Each City has its own unique tourist attraction. City Z has its abandoned ‘Ghost Town,’ City Q has Watchdog Man and City A is a corporate haven where the headquarters of major businesses such as the Hero Association and Star Enterprise resides. For City C there was the Super Stadium, a massive coliseum built near the heart of the city where it was said gladiators fought in blood sport for fame, riches and the entertainment of the masses. Fast forward into the future and nothing has really changed save for the times.

About a decade ago a wealthy billionaire by the name of Fortuna witnessed a battle between martial arts masters and became enamored with their art. Inspired by the gladiatorial history of the coliseum he negotiated with the leaders of City C to sell him the then culturally significant but otherwise useless ancient coliseum. At the time City C was experiencing financial problems and the stadium wasn’t pulling in enough money as a tourist attraction.

In the end Fortuna managed to convince them to sell him an historical landmark with the alleged promise of ‘restoring it to its former glory.’ He funded the restoration and renovation of the coliseum turning it into a most grand arena and dubbing it the Super Stadium. It was a massive thing with areas built to host popular sporting events and conventions but its main purpose Fortuna had in mind for his new creation however was to host the Super Fight Tournament. Fortuna intended this tournament to be a gathering point for martial artists around the world where they could showcase their skills and for the masses to bear witness to.

Ever since its inception martial artists from across the world would gather every year to have their chance at attaining wealth and fame. Not to mention testing their skills against other masters to gain both insight into themselves as well as bragging rights. This tournament became the major tourist attraction for City C. With it essentially being a bloodsport where legitimate martial artists can showcase their prowess with the only caveat being that they were not allowed to kill.

There is some exclusivity to this tournament as well since it is not broadcasted on TV. The only way to see it is to buy a ticket and such a thing has become arduous with each consecutive year since its inception. Of course there are other ways to witness the tournament such as being invited by one of the competitors, secretly let in by the staff, or have connections with the owner of the tournament itself and competitors could request a ‘highlight reel’ of the tournament for their own viewing pleasure if they so choose.

Of course one could always participate in it.

~O~

Currently Tomoro was stationed in a private room where combatants could make final preparations before the tournament gets underway. Exiting the bathroom he now wore a black and purple tracksuit with a pair of white sneakers. His hair was combed immaculately and he wore his glasses, looking for all intents and purposes like a regular guy out for a morning jog rather than a martial artist about to participate in a major tournament.

“Huh, I used to give Saitama crap for wearing a tracksuit as a costume but this isn’t too bad actually.”

It certainly made for great last minute combat attire.

He could have done better but it wasn’t as if there was a dress code for the tournament plus his options were limited as it were. Casual clothes seemed too disrespectful, he wouldn’t be caught wearing cosplay and he wasn’t about to put wrinkles in his business suit. He could have worn a traditional gi or even a cheongsam but that didn’t suite his style. In the end he chose a tracksuit because it was comparatively cheaper, disposable and fit the image he was going for.

Also there’s no sense in dressing up for what will amount to a light exercise for him at best. Tomoro felt some guilt in trivializing this tournament because for most of the participants it means something to them. He would have felt the same once upon a time but that was a long time ago. Tomoro actually attended the first Super Fight tournament out of curiosity and he was actually impressed by what he saw. There were some legitimate martial arts masters that participated if only for the novelty of such a grand undertaking.

Unfortunately martial arts made for good entertainment and naturally this ended up commercializing the whole affair, making it less a tournament and more a sporting event. While some like Bang took advantage of the hype to bolster the numbers in their dojo other masters would not allow them or their martial art to be used as mere entertainment for the masses. This in turn resulted in a steep decline in the quality of the contestants as the true masters stopped showing up.

At least that’s what Tomoro thought comparing the first tournament to the current one. Back then there were actually preliminary rounds that weeded out the weak. Now they don’t even care who enters so long as they have a ticket which Tomoro found out they actually send out to the dojos of or direct residence of past participants who impressed crowd during their time in the tournament. That’s how Charanko of all people managed to get his hands on one and Tomoro could only surmise that the thing must have arrived in the mail and Bang just sort of let his student have it for whatever reason.

As for the others, most of them are active martial artists with some even being part of or owning a dojo themselves. As for the ones who aren’t martial artists, is it a stretch to imagine the actual receivers of those tickets pawned it off for cash and legitimized the schmuck who paid for it so they could participate?

“…that makes a terrifying amount of sense.”

In any case the decline hardly put a dent in the tournament’s popularity as people didn’t much care for the quality of fighters as they did for the violence. There was a morbid curiosity for stuff like that which is why full-contact sports like boxing and MMA are still so popular despite their being actual superhumans.

As he went over what he memorized of this tournament the minor guilt Tomoro felt at his participation washed away since his presence would ultimately save the contestants from a the fate that would befall them in the original timeline.

“Now how should I go about this?”

Whilst he was going over ‘strategies’ his phone vibrated, it was a text from Solaria.

“So they launched the attack huh?” he scratched the back of his head “I thought it would be further into the day.”

He shrugged putting away his phone before looking at himself in the mirror.

*Knock-knock-knock*

“Mr. Sazaki the tournament’s opening ceremony is about to begin” the stage worker informed.

“Okay” he called before exiting the room.

He was led to the other contestants, drawing glances ranging from curious to dismissive. It seems as if everyone was sizing each other up but he paid them no mind as they were led out to the massive center ring where the announcer’s voice sounded through the speakers.

“[Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to the 22^nd Super Fight Tournament. Now let us welcome our contestants]”

And so he did, the announcer gave a very brief overview of the contestants before announcing their name and fighting style. When it came his turn it went like this:

“[Nothing is known about this mysterious man other than he claims to have incorporated several different martial arts styles to form a single one utilizing all their strengths with none of their weaknesses! Give it up for Hybrid Martial Arts, Tomoro]”

His announcement got him a few measuring gazes from the other contestants as opposed to some of them who only drew a mental eye roll from him. He ignored the stares and the crowd as he was ultimately forgotten in favor of the next contestant, Bakuzan. Being a two time champion with all his fights being one sided beat downs Bakuzan was a favorite in the tournament and a pick for entering the finals. After him however was the man of the hour with four consecutive tournament wins he was the favorite to win this one as well and the ‘darling’ of the audience, Void Fist Suiryu.

The crowd went wild for him and the young man soaked up all the attention and praise he was showered with. The announcer unnecessarily went into Suiryu’s motivation for entering the tournament being the prize money, as it’s always been because apparently he didn’t care for ranks or making a name for himself.

Tomoro couldn’t help but shake his head ‘he’s treating this like a game and if I’m being honest’ he looked towards the other contestants and sighed ‘I can’t even blame him, this whole thing is a joke.’

Which was fine for viewing entertainment but when the joke becomes your life, it’s a whole other ball game.

‘Whatever.’

Once the announcement was over the contestants were allowed to leave save for the ones who would be in the first match, ‘Lightning’ Max and Lin Lin. On his way to the viewing area Tomoro passed by one of the contestants, Sour Face.

‘Is that seriously his real name?’ since contestants aren’t allowed to enter under an alias then ‘his parents played a cruel joke on him, poor guy.’

Disregarding him he continued his lazy walk with hands in his pocket until he was confronted by another contestant. This one happens to be his opponent in the first round, Zakos of the Head First Rushing Style.

“You” he gave the Tomoro a once “I’ve never heard of your style before…”

Zakos trailed off as the other man silently walked by without seeming to ever acknowledge him.

“Hey” Zakos grabbed for the man’s shoulder “I’m talking to you!”

Tomoro stopped and looked over his shoulder, his glasses obscuring his eyes “can I help you with something?”

The other man narrowed his eyes “you’re an outsider aren’t you?”

“…”

“I knew it” his brows creased “don’t look down on martial arts. You should quit otherwise I won’t hold back.”

Tomoro looked down in response and Zakos fought down a smirk ‘like I thought.’

“Your hand.”

“Huh?”

“Remove it.”

Zakos’ eye twitched and consequently his grip on his shoulder increased “you-”

“Contestants aren’t allowed to harass each other outside of the ring” Tomoro continued calmly.

Zakos reluctantly released his grip for which Tomoro ‘thanked’ him and walked away.

‘That guy’ Zakos thought darkly ‘he’s dead.’

Meanwhile Tomoro mentally scoffed at the encounter, as if it wasn’t anything but a thinly veiled attempt at thinning the competition. Tomoro couldn’t even remember who that guy was in the original story, not that it matters. He arrived outside at the viewing area, his match was next so he sequestered himself in a corner and observed the fight between Max and Lin Lin.

‘All things considered they aren’t bad by normal standards.’

They put Max as a ‘reverse seed’ contestant because they have low expectations for him and believe that he would be easily eliminated. It all stems from the fact that Max is a hero and these so-called ‘experts’ think that a martial artist becoming a hero or vice-versa meant that they lack the skill or whatever arbitrary thing to be a ‘serious’ martial artist.

He scoffed at the notion ‘ridiculous.’

Perhaps if this were the world of the comic books he’d read in his past life with costumed heroes and villains they would have a point. Not to say that there aren’t idiots who try to use martial arts as a gimmick but they never make it above B-Class. It’s one of the more commendable aspects of the Hero Association or rather Amai Mask’s oversight. There is not a single person in the A-Class who doesn’t possess actual skill or power above the parameters of the average human.

An argument could be made for King but for all his weakness the man’s luck is certainly S-Class. If memory serves him right King was the only person in the entire series to kill a monster through sheer intimidation and it wasn’t even on purpose. As for the likes of Lightning Max and Snek, unfortunately life has dealt them a losing hand. Through a series of unfortunate encounters with Monsters above their skill level they lost standing with the public. Snek especially is being treated as something of a joke for being ‘weak’ which is ludicrous.

‘Come to think of it, have any of these people ever even fought an actual monster before?’

And there was the rub.

There is no doubt that the Hero Association for all its faults were providing protection for the people of the various cities the world over. The problem is that their methods of endearing the public to them have made the heroes seem less like a fighting force and more like public servants and/or celebrities. Unfortunately you lose respect as a fighter if people think you’re an actor hamming it up for the public.

This also seems to have the unfortunate effect of lowering the threat level presented by monsters because if heroes perceived as ‘actors’ can defeat them then really how much of a threat can these monsters be to ‘serious’ fighters who diligently practice their martial art?

He thought this just as Max delivered a sharp kick to Lin Lin’s temple, flooring her. Seeing as his opponent wasn’t getting back up Max raised his fist in victory to the jeers of the audience who were not happy with his ‘rough handling’ of his female opponent. The look on Max’s face was just about how he’d expect a fighter to feel about being chastised for giving his enemy the respect of not holding back because of their gender.

~O~

Lin Lin was carried off in a stretcher while Max walked off with a neutral expression, the next match would begin in a few minutes. Said next match happened to be between Tomoro and Zankos whom the former noted was the man whom had confronted him earlier.

The man held a sneer as they both went into the ring “I hope you don’t have any regrets about continuing with this farce.”

‘The only farce here is you’

Instead of that retort Tomoro instead asked him a question “tell me, have you ever fought a monster before?”

Zakos was taken off guard by the question his brows furrowed “have I what?”

“A monster or ‘Mysterious Being’ have you ever fought one?”

“No, why would I do something like that?” he questioned puzzled.

“To test your strength” he said as if it were obvious.

Zakos scoffed “what, do you go around looking for monsters to fight?”

“When I was younger, yes” he answered easily enough.

Zakos clearly meant his words to be mocking but Tomoro’s answer had him looking at the man in disbelief before dismissing his words.

[BEGIN!]

Zakos moved immediately dashing towards Tomoro who had not even gotten into a stance yet. He capitalized on his opponent’s lack of awareness for an initial strike. All things considered it was a good plan and the execution wasn’t bad by normal standards. Unfortunately his opponent was by no means normal and so unbeknownst to Zakos and a majority of the audience Tomoro retaliated with blinding speed.

A hand came up slapped down Zakos’ admittedly well executed punch with his palm down and with the same hand sharply swung it upwards so the back of his wrist hit under Zakos’ chin with brain rattling force. To the majority of the audience it appeared that Zakos had attacked only to be sent flying several feet before he landed outside the ring unconscious. Tomoro didn’t bother listening to what the announcer spoke and he barely acknowledged the cheers as he made his way to the observation booth where he was greeted by the stares of the other contestants.

He didn’t acknowledge them, too busy thinking of what Zakos said because he had confirmed Tomoro’s hypothesis. In a world where effort can result in gaining real power there are people who train themselves to fight but still end up not breaking through to superhuman levels.

‘Despite the world being how it is there are still fighters of such caliber who don’t put in the extra effort or risk to improve themselves beyond the threshold of a baseline human.’

It wasn’t as if this was new but he figured given these guys are ‘serious’ fighters who dedicate their lives to training they should at least be at the peak of human physicality. Of the 18 contestants he could only consider 5 of them to be at the level of a superhuman. As for the others, one of them is an average arrogant idiot, two of them are barely trained brutes, a few are athletes and the other actual martial artists haven’t yet crossed that threshold.

‘For the latter either they aren’t as dedicated as they claim or most likely they’re doing the wrong kind of training.’

~O~

In the hour since his first match Tomoro bore witness to the entirety of the first rounds.

Snek easily defeated Benpatsu with swift, precise snake-like strikes and extreme prejudice.

Volten knocked out Bazuzu with strikes charged with high voltage electricity that his body generated (as a result of being struck by lightning in his youth apparently).

Gatlin managed to overwhelm and beat down Hamukichi with heavy consistent punches. It was a testament to the man’s tenacity considering the gentle giant was larger, stronger, arguably more killed and more durable than the boxer.

The match after that was a joke with Dave the sumo wrestler essentially belly flopping onto Rossie before the untrained university student even had a chance to implore his ‘martial art.’

In contrast the next fight was brutal with Choze almost certainly going for the kill against Mentai if not for the referee stepping in.

The next fight was somewhat awkward in the way that two very imposing looking men who are too nervous and passive to play up to their appearance are. In the end Sour Face won due to his better training as a former student of Bang.

The current match now was Lightning Max vs Suiryu and after that-

*BZZT* *BZZT* *BZZT* *BZZT*

Tomoro retrieved the phone from his pocket and answered the call having to shield his ears from the roaring crowd as Suiryu entered the ring.

“Hey, Saitama.”

“Tomoro? I can barely hear you…”

“Sorry about the noise, the crowd is getting rowdy over here. What’s up?”

“The Hero Association just sent out an alert. Monsters are attacking all the cities.”

“Really? The noise must be blocking the alert sirens then.”

“In any case you should get out of there.”

“Eh…” he looked about noticing that Bakuzan was nowhere to be found “actually it might be safer for me to stay here instead.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s a tournament for martial arts masters with two A-Class heroes and at least one guy who might be S-Class.”

“Eh S-Class, for real?”

“Yep, he just beat one of the A-Class heroes with a single kick” he chuckled “you might have some competition Saitama, this guy’s looking to become One-Kick Man”

“…he sounds strong.”

‘That was definitely curiosity and interest in his voice.’

“Meh” Tomoro shrugged “sure, bottom line is I’ll be fine.”

“Genos says he’s going over to City C to ‘eliminate the small fries’ or something.”

“What about you?”

“I’m cleaning up City Z then the Hero Association wants me to help out Metal Bat. He’s having trouble with a monster and there’s some important V.I.P lady there too.”

‘He can’t mean…’ he shook the thought ‘nope not my problem.’

“Well good luck with that. I’ll just stay here until everyone starts evacuating.”

He hung up ‘it’s a good thing Saitama doesn’t think too deeply about things.’

~O~

After calling him onto the stage the announcer began to explain/warn of the circumstances surrounding Bakuzan’s prior victories in the previous tournaments, the ‘one-sided bloodbaths’ and asking the question of whether or not his latest opponent will end up like his predecessors. The referee looked particularly on edge as were the paramedics who were already on standby with a stretcher.

As he caught sight of Bakuzan the question of ‘how do I deal with this?’ popped into his mind again.

Aside from a brief summary of his actions from the original story and what he witnessed of him today he knew next to nothing about the man. He was a minor character turned secondary antagonist of the Super Fight Arc. It would be easy to dismiss this guy as a lost cause just from how he was portrayed and Tomoro could easily copy Saitama and end the battle with a single punch but…

‘What’s with that look?’

Bakuzan had an interesting expression, it was the same cold neutrality as normal but it was also calculating, as if he was trying to figure out a puzzle.

It got a raised eyebrow from the purple haired man “is something the matter?”

Bakuzan’s eyes narrowed “you’re trying to hide it but I can tell you’re not normal.”

That was mildly surprising ‘he’s perceptive but ultimately misguided.’

“It’s less that I was hiding and more that I had no reason show it in the first place.”

After all his first opponent was hardly someone he could showcase even a fraction of his skills to.

“It doesn’t matter” Bakuzan dismissed “use whatever skills you’ve been hiding to focus entirely on defending” the bloodlust that was barely beneath the surface rose once again “or else this memory of having all your limbs will be your last.”

It might be his words, it might be the bloodlust coming off him in wave or it might be Tomoro getting just a bit more excited with actually fighting someone after all these years but whatever passive strategy he had been conjuring took a backseat.

“Well now you’ve gone and gotten me riled up.”

And he spent all this time trying to portray the image of a ‘secret master enjoying his normal life’ too.

The referee shouted “TAKE YOUR POSITIONS!”

“It’s not a bad advice but I have a counter proposal” Tomoro adjusted his glasses by the bridge of the frame.

The truth is that while Tomoro may seem very passive in his life, the truth is that passiveness only extends to that. When it comes to a fight however…

“START!”

One moment Tomoro was several feet away with Bakuzan preparing for his brutal assault. Then by the end of the referee’s last syllable Tomoro was standing mere inches away from the former champion, his square frame glasses glowed ominously as an aura of dread leaked out of his body.

“If you manage to entertain me in this bout I might just let you lose with dignity.”

…he could be just as sadistic and bloodthirsty.

“!”

To Bakuzan’s credit instead of letting the shock get to him he instinctively lashed out with a devastating punch. Only for his shock to be persisted when Tomoro palmed his fist and used his arm as leverage for an over the shoulder throw. Bakuzan did a corkscrew spin to land on the balls of his feet before launching himself at Tomoro who responded in kind. They ended up meeting in the middle with their forearms clashing with such force that a shockwave resulted.

The two competitors backed off only to re-engage with Bakuzan going on the bloody offensive. Tomoro was immediately on the defense against Bakuzan’s onslaught or at least he was until…

“Hell Dispatch Cho-BUFUU!”

Both the audience and other contestants were shocked to see Tomoro’s fist sink into Bakuzan’s face mid attack having swiveled his fist at the very last moment to avoid the skull-splitting chop. Next Tomoro delivered a snap kick to his gut but was blocked by Bakuzan’s forearm.

“Gah!” Bakuzan gasped as he was sent stumbling back with a bloody nose and bruised forearm.

“Wow~” Tomoro drawled causing Bakuzan to scowl “you were actually trying to kill me back there huh?”

It was at this moment Bakuzan realized he made an error in the assessment of his opponent. No he’d realized this since before even the first exchange but he just had to make sure.

“That was merely a test” he spoke in a low growl wiping the blood from his nose.

“Oh?”

“To see if you could survive my greeting.”

“Is that right? Not that I have a problem with your attempts at my life but if you’re coming at me with the intent to kill then I feel I must mete out the same in kind. Is that what you want?”

Bakuzan allowed a shark-like grin to split his face “of course. This wouldn’t be a proper fight unless we both put our lives on the line.”

Tomoro paused for a moment before straightening up and pinning Bakuzan with a piercing yet understanding expression.

“Look I can see what you’re trying to go for here Bakuzan but I think you’re in the wrong place. This entire tournament is a joke to real martial arts which is why you don’t see any true masters participating.”

Bakuzan scoffed “I already know that. There is only one reason why I bothered showing up to this farce of a tournament.”

His gaze flickered to the left and Tomoro followed to see Suiryu leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

“Ah, I see.”

“Enough talk!” he set into a close fist stance “we finish this now.”

“Yes, I think we’re done here” he said also going into a stance that had his arms waved in a circular motion until they were vertically parallel. The top hand formed a claw while the bottom hand was a knife.

As they’ve done previously the stadium full of people and the announcer were mere white noise as the two continued to search for openings. Tomoro ended up advancing first before the two of them disappeared in a flurry of movements faster than the eye could see.

“Shura Straight Punch!”

An attack laden with enough force to cave his chest in and pulverize internal organs was caught between Tomoro’s forearm and bicep.

“Mirror Crushing Interception” he calmly intoned.

Bakuzan felt Tomoro’s muscles tightened around his arm. The action itself caused a shockwave to emit that threatened to shatter the bones in Bakuzan’s arm. Thinking quickly Bakuzan aimed a high kick at his foe’s head which forced Tomoro to duck relinquishing trapped appendage. Unfortunately Bakuzan left a small opening for Tomoro’s retaliation, over half a dozen clawed palm thrusts to the chest.

Bakuzan was tossed several feet managing to land in a crouch only to cough up blood much to the shock of the announcer who reiterates this to the screaming crowd. For a moment Bakuzan looked shock feeling his chest before glaring at Tomoro.

“What’s with that look?” he said adjusting his glasses “weren’t you the one going on about how this wouldn’t be a ‘proper’ fight unless our lives were on the line?”

For a split second Bakuzan could have sworn he saw the eyes behind those glasses until they were obscured by an eerie light that carried with it an aura of killing intent manifesting in a purple miasma.

The two time Super Fight champion felt a shiver run down his spine.

‘What is this?’ he looked to his trembling fists ‘am I…afraid?’

“…”

*CLENCH*

NO! Rather than fear what Bakuzan felt was…excitement. He entered the Super Fight tournament in order to be recognized as the strongest. He believed that true martial arts were made to kill and that when two masters fought only one should be allowed to leave the victor…and survivor. This tournament had been shaping up to be a complete disappointment, he was unimpressed by the commercialism, found most contenders lacking and the cash prize was unimportant to one such as him.

The only thing this tournament can grant him was some form of proving ground for when he would eventually pursue the real masters scattered across the world. That’s all this was, a stepping stone for when he would eventually become the strongest martial artist in the world. He thought Suiryu would be the only challenge here but clearly he had been wrong, he accepts this and now…

“I’m going to kill you” Bakuzan declared with savage certainty.

“You are certainly welcome to try” Tomoro answered simply.

And then the two were off and their third clash was both the fastest paced and most ferocious of the three. Bakuzan went all out, using the full might of his Dark Hell Assassination martial art which certainly lived up to its name. His punches ruptured organs, his kicks pulverized bone and his chops decapitate limbs. His body was a weapon and he used every aspect with brutal efficiency against his surprisingly skilled opponent.

“Decapitation Kick Onslaught!”

Tomoro deftly dodged the seemingly endless barrage of kicks, occasionally using his forearms to redirect them with a swiveling motion and causing some minor damage to the sleeves of his tracksuit. As quick as the attack was it ended as in the middle of the onslaught Tomoro suddenly broke through with a clawed palm thrust aimed right at his opponent’s head. Through quick reflexes Bakuzan ensured that only part of his bushy sideburn was taken off by the counterattack.

Now in a complete reverse Bakuzan was forced on the defensive as Tomoro kept on him with a series of continuous clawed thrusts. Bakuzan managed to leap away with minimal damage but found his opponent to be missing upon his landing.

“Where-”

“Looking for me?”

Bakuzan spun around while raising his defenses in time to receive a double knife hand slash in quick succession across his forearm block and forehead.

“RARGH!”

Enraged but not allowing said rage to consume him Bakuzan retaliated with a fierce uppercut and axe kick that were nimbly evaded at the last minute. Except the axe kick was a feint that transitioned to a roundhouse aimed at Tomoro’s neck. Tomoro caught and redirected the kick at the absolute last moment before retaliating with a knife hand thrust aimed at Bakuzan’s face. The burly martial artist managed to lean back from the attack just out of reach before retaliating with a cross chop to the neck. In an insane feat of speed and flexibility Tomoro bent back a full ninety degrees while lashing out with a foot to deliver a crane kick to Bakuzan’s exposed abdomen.

Bakuzan skid back coughing up more blood. One arm was bleeding the other had infrequent tremors and blood dripped from a cut on his forehead irritating his eyes. Things were not going well for the champion holder in comparison to his opponent who has so far only gained superficial damages to his clothes.

Bakuzan panted feeling his body going numb with pain as he regarded the man before him. This went beyond mere skill this was something else, he refused to believe that this man could be some no name master.

“You, who are you, really?” he growled “I refuse to believe that you are some no name martial artist.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Do not insult my intelligence! I have never heard of you in the underground.”

“Not every martial artist wants to be known Bakuzan” as he spoke he settled into another stance “some of us just want to be left alone to master our craft” one hand was pulled back to his waist palm up while the other was bent at the elbow vertically with the palm reaching towards his opponent “and on occasion we ‘hidden masters’ come out to engrave our teachings on arrogant juniors like you” then he smiled “aren’t you going to thank me?”                                                                                                                              

By the end of his speech a grin split his face and an eerie light shone from behind Tomoro’s opaque glasses.

“You-”

Tomoro chose that time to strike however Bakuzan had been observing his movements. He saw his opponent’s right foot move forward for a roundhouse kick and raised his hand to block preemptively only to be shocked when Tomoro’s left foot struck him across the face. Bakuzan spat out a glob of blood but lashed out when Tomoro advanced or at least that’s what he thought he would do but it turned out to be a feint as he leapt back from the kick. Tomoro advanced again going for a front kick which Bakuzan guarded against only for it to turn into a spinning back kick to the face at the last moment.

And so it went like a straight line across the ring with Tomoro engaging in feints with seemingly random and downright impossible changes at the last moment. A snap kick turned into a roundhouse, a straight punch became an elbow swipe, a forward leap became a backwards hop that transitioned into a flying knee. Then it was capped off by Tomoro slamming the sides of his fist against Bakuzan’s sides making direct contact with his ribcage.

“Dual Hammer Hand Strike” Tomoro intoned and Bakuzan was sent flying by a shockwave.

The former Super Fight champion skipped across the ring until he stopped at the edge. Miraculously the man was still standing albeit shakily getting a nod of acknowledgement from the glasses wearing man.

“Still standing? I’m sure I ruptured your kidneys with that attack” just as he said this Bakuzan vomited blood and bile on the arena tile “ah, there it is.”

Despite the grievous injuries both internal and external Bakuzan still managed to remain conscious while glaring murderously at his opponent. At least so it would seem until his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed onto the ring in a small pool of his blood.

“MEDIC!”

At the announcer’s call the crowd erupted into a deafening frenzy of cheer and as Tomoro was declared the winner he continued to walk off the stage sparing a glance at the other contestants. Most of them looked sufficiently cowed by the brutal display, Sour Face (his next opponent) looked like his spirit had left his body entirely and as for Suiryu he smirked in excitement as their paths crossed.

“Good match” he congratulated and Tomoro returned a hum of his own as Suiryu went on to fight against his opponent ‘Biting Fist’ Snek.

~O~

Needless to say Snek lost after Suiryu stopped playing around in his attempt to gauge his strength. The younger man ended his match exactly how he did with Max the first time around, a swift reverse roundhouse to the temple that knocked out the A-Class hero.

The battle after that was both longer and closer as Volten fought against Gatlin. The high octane boxer fought well with his tenacity allowing him to power through his opponent’s electrically charged strikes. Unfortunately it became obvious that the boxer was something of a ‘one trick pony’ as his strategy was always charging forward with rapid punches. It took Volten off guard at first however the electric man was able to develop a strategy around his opponent’s straight forward tactics and secure victory in the end.

The next battle had Choze fighting Dave or rather the former brutally savaging the latter with the clear intent to kill. In the end Dave was no match for Choze and unlike Mentai, Choze’s opponent before him, the insane man did not give the sumo wrestler a chance to surrender as the first strike to the throat ruptured his vocal chords. In the end the referee had to step in to prevent a murder from happening in the ring.

The next battle was Tomoro against Sour Face whom the former was mildly surprised to see hadn’t run away despite clearly not wanting to fight against the man who brutalized the infamous two times Super Fight champion. The two men met in the ring, Tomoro by this point was cleaned up though faint traces of Bakuzan’s blood stained his tracksuit. Meanwhile Sour Face looked like he swallowed all the lemons, his body trembled constantly, his expression was in a rictus pinch, cold sweat poured from him and his frequent attempts to calm himself ended in failure.

“Hey” Tomoro addressed causing the other man to flinch “you know you don’t have to do this right? No one is going to fault you for forfeiting the match.”

Surprisingly the man’s face twisted again, this time in a scowl as his fist clenched he yelled “what kind of martial artist would I be if I gave up!?”

‘He’s brave I’ll give him that.’

“Nice answer, I can respect that” Tomoro acknowledged.

“TAKE YOUR POSITIONS…”

“So I’ll let you off easy.”

“Huh?”

“BEGIN!”

The moment the referee gave the all clear Tomoro disappeared from Sour Face’s vision.

“Sorry about this” was the last thing Sour Face heard before his shoulder was gripped and he lost consciousness.

Tomoro released his grip on Sour Face’s shoulder having done a ‘Vulcan nerve pinch’ and allowed the body to drop. Making his way off the arena Tomoro could not help but frown. Most of the participants in this tournament could be categorized either as arrogant, ignorant and/or idiots but there were a few who were earnest and Sour Face was one such person. It was because of people like him that Tomoro had felt guilty about competing in the first place.

Still it would be a lie to say that Tomoro wasn’t enjoying this on some level because if he wasn’t then Bakuzan would have gotten the same treatment as Zakos before him. Even with knowing what the outcome of Bakuzan’s path would be in the end he could respect the man a little for who he is right now.

‘Now I’m suddenly invested.’

Just then the crowd erupted into raucous cheers.

‘Looks like Suiryu beat Volten.’

And this time he didn’t even bother to play around.

‘So it’s my turn again.’

In the last two matches the time it took to set up was more than the actual match itself and as much as he loathed admitting it, Suiryu had the right idea this time especially considering Tomoro’s next opponent was…Choze.

Ugh.

People have compared this person to Bakuzan due to his brutality but there was a difference between them. Bakuzan was a fighter who wanted to prove his superiority in the martial arts. Choze on the other hand, well Choze was a legitimate psychopath.

“Kukukuku, a single match in one strike is this what makes you plebeians so proud?”

And one with a superiority complex as big as the cracked moon in the sky.

‘Ugh, he’s about to monologue isn’t he?’

“Finishing my foes in one strike would be too easy.”

As he went on with his speech Tomoro inwardly sighed before he interrupted “and times up.”

Choze fumbled his last words a bit as he stared at his opponent.

Before he could retort Tomoro continued “as much as I would love to hear you prattle on about your inbred clan and doomed bid for world domination I literally have a million better things to do. So how about we skip to the part where I show you where you actually stand on the pecking order hm?”

Choze stared for a moment before chuckling though the angry veins on his neck told a different story.

“You plebeians…alright it is decided then” his eyes were filled with manic glee promising bloody violence “you will die and I will take the utmost pleasure in seeing your teary eyes as you scream in pain.”

“…”

Tomoro glanced at the referee who was busy ensuring the paramedics were in position. Considering what both he and Choze had shown they were capable of doing it was warranted.

‘They aren’t wrong to have that trauma kit ready again’

“Take your positions…BEGIN!”

Choze immediately rushed forward and with an expression of confidence and sadism he aimed to disable his opponent before administering whatever torture his twisted mind conceived. To the average fighter Choze would have looked like a shadowed monster with a slasher smile rushing towards them.

“DIE!”

Tomoro stood stock still for a moment before to Choze’s eyes a bright purple light shone from his glasses blinding him for a moment. Then his eyes adjusted to reveal Tomoro now as a massive giant with eyes shining a purple glow like lasers. With a war cry the giant rained down a multitude of massive fists each the size of Choze’s body.

 ‘Eh?’ was all Choze’s mind could sputter out before his body was enveloped in a tidal wave of pain and violence.

And so it was that the entire stadium bore witness to the most violent one-sided beat down of the day. To most of the spectators it appeared that Choze blurred forward only to freeze in the wake of Tomoro’s blurred arms. Even the high speed camera could barely pick up Tomoro’s pummeling of Choze. For several seconds this went on before Tomoro capped it off with a jaw shattering uppercut that sent teeth flying and a full body roundhouse kick that sent Choze across the stadium and into the wall just beside the paramedic who yelped in fright.

“Ant meet boot” Tomoro adjusted his glasses with a look of contempt as he watched the paramedics try to pull Choze’s body from the wall.

‘I think that’s a good enough warm up for the main event.’

~O~

Suiryu had an eye for spotting strong people and from the moment he laid eyes on him he knew that Tomoro was strong. It wasn’t the type of strength that was advertised, he didn’t try to portray strength and confidence like the other fighters, it was just there and much like Suiryu himself he preferred to show rather than tell. The measure of his strength was shown in the very first match and through that very brief exchange Suiryu knew that Tomoro would be the challenge he would meet in the finals.

As he made his way to the ring he found Tomoro already waiting and stretching. Suiryu could hear the numerous pops in his joints as he did so and couldn’t help but follow suit.

“Heh, this is going to be fun” he could tell.

As the announcer got to reintroducing the two of them, hyping up their astonishing accomplishments in the previous matches Suiryu and Tomoro took center stage standing a mere few feet from each other. Both men were smiling, Suiryu’s smile was one of anticipation and excitement while Tomoro smiled in what could be perceived as in good nature.

“Hey Tomoro” Suiryu began at the same time the referee shouted.

“GET READY…”

“Hm?”

“Let’s have fun.”

Tomoro’s reply was drowned by the referee shouting “BEGIN!”

As soon as the word was said Suiryu acted and quick as a flash did a reverse roundhouse kick with the back of his heel heading towards the older man’s temple. Suiryu once thought to make it a feint but he discarded the idea because Tomoro’s skill (or perhaps part of it) was already revealed in his fight with Bakuzan. And just as the man predicted his opponent easily ducked under the attack to advance forward with a seamless reverse spinning elbow.

‘Woah!’

Suiryu was forced to block the attack and allowed the momentum to launch him back to gain some space. Suiryu felt a tingle at his forearm where he blocked the attack and it just so happened that this was the first time he was actually touched in the entire tournament.

Suiryu smile widened “just as I thought, you are strong.”

“Was that not already made clear before?”

“Just wanted to make sure you were the real deal, didn’t want to end the fight in a single blow. After all, I’ve been looking forward to this” he smirked.

Tomoro stared for a moment before glancing down while pushing up the bridge of his glasses “oh you’ve gotten this all backwards Suiryu. This isn’t going to be you having a comfortable victory after a relaxing ‘workout’ fight. This is going to be you showing me why I should give a damn about some wet behind the ears brat wasting his potential.”

For a brief moment Suiryu’s eyes narrowed but he allowed the words to slide off him because he has nothing to prove to this man, he has nothing to prove to anyone. What he wanted coming here was to win the prize money and have a bit of fun in the process. Up until this point none of his opponents have been able to capture his interest not even Bakuzan.

Then there was Tomoro whom he thought would be fun to fight but as it turns out ‘even if this guy is strong enough to keep up, he’s not going to be a fun fight.’

Suiryu internally sighed at that because he was really looking forward to this fight, he imagined that the two would trade blows and banter back and forth.

‘I can still salvage this though’ because even if Tomoro won’t play ball he can still get satisfaction.

Suiryu blitzed forward with a high kick which Tomoro easily avoided by simply back stepping. The younger man then followed up with a reverse roundhouse using his other leg.

Tomoro side stepped the attempt easily “what are you doing?”

Suiryu didn’t answer and instead sent a barrage of high speed kicks reminiscent of Bakuzan’s attack though lacking the obvious killing intent. Tomoro seemed to wade through them like a leaf in the wind with absolutely no effort.

“Thinking you can beat me with kicks isn’t raising your impression with me Suiryu.”

“Good because I’m not trying to impress you” he smiled before a feint had him deliver an axe kick to Tomoro’s head “I’m having fun!”

Suiryu’s leg past through the fading image of Tomoro’s head as the latter met his descending axe kick with a high kick to the back of the knee. That same leg did a low sweeping kick to the back of the other leg’s knee causing the younger martial artist to topple. As Suiryu stumbled Tomoro aimed a third consecutive mid-kick aimed at his face but Suiryu managed to bring his hands up in a cross guard to block. The force still launched him several feet across the ring.

Suiryu managed to regain his footing with a back flip just in time to see his opponent lower his leg and speak.

“I’m offended” Tomoro sighed “and to think I was planning to go easy on you.”

“What?”

“I figure I would play around for a while, maybe give you some pointers but I can see that it would be wasted on a brat coasting off his talent with no real discipline.”

“You think I care what you think of me?’

“I guess not, I’m just surprised that the grandson to the legendary Void Fist Suicho turned out to be so…pitiful.”

“…what did you just say?”

“Did I stutter?”

It’s been nagging him for a while now but something about this guy was rubbing him the wrong way. Suiryu was usually more coolheaded than this but for some reason this guy, his eyes, his words and his overall presence irked him. It was only after that sentence Suiryu managed to finally figure why out he was beginning to dislike Tomoro.

‘He reminds me of grandpa’ Suiryu thought to himself.

Suiryu had a love/hate relationship with his late grandfather. On the one hand he was grateful for the man for taking him and his sister Suiko in and raising them when their parents died but on the other hand he hated how he was forced to learn martial arts alongside his more eager sister and inherit the dojo. If there was a single regret he had in his life it was that he never got the chance to fight and defeat the old man before he died.

Between his words, actions and presence Suiryu could picture his grandfather interposed before Tomoro easily.

“So you want to see what I can really do?” Suiryu questioned no longer smiling or even acknowledging the screaming crowd.

Ignoring the sudden rise in tension Tomoro placed his hands behind his back “oh so now you’re serious?”

In response Suiryu took up a serious stance “yes!”

“Well that’s good” he began to slowly raise his left hand from behind his back.

Suiryu rushed forward with such force that the ring tile was destroyed from the impact.

“Take this!” his fist was launched at Tomoro’s face.

“I’m done playing around too.”

Tomoro’s hand suddenly shot down as if he had aborted an attack and sidestepped Suiryu who inexplicably tripped over his own feet mid charge and face planted. For a brief moment the entire stadium was stunned at Suiryu’s seeming fumble and none more so than the man himself.

“I-It appears that Tomoro has somehow thrown Suiryu WITHOUGHT USING HIS HANDS!”

‘What?’ Suiryu smoothly did a kip up and gained some distance ‘what just happened?’

“You should watch your step” Tomoro advised with a chuckle.

Suiryu’s brows furrowed however his eyes were keen as he disappeared in a blur ‘let’s try that again!’

This time he came from a different angle going for a kick only to comically slip mid charge yet again and end up crashing on his back.

“Agh!?”

“My, you are being very clumsy today Suiryu” Tomoro taunted.

Suiryu rolled back into a handstand and swung his legs in a 360 spin causing Tomoro to hop back with a chuckle of amusement.

Flipping to his feet Suiryu glared at his opponent “how are you doing this?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about” he smiled innocently causing Suiryu’s glare to intensify.

“Fine I’ll figure it out for myself!” he spoke and charged forth.

Yet no matter how many times he attacked, no matter from what angle and the variedness of the attacks themselves whenever Suiryu got close he would slip, fumble, stumble and eventually fall flat on his back, face or side. The scene would have made for a funny slapstick if not for the fact that Suiryu’s fall put cracks in ring every time and the young man’s frustrations were piling up.

‘HOW DOES HE KEEP DOING THAT!?’

*Smash*

Another fall took the wind out of him, this has been going on for a short while, just a little over a minute in real time, but Suiryu has still yet to find a way around this. That didn’t mean he wasn’t learning and with each encounter he continued adapting to the mysterious technique until his keen senses caught onto something. In an instant Suiryu turned what would have been another slip up and fall into a dive roll flip that got him into a two point landing.

Tomoro looked mildly impressed “oho, what’s this?”

“I figured out what you’re doing.”

“Have you now?”

‘One way to find out’ Suiryu thought.

Suiryu blitzed forward again much to his opponent’s audible disappointment but the younger martial artist was hardly paying attention to that.

‘Have to time this just right’ Suiryu got close enough in the ‘area of effect’ then aborted his attack into a feint ‘there!’ clenched fists opened to reach out and-

The ring below them was blasted with concentrated wind as Tomoro’s arm was suddenly in the grip of Suiryu.

“I got you!”

Indeed he did and Suiryu held on tightly his grip hard enough to crush steel and yet his opponent only smirked.

“Are you sure about that?”

Before Suiryu could retort his world shifted and pain blossomed across his body as it was smashed onto the ring several times. Suiryu was able to wrench himself away panting lightly at the effort with his vision swimming a bit. He kept his guard up but his opponent did not take advantage of his momentary vulnerability and instead addressed him.

“I commend you for figuring out a bit of what was going on but for future reference you shouldn’t carelessly hang onto the arm of the man who has been tossing you about without actually touching you.”

Suiryu growled, the more he spoke the more he disliked him.

“Although if you had truly figured out the secret to my technique then you’d have known this” he mused “so tell me Suiryu did you actually figure it out or were you just trying a thing?”

“You were using attack feints” whenever Suiryu attacked he’d always end up having to abort said attack because Tomoro would counter it.

To the crowd and high speed camera it seemed as if Suiryu was constantly rushing in and accidentally flopping but in actuality every single engagement Suiryu did ended up in a mini battle that always ended up with him falling. The fall itself was embarrassing but it was the result of having to dodge something much worse.

Suiryu didn’t say all that but Tomoro caught on to what he was thinking and spoke “I’ll give you this Suiryu, you are right, I have been using feints to trip you up the entire time. I didn’t even have to use my hands and you are so well trained that my intent alone was enough to affect your senses. Your body reacted before your conscious thought caught up allowing me to guide it into a rough collapse.”

Around them most of destroyed ring was as a result of Suiryu’s body hitting the tile. Suiryu’s teeth gritted as the image of his grandfather interposed Tomoro again but for another reason. His late grandfather was the strongest man he knew and at a glance no one would ever think that the old man could challenge the likes of Bang and Bomb of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist and the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist respectively for the title of greatest martial arts grandmaster in the world.

Suiryu, for all his talent and mastery of the Void Fist had never been able to defeat its creator and he never will. Suicho’s death ensured that Suiryu would never be able to overcome the mountain that he was. Suiryu didn’t have the appreciation for martial arts his sister had but he did have his pride and while he may have been taught the art against his will it was something he was good at, something he owned.

He liked to fight but more importantly he liked to win because winning is fun and…

‘I’ll be damned if I lose here!’

Tomoro noted the fire he’d ignited in Suiryu and smiled “I like that look in your eye Suiryu it means you finally get it. So tell you what, I won’t do any gimmicks and in return you show me the extent of your mastery of the Void Fist and if I deem you worth a damn you win.”

As he spoke he settled into a stance and so did Suiryu.

The real fight was about to begin.

Then they both disappeared from view and all hell broke loose.

~O~

To the spectators it was as if both fighters had vanished leaving blurred images shown on the camera. Yet the ring is becoming more and more destroyed with each passing second then a sound akin to a sonic boom was heard above the ring causing everyone to snap their heads up only to bring it back down as the ring once again exploded.

“How is it that none of us have ever heard of this man?” questioned Lin Lin of the Palm Bell Fist in a shaky tone.

All of the sidelined fighters who weren’t too injured during their matches were present and none of them could take their eyes away nor keep their mouth from being agape. Snek couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment. He may have been a hero but he also kept his ear to the ground of the underworld martial arts scene. He knew most if not all the masters and grandmasters of martial arts past and present such as Silver Fang Bang, his brother Bomb, some of the various ninja clans, the Council of Swordsmen of which Atomic Samurai was a part of and he even knew of the creator of Suiryu’s martial arts the late Void Fist Suicho.

He even knew some of the many ‘hidden masters’ who isolate themselves from the public but none of them matched a man of Tomoro’s name and description. It was one thing for him not to know Suiryu since the boy despite being a master himself was clearly not interested in the world of martial arts. Tomoro on the other hand had the skills, attitude and overall presence of a martial arts Grandmaster.

A brief glance had him catch Max’s expression and judging by the look on his face he was in as much disbelief as he was.

Snek swallowed “Max, can you see anything?”

The other A-Class hero shook his head “barely I-”

His reply was interrupted by a shout from Suiryu.

“VOID SKY DRAGON FIST!”

Following the declaration was what appeared to be a miniaturized tornado appearing in the ring. Snek had to shield his face as a storm was momentarily kicked up for a few seconds. Beyond his arm however he saw Tomoro seemingly bracing himself against the unnatural phenomenon. It was only after focusing with all his might that he realized what was actually going on. The ‘tornado’ was actually Suiryu and it was a result of dishing out a continuous barrage of attacks while in a fierce rotation.

Tomoro, who had squared his feet and had his hands up, was not bracing the attack but rather he was deflecting the individual hits Suiryu was making. Snek noted that the way in which Tomoro was deflecting the attacks ran a smaller counter rotation as well. The result was as if a spinning top met a wall and within seconds of starting Suiryu’s attack petered out.

The young man was a far cry from how he was during their own match, that being: sweaty, bruised, scuffed, panting and overall haggard. Yet his eyes brimmed with a fiery determination never before seen as he seamlessly transitioned into another technique by making several stomps in the ring that snek realized were some kind of footwork. He stomped so hard that what was left of the ring broke apart and in a shocking move Suiryu began to kick the crumbled remains of the ring at Tomoro.

The move seemed to surprise Tomoro who was forced to dodge until Suiryu suddenly appeared beside him as he avoided a sharp brick of arena tile. As his afterimage faded Suiryu shouted his attack for all to hear while his fist drove forward.

“VOID SHAKING TIGER FIST!!!”

It was a devastating uppercut that impacted Tomoro’s gut. Snek winced as the force of the attack washed over him and anyone on the ground of the stadium. Tomoro folded over Suiryu’s fist and the young man’s sleeve literally exploded off him, as did a metal band over his bicep. Tomoro was flung across the ring his body crashing out of bounds. There was a lull of silence before the entire stadium erupted in a collective cheer louder than any that came before it.

As the announcer crowned Suiryu the champion and the other fighters began to comment on the match, Snek’s keen eyes kept on Suiryu who stared at his fist. The young man then stormed over to the edge of the ring and shouted something to which Tomoro ‘miraculously’ stood up and brushed himself off looking none the worse for wear. A few words were exchanged before Suiryu lunged at his opponent.

What is going on?

~O~

Tomoro intercepted Suiryu’s punch with his index finger slipping into the space between the younger man’s clenched knuckles. As soon as he did Suiryu’s entire arm locked up. Try as he might he could not move his hand, could not unclench his fist and pull away. With a snarl Suiryu tried his other hand only for Tomoro to do the same trick with his pinky from the same hand. With both hands locked in place Suiryu attempted a kick or would have if Tomoro had not anticipated this and stomped on his foot before it could even leave the ground.

After struggling in futility for a while Suiryu glared “what is this?”

Tomoro for his part looked unimpressed “pressure points, something of a lost art among the modern practitioners for some reason.”

“Let me go!”

“Depends on what you plan on doing afterwards” Suiryu paused in his struggle “what’s with that look?”

“You let my attack hit you on purpose” he growled.

“Now why would you think that? Because it didn’t have any effect on me?”

“…”

Tomoro chuckled closing his eyes before sharply opening them and Suiryu found himself gasping for air as he was hit with a crushing force that sent him to his knees. With his arms still locked in place he looked up to man-no the monster before him. Its face can no longer be seen, having been completely shadowed over, its eyes were shining deep violet and when it spoke Suiryu felt chilled to the bone.

“Oh Suiryu, you never stood a snowball’s chance in hell against me. It’s as I said at the start, this wasn’t a match where you achieved victory, this was a means of proving your worth to me” then as fast as it appeared the oppressive force was gone and Tomoro was looking down at the younger man with a closed eye smile “and congratulations you succeeded.”

Tomoro let Suiryu’s hands go and they flopped to his side as the realization sunk in “I lost.”

*Smack*

“Ow!” Suiryu covered the bruise on his forehead gained from Tomoro’s finger flick.

His opponent rolled his eyes “losing isn’t the end of the world. I swear kids these days are so dramatic.”

Suiryu stared at the man for a moment before he spoke in a subdued tone “why did you let me win?”

“Again did I not promise your win condition was meeting my expectations?”

“Wh-what about the tournament?”

He scoffed “what do I have to gain from it? Besides a slacker like you definitely need the money more than I do. At least I have a job.”

Suiryu flinched at the jab, more the fact that he was being pitied than the criticism of his lifestyle choice. But after everything he’d witness of the man, how he’d utterly dismantled and destroyed him as a fighter Suiryu had to ask.

“Could I be as strong as you if I trained properly?” because if anything, Suiryu understood why the older man was disappointed in him.

Tomoro looked him dead in the eye “anything’s possible Suiryu but heed my warning, if your goal for becoming strong is to just ‘have fun’ then I suggest you not get any stronger than you are now. I doubt someone with your mentality can bear the ‘burden’ of that strength.”

With that Tomoro walked away and just in time as the staff appeared to check on them both. Tomoro politely assured them of his well being while Suiryu just watched, speechless.

~O~

The shock persisted throughout the staff patching the ring, the gathering of the other contestants save for those recovering in the infirmary and the final ceremony. Before he knew it Suiryu had a trophy and a large cheque in hand with several microphones shoved in his face. Tomoro’s words and the fight continued to replay in his mind. Tomoro hadn’t just defeated him, he humiliated him, took everything he had, found it wanting and picked him apart before handing him the victory out of pity. It didn’t matter that he said he had met the man’s expectations Suiryu did not count anything about that fight as a victory.

‘At least I got the prize money’ he thought weakly to himself. It was the only positive since the money had been his main reason for entering the tournament in the first place.

Mission accomplished?

At least Tomoro wasn’t there to remind him of his failures, the man disappeared when they were replacing the arena for the closing ceremony.

‘I should be more positive’ he thought but the doubt started to creep up ‘I need a distraction.’

At that moment his eyes found the slender beauty who had handed him his prize.

He gave her a charming smile “hey you’re cute, you got a boyfriend?”

The woman blushed while smiling back and for a moment everything was right in the world for Suiryu. He had the money, the accolades, the public adoration and soon he’d be having this beauty too.

“Kyaa, look up there!!”

The shout came from the stands just as there was a commotion up in the announcer’s booth. In the air he saw what appeared to be three very big mutant crows circling above. Now that he was properly focused Suiryu can just make out the familiar siren of the monster alarm. He vaguely remembered the announcer mentioning it when he was in his shocked state. He wasn’t at all worried about it though and he still wasn’t worried even when the three giant crow monsters landed in the ring carrying the contestants who were supposed to be recovering in the infirmary.

One of the contestants, Benpatsu started to panic before making a mad dash for the stadium interior. Suiryu didn’t even acknowledge him as he could feel something in his gut.

‘Something’s coming’

“ARGH!”

His gaze just like the others became fixed at where Benpatsu ran to only to see the man hanging limply from the clawed grip of new arrival. This one was much larger than the crows, a muscled humanoid with spikes all across his forearms and shoulders wearing a purple martial arts gi. It tossed a battered Benpatsu onto the arena before the others as it strode up to them. It’s four vertical bloodshot eyes with red-yellow pupils that seemed to glow stared at the fighters ignoring everyone else.

When it spoke it revealed rows of sharpened serrated teeth with two saber-teeth coming from the bottom and from its maw a deep baritone voice spoke a single sentence.

“Alright, all of you will become monsters.”

~To Be Continued~

The next chapter is available on my Patreon: www.Patreon.com/Streggaeworks