For a mont, the arena doesn’t quite understand what just happened. The movent in the blue corner, the sudden presence of the doctor, the way the referee steps in closer than usual, it all creates a strange pause in the rhythm of the fight, like sothing has interrupted the flow without fully announcing itself yet.
"What’s going on here?" the lead comntator says, confusion slipping into his voice. "Why is the doctor stepping in now?"
"I don’t know..." the second replies, leaning forward, trying to read the situation. "That doesn’t look like a routine check."
Then the words co through clearly as one of the broadcast caras catches the exchange head-on, the angle sharp and unobstructed. Within a heartbeat, the image fills the giant screen above the arena, magnifying the mont for everyone to see.
"I’m stopping the fight."
There’s a delay before the aning lands, like the entire arena needs a second to process it. And when it does, the reaction fractures instantly; voices rising, so in disbelief, others in protest, a wave of noise building unevenly across the stands.
"Wait... what?" the lead comntator blurts out. "He’s stopping it? For that cut?"
"That can’t be right," the second adds quickly, his tone tightening with disbelief. "Moriyama’s in control here. He had the champion on the brink before the bell. And now this... it’s the ring doctor stepping in?"
Inside the ring, Nakahara explodes first. His voice cos out fast, sharp, entirely in Japanese, his hand still grabbing Zhou by the collar as he steps forward.
"What kind of call is that?! Did you even look at it properly, or did you co in here already decided?!"
Zhou doesn’t react to the grip, his expression unmoved, as if the decision had already been sealed long before this mont.
Kurogane steps in imdiately, positioning himself between them just enough to control the escalation, but his eyes stay locked on the doctor.
"That cut is above the eye," he says, his English firm, deliberate. "It’s not affecting his vision. You didn’t even examine it properly."
Zhou finally shifts his gaze to him, calm, almost dismissive. "I’ve seen enough."
"That’s not an examination," Kurogane presses, tone tightening. "You looked at it for one second."
"It’s reopened," Zhou replies. "It’s bleeding again. That’s enough reason."
"It’s manageable," Nakahara cuts in again, still heated, switching partially into broken English now as frustration bleeds through. "We handle this. We know this."
Zhou exhales through his nose, and for the first ti, there’s a faint edge in his voice.
"No. You think you do. But you don’t even know what’s your job here."
The words hang, heavy with accusation. Kurogane’s expression hardens, clearly feels insulted.
"Hey... Watch your words!"
"You’re letting him stand there like this," Zhou continues, eyes flicking briefly toward Kenta before returning to them. "Cut open, coming off a heavy exchange, and you’re not even treating him. You’re letting him go back out because you want the fight to continue."
"That’s not your call," Kurogane fires back imdiately, his voice firm and controlled. "Your job is to assess the injury, nothing more. Not to lecture us on how we do our job as cornern. You don’t get to judge us and use that as a reason to stop the fight."
"My job is to protect the fighter," Zhou says, more firmly now. "And right now, you’re not doing that."
"That’s ridiculous," Nakahara snaps, stepping forward again. "That cut is not dangerous!"
Zhou doesn’t back down. Instead, he leans slightly forward, closing the distance.
"I’ve seen corners like yours," he says. "You ignore the damage, you push them forward, and when sothing happens, you pretend you didn’t see it coming."
The accusation lands harder than anything before.
"That’s bullshit!" Kurogane fires back.
"You’re willing to risk his life for a belt," Zhou continues, cutting straight through him. "That’s what this is."
"Enough!" The referee steps in, physically separating them now, one hand pushing Nakahara back while turning toward Zhou. "What’s the call?"
"I’m stopping the fight," Zhou answers without hesitation.
"It’s above the brow!" Kurogane argues again, sharper now. "It’s not impairing anything!"
"It will get worse," Zhou says. "And you will neglect it again. I’m not letting it continue."
The referee hesitates, just for a fraction of a second, caught between the argunt and the authority standing in front of him. Around them, the noise keeps building, confusion spilling over into agitation as more and more voices rise from the stands.
"Let them fight!"
"Co on, ref, that’s nothing!"
"He’s fine, look at him!"
"Don’t stop it like this!"
"Let the fight continue!"
The calls co from all sides now, not just one section, but scattered across the arena, swelling into a restless demand that presses in on the mont.
But then, the referee makes the decision. "...That’s it," he says, stepping away and signaling with both arms. "Fight’s over!"
The reaction explodes instantly, a chaotic mix of boos, disbelief, and scattered cheers crashing over the ring.
"And it’s waved off!" the lead comntator shouts, still sounding unsure of what he’s seeing. "The fight is over!"
"I don’t agree with that at all," the second says quickly. "That cut did not look like sothing that should end a fight like this!"
And in the middle of all of it, Kenta remains where he is, eyes still fixed across the ring, not following the argunt in full. The words blur together, slipping past him, the language barrier reducing everything into distant noise as he tries to hold onto that thinning edge of the zone.
But then...
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The bell cuts through everything, repeated and insistent. And only then does Kenta turn.
The arena answers imdiately with a surge of open disdain, boos crashing down, voices shouting in protest, anger spilling from every direction.
This ti, Kenta doesn’t need to understand the words. The aning reaches him anyway.
And sothing inside him snaps, not the sa cold instinct from before, not the controlled violence that had taken over his body, but sothing far more human, far more desperate.
"What’s going on...?" he says, stepping forward, his voice tightening. "Why the fight is stopped?"
The referee raises a hand, not understanding his words, but clearly catching the rejection behind it.
"That’s enough, Moriyama..."
"No," Kenta cuts him off imdiately, shaking his head, his breath coming heavier now. "No! Not enough. I can fight! I win! I beat him!"
He points at his own face, the blood still running from the reopened cut.
"Is this it? This wound?" he speaks in Japanese now, anger rising, raw and unfiltered. "This doesn’t stop anything. I can still fight."
No one answers him the way he needs. The lack of it settles heavier than any words could, stretching the mont thin until it starts to sting.
The ring doctor doesn’t even engage. He just gives a dismissive wave, shaking his head as he turns away, slipping through the ropes and stepping down from the apron like the matter is already closed.
Behind Kenta, the corner goes still. Nakahara’s face drains, the anger still there but hollowed out, caught between protest and sothing sinking deeper. Kurogane’s jaw tightens, eyes fixed forward, but there’s no argunt left in them now, only a hard, quiet disbelief.
Even Hiroshi and Okabe, who had been holding onto that fragile edge of anticipation, fall silent, their expressions paling as it finally settles in.
And then they see Kenta, catching the look on his face. Sothing in it; raw, searching, almost pleading without words, pulls the air out of them.
The tension in their shoulders drops, replaced by sothing heavier, sothing that sits low in the chest. They don’t speak, because there’s nothing they can say that wouldn’t make it worse.
***
On the other side of the ring, Hermosa exhales without realizing it, a quiet release of tension that had been building since the knockdown. His shoulders drop slightly, relief creeping in before he can stop it.
"...Good," he mutters under his breath. "That was getting dangerous."
But when he turns to his champion, the relief in his face disappears. Della Cruz looks down at the canvas with restrained anger.
His jaw is tight, his breathing steady, but his expression is wrong. There’s no relief in it, no gratitude, only sothing darker settling behind his eyes.
"...Arvin?" Hermosa calls, more cautiously now.
Della Cruz doesn’t answer imdiately. His gaze lifts slowly, not toward his corner, but toward Kenta.
He knows the punch that opened the cut. He knows the damage he caused, and more importantly, he knows that wasn’t a fight-ending injury.
"I don’t want this," he mutters, more to himself than anyone else. "I can’t accept it. He beat ... and you cover it up like this."
The word win never even forms in his mind. Whatever this is, it doesn’t belong to him. And as the sound of the arena shifts again, the boos begin to turn, no longer scattered, no longer uncertain, but directed squarely at the red corner, pressing in with a weight that makes it impossible to ignore.
"Tell , Hermosa..." Della Cruz says, voice low, strained. "Where am I supposed to hide my face now?"
Hermosa leans in quickly, trying to steady him. "This is boxing, Arvin. Things like this happen. A win is a win. You’re still the champion, understand? You take it and move forward."
Della Cruz’s jaw tightens, breath coming sharper, the words settling sowhere they don’t belong.
"No!" He snaps, his voice cuts through, loud enough to turn heads around the corner. "This isn’t a win!"
Then, slowly, his eyes lift and lock onto Hermosa, burning now, sharp and unyielding. It’s filled with accusation, as if it were his own corner that had arranged this outco for him.
"You... You stole this fight from ... and you took my dignity with it!"
Hermosa’s face pales, confusion and hurt crossing it, blindsided by the accusation from his own champion. He opens his mouth, then stops, knowing nothing he says will reach him right now.
Around them, even the supporters who ca for the champion have nothing to celebrate. The noise has flattened into sothing hollow, scattered and uncertain.
Except for two figures at ringside. Hugo Ramirez exhales slowly, relief settling plainly across his face. Beside him, Jackson Martinez watches with an entertained smile like it’s sothing worth savoring.
"Man... you can’t script this better," he says under his breath.
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