Capítulo 62: Daredevil and Assassin

That Sunday, Yuuta woke up too early in the morning for a quick jog as a warm-up for his upcoming fight. He totally forgot that he will be having a fight on the last day of the weekend. Fortunately, Daichi-san, his manager who manages all his underground fights, was quick on his feet to give him a call.

"Remember, 8 am, don't be late." He said. "The prize money is a bit large this time, 300,000 yen."

"Why? Did you book another famous fighter for me, Daichi-san? I told you not to do that." Yuuta responded in slight annoyance. But no matter what he told him, he knew he would be going to the fight, rain or shine.

"No, apparently, this guy is a famous underground fighter who got into the limelight recently. He's a champion in an underground a few cities over."

"Which city? Is it near here?" Yuuta asked, referring to Nagoya City where he lives.

"Yes, he's from Hekinan, just a few kilometers south of Nagoya. I heard he's undefeated ever since he started going to the underground. I received a call from him a week or so ago— wait, I already told you that. In any case, 8 am, don't keep me waiting."

"Sure, Daichi-san. I'll be there. And while we're at it, can you give me a background description of the guy? Just so I would know what kind of person I'll be fighting."

As Yuuta ran the rest of the ten kilometers for his morning running session, Daichi-san narrated to him all the details he needed to learn about the man.

"The man is in his early twenties, with a semi-muscular built and feathers on his feet. "He's quicker than most fighters and his punches packs a serious punch. But that's not the only thing lethal about him. His kicks have enough power to bend metal. If it were to hit your bones, well, down the ICU you go."

"Thanks, Daichi-san."

"And also he said he— "

Clang!

Yuuta didn't hear what Daichi-san said next after dropping the phone from his hands. He then ran at full speed, towards the lady who was cluelessly walking beside a building under construction. If what Yuuta heard was correct, then there's a metal beam falling directly towards the lady's head, and two seconds from now, Yuuta could already imagine the lady being crushed into a pulp, just like that series whereas a girl took the brunt of the falling metal beam on her head.

'Look out!' Yuuta said to himself since he was too panicked to scream.

Luckily, he managed to get to the lady before she met her end. Although Yuuta was blind, he could 'see' his life flashing before his eyes since he couldn't accurately gauge how big the metal beam was. And even if he were to click his tongue, it would all be too late by then. In the end, he blindly leaped sideways.

A split second later, the sound of the falling heavy beam pierced through his ears, making him wince. But other than that, he didn't sustain any injuries on his body— which was a good thing, considering that he had a fight later on that day.

"Are you all right?!" The lady asked as he helped Yuuta stand on his feet. "I... uh, thank you... you saved my life."

"No harm done. Be attentive when walking through construction sites next time. If you can, stop looking at your phone outside." Yuuta continued. He then got up, gestured a quick salute to the lady, and then continued on with his running. He didn't want to stay near the construction site any longer since it was the closest thing he came in contact with death.

As for the lady he rescued, she had to look back a second time just to make sure. She could've sworn that the teenager who rescued him was blind. Realization hit her and she hid her phone in her bag, thanking her benefactor underneath her breath, glancing at the metal beam a second time, and going her way. She was running late for work and her boss just messaged her, but who would've thought that that message might've led to a bigger accident compared to being fired from her job?

As the lady walked away, a man appeared behind the construction site, balancing a cane in his hand and a cigar in the other. He's not one to smoke but he thought that carrying one would fit right in with the disguise. "He's really blind, huh. I mean, that was totally unexpected but he handled it pretty well."

"My nerves, it almost jumped through my skin. I thought someone was going to die." The other man called out. "Tsutomu-san, don't you think we should go? We've spied on the kid long enough. Any more and we might get thrown in jail or something... gah, I hate that idea."

"Yeah, you're right. That incident could've spelled trouble for us. What if the lady really died?" Tsutomu heaved a sigh of relief. "Come on, Shou, we have a lot of things to do in preparation for the next event. Are you quite sure he's the man for the job? I mean, he's just a kid."

"Heh~ you ain't seen nothing yet, Tsutomu-san." Shou rubbed his nose. "8 am, the underground here in Nagoya. Just go there and you'll see just how he fights."

"That's what we're here for, right? Why did we have to go our way and spy on them?" Tsutomu-asked. "You know what, let's just... sigh~ "

Without saying another word to each other, the two of them headed over to the underground, hoping that the time they wasted here would be worthwhile.

.....

The underground was buzzing with excitement when Yuuta entered it. Since this was the weekend, a considerable amount of spectators filled the seats, awaiting the main fight for today. Even Tsutomu and Shou are part of the audience, eager to see Yuuta in action.

"Do they sell popcorn here?" Tsutomu asked as his stomach growled with his voice.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Shou simply responded with a grin. A few seconds later, he stood up. "I'll get some."

And just as he did, an outburst of cheers erupted. People clapped, hollered, and whistled as Yuuta slowly entered the stage. Just like before, he was wearing the iconic mask at the upper part of his head, fully showing that he was fighting with a handicap.

"Hey, that guy's fighting here, right? The one who calls himself Assassin?" Someone whispered.

"Yes, apparently he outright challenged our champion here at Nagoya. I heard he never had a loss ever since he entered the underground."

"So he's just like our DareDevil here."

"Who are you betting on?"

"Of course I'm voting our little Daredevil. One's got to be as patriotic as he is, even in the underground."

"Aren't you afraid that you'll lose your money? A majority of those people betting sided with the Assassin. He's the favorite."

"Really? Why? Is he better than our champion?"

"That's what I heard. I've seen him fight. He moves fast and the strength behind his punch is insane."

"Well, that's no biggie. I won't change sides. I mean, I've seen our DareDevil fight, he'll get out of this. For the past two years or so, I've never seen him lose., while this guy, he's new in this whole underground thing, right?"

"Whatever you say, man."

Ting ting ting!

"And now, here we are! Another day in the underground! How's your weekend going everybodaeeee~~! " The commentator shouted, making the mic release an uncomfortably screeching noise. "Today, we have ourselves a match, and dare I say a match OF THE CENTURY! The main fight for today is between two champions, two fighters who stand at the peak! Please give them a warm welcooooooo~ "

"Hailing from the lands of the sunshiny sunshine, Hekinan City, we have ourselves the ASSASSIIIIIIIIN! And on the other side of the ring, we have ourselves the champion that Nagoya gave birth to. A natural-born predator and a man of justice just like his superhero counterpart. Please welcome DAREDEVIIIIIL!"

The audience erupted into another wave of cheers that drowned Yuuta's ears. For a good few seconds, he couldn't hear anything, nor could he sense anything in his surroundings. Regardless, he stood up and waved his fists in front of everyone. This gesture, in turn, made the audience scream louder.

"Daredevil versus Assassin! Begin!" The commentator chopped his hands in the air and the fight was on.