking from an angle and meeting attacks head on before they reach their maximum potential. What he picked up from Chinese martial arts though was circular movement.
Vincent barely evaded the jab and maneuvered to his opponent's side, granting him the opening he needed for a clean blow.
He threw a straight punch at Reiichi.
It wasn't just circular movement he picked up from Chinese martial arts either.
'Soft Strike.'
It was a mail piercer type of attack that penetrated through the external layer of Reiichi's body to reach the skull and nerves below. It shook him up, but at the same time such an attack was fostered onto him, the the initial punch he threw curved into an elbow and crashed into Vincent's head with ridiculous force.
It was the strongest blow he's received all match. 'Where did he get that kind of power from?!'
The two backed away, Reiichi more disoriented from the exchange than Vincent.
The Kure man sighed with a content smile on his face. He finally gained a greater mastery. He's been stuck on slipping attacks through another person's offense while having it remain undetected and he finally figured out how to do it. Now he just needs to practice it on assassination missions.
"I forfeit." Reiichi's voice, though it wasn't particularly loud, was like thunder to everyone there. This was a form of his gratitude to Vincent. He would give him the win because he helped him get better.
Vincent felt like he ate something bad.
Unfortunately, before he could question his opponent's mental state, the referee made a snap judgement on the spot. He was so focused and waiting that when his role came into play, he acted with speed and decisiveness.
"We have a winner! The winner is Vincent Walker!!"
Cheers rang out, but Vincent didn't feel like there wasn't anything to celebrate. He finally found a skilled enough opponent to shake all of the rust, yet the man wanted to forfeit?
He looked at the overjoyed expression on his manager's face though and could only rub the back of his head and begrudgingly accept this outcome. He donned a wry smile.
'Can't bitch and moan now.'
"Good match Kure Reiichi."
"You too. There will be a time to do this again in the future."
Vincent's smile turned a bit more genuine. Now, that was some good news.
However, he didn't realize the actual meaning behind those words until later. If he did, it would've saved him quite a bit of grief.
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