CH_3.13 (072)
“Is he part of the group?” asked Takuma in the shadow of the fighter’s tunnel.
Standing behind him, Sango, the brunette iryo-nin, nodded. “Uh-huh, Bearpelt is part of the group, alright.”
Takuma narrowed his eyes as he hummed, “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, I just got a meal at any place I like.”
“Any place you like, but capped at X00 ryo,” Takuma said sharply to Sango. He didn’t want to empty his wallet for a simple yes or no answer.
He turned back to look out to the arena at the average-sized man with a rotund belly covered with body hair that covered every inch of his front and even on his back. This was the first person he was fighting from the group after Purplewind.
He couldn’t let someone run over him and allow them to go unpunished.... In this place if he let people push him around, they’ll take that as an invitation.
Takuma clenched his fist and ran out of the tunnel when the announcer called his introduction.
———
.
Kunio rotated the shoulder, feeling the kink in his shoulder. It still pained from the slam during his last fight. But he wasn’t worried; his opponent today was the kid. Kunio smiled behind his bear mask, thinking about the opponent.
They had caught a delicious prey in their grasp. They had found a tell in the kid— and what a treat it was.
It was commonplace practice for group members to share information about other fighters among themselves to increase the chance of victory. But when a group had an in with the scheduling office, they could hunt down their prey and get some sweet mission points while enjoying dealing out a beatdown.
“Battling it out against the mighty Bearpelt is the rising star with the record of 11-7, SCARS!”
Kunio turned his body to see the skinny kid skip past the stairs to enter the arena. They met eyes, and neither looked away. The kid had some guts. Kunio grinned, walked directly up to the kid, and looked down at him.
“What are you looking at, brat?”
Kunio could see Scar’s black eyes staring up at him, unblinking. “Nothing, just wondering who has bigger boobs between you and your mama because not many can rival that bosom of yours,” said Scar and made squeezing gestures with his hands.
Kunio’s face contorted and his skin turned red as he screamed, “What the fuck did you say, boy!” He shoved Scars and was about to take the brat’s head out when the announcer pulled him back.
A smile appeared in Scars’ eyes as he shouted. “Oh, did that hurt because it’s true? Hey, I’m curious. Can you see your dick when you look down? I doubt you’d be able to see the raisin-looking micro-cock even if someone jacked it hard, you fat fuck face!”
“Fucking let me go!” Kunio screamed his lungs off as he glared at Scars.
“Bearpelt, just let me go out of the arena, and then you can do whatever you want,” the announcer said as held the shinobi fighter back.
“Get off of me!”
“Do you understand what I said?” said the announcer, tightening his grip around Kunio’s shoulder. “Try to start the fight before I exit, and I’ll disqualify you.”
Kunio clicked his tongue and turned away from Scars. “Yeah, I get it!” he spat and shoved the announcer when the man loosened his grip on him. He didn’t charge at Scars. He could wait a few seconds before he destroyed the boy. The fucking brat had to pay. He was going to make him pay.
The plan was to exploit the Scars’ tell and have everyone in the group fight him and get those victory mission points. They couldn’t all go one after another because that would look too suspicious, and they had to fix the schedule so that Scars would have other fighters outside of the group. The plan after everyone in the group had fought the kid was to sell the information to other fighters who were going to fight Scars and take a cut of their fight winnings.
Scar dropped the arm and stomped on Kunio’s face, which stifled away the scream of anguish.
“Tell your group they know where to find me. I’m waiting for every single one of them.”
He walked away from Kunio as the announcer entered the arena.
“Do you want to continue, Bearpelt?” asked the announcer as he squatted by Kunio.
“... N-No,” said Kunio through gritted teeth as pain assaulted his body.
He could continue to fight, but it wasn’t worth fighting. Even if he won, injuries would only pile up. It would put a disturbance in his life in and outside the Ring— he couldn’t afford a prolonged absence from either shinobi duty or his Ring fights.
And though he wouldn’t admit it...
... the dark frigid eyes frightened him.
———
.
As Takuma entered the fighter’s tunnel, Sango was waiting for him. She walked towards him with a smile but stopped to stare at Takuma, her previous expression fading.
“Is something wrong?” asked Takuma.
She stayed silent for a moment before hesitantly asking, “Are you alright?"
“Yeah, I don’t think I’m bruised or anything. The fat fuck went down easy,” he said and noticed that she was still staring, “What is it? Is something wrong?”
“... No, it’s nothing,” she said. “Now, come on. Let’s clear out of here for the next fight.”
Takuma flashed a smile Sango couldn’t see as he still wore his mask.
As they walked to the medical room, Takuma reflected back on the fight. He felt satisfied with what he had accomplished with Bearfelt.
He had sent a message— he wasn’t to be taken lightly. He wasn’t going to be seen as a weak player on the board. He was going to make sure they didn’t think they were looking at him like a weak naïve kid to exploit.
If they wanted to hit him, he would hit them back.
The conversation with Marubsohi had blindsided him, but seeing his teacher’s reaction, had left him with a lot to think about. He had decided that if the Ring could provide him the value he seeked, he would continue to swim in it.
However, he understood that he swam with sharks, who would devour him if he showed a hint of blood.
He was here to take things from it, and not the other way around like Maruboshi had warned him about... and for that, he couldn’t let anyone underestimate him.
If it took for him to repeat Bearpelt to make it that way, then he would do it as many times as he deemed it necessary.
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