Once they enter North Forge Boxing Gym, warmth imdiately replaces the freezing Toronto air outside, with the sounds of training echoing throughout the gym.
Then several fighters gradually stop what they are doing once they notice unfamiliar visitors entering the gym. One of those fighters turns out to be Liam O’Connel himself.
Liam lowers his gloves slightly while staring toward the entrance, clearly recognizing sothing familiar about the young man beneath all the winter clothing.
And before Liam can even fully process it, Ryoma casually pulls down the scarf covering his face before lifting one hand, waving with almost childish openness.
"Hi," he says lightly. "Nice to et you."
Liam blinks once, frowning imdiately afterward, a strange mixture of curiosity and visible displeasure crossing his face at the absurd casualness of the greeting.
"Nice to et you?" he mutters, before he starts walking toward him slowly. "Ryoma Takeda... What are you doing here? Starting a psywar before our fight?"
"Wait, wait... he may be your next opponent," Kurogane says calmly, "but he’s also his own promoter. Now that the organization officially mandated the fight, we ca here to discuss it directly."
Then his tone becos slightly more formal. "So I’d appreciate it if you could take us to whoever’s handling your managent."
Liam falls briefly silent as the realization settles deeper into him. He already knew Ryoma acted as his own promoter. But seeing him in person only makes the idea harder to process sohow.
Ryoma genuinely still looks too young, too naive at first glance, carrying himself less like a businessman and more like so sheltered kid wandering into the wrong place.
"...Right," Liam says eventually. Then he turns around. "This way."
He leads both of them deeper into the building toward the managent office while several fighters nearby continue staring after them with growing curiosity.
Inside the office, Boyle and Cross are still sitting in serious silence, both n clearly weighed down by the earlier discussion with Hugo Ramirez.
But the mont the office door opens and Ryoma Takeda himself steps into view, both of them imdiately look up in open surprise.
"You..." Boyle blurts out before stopping himself.
"Yes, he is Ryoma Takeda," Liam says while stepping farther into the room. Then he glances back toward Ryoma. "Ca all the way from Japan to discuss our next fight."
Boyle takes a glance at Cross before quickly stands up. "Well... actually, we were planning to send a formal letter regarding the purse negotiations. I honestly didn’t expect you to co here in person."
"I hope we’re not intruding," Ryoma replies politely.
"No, no, not at all," Boyle answers quickly. "It’s a pleasure having you here. Please, sit down."
Ryoma quietly takes a seat while Kurogane places the suitcase onto the coffee table before sitting beside him.
Then, almost instinctively, Doyle turns his attention toward Liam again.
"Liam, close the door on your way out."
This ti Liam doesn’t show the displeasure anymore. He simply turns toward the exit. But before he can leave, Ryoma suddenly speaks.
"No, you should stay," he casually says without looking back.
Liam’s brows twitch imdiately. The irritation rises almost instinctively again, fueled by the strange disconnect he still feels toward Ryoma himself.
He understands Ryoma being his own promoter places him on equal footing with Boyle during negotiations like this. Even so, emotionally, it still feels strange seeing a twenty-two-year-old kid telling him what to do inside his own gym.
"This... fucking... brat..." he mutters lowly, almost to himself.
Liam slowly steps back into the room, his jaw tightening as irritation builds behind his stare. But before he can say anything back, Ryoma simply continues speaking, completely unfazed by anger behind him.
"I want whatever gets discussed here to involve the fighters directly. Because fighters are the most important assets in this sport. Without us, none of the promoters or business people involved would gain anything at all."
The room turns silent afterward. And strangely, after hearing Ryoma say those words so calmly, so naturally, right in front of Boyle and Cross without hesitation, sothing inside Liam begins shifting almost instinctively.
For the first ti since eting him, Ryoma Takeda stops feeling rely like so naive young boxer pretending to play businessman.
Eventually, Liam reins himself in and walks back farther into the office before lowering himself onto one of the unoccupied sofas directly across from Ryoma.
Boyle and Cross exchange another brief glance before leaving their earlier positions as well, moving toward the remaining seats surrounding the low table between them instead of staying separated behind the desk like before.
Little by little, the atmosphere shifts into sothing more equal now, all of them sitting face-to-face in the sa space rather than divided by distance and hierarchy like during the earlier discussion with Ramirez.
To begin the discussion, Ryoma simply leans back slightly into the sofa before speaking calmly. "You ntioned earlier that you were already preparing to send an official letter to my gym. Which ans you probably already have an offer prepared. So... can I hear your proposal first?"
"Of course," Boyle answers quickly. "Our intention is to host the event ourselves. More specifically, we want to hold the fight in Las Vegas."
Ryoma’s brows twitch imdiately at the ntion of Vegas. But Boyle keeps talking before Ryoma says anything further.
"Of course we want to be the host. But this wouldn’t just be beneficial for us. It would benefit both sides financially. As for the purse..."
This ti Boyle’s eyes briefly drift toward Liam before returning to Ryoma again, clearly aware of how sensitive the next part sounds.
"We’re prepared to offer $500.000 for both fighters," he says carefully. "And naturally, all accommodation and operational costs would be covered by us during..."
But before he can continue further, Ryoma already shakes his head lightly, looking completely uninterested.
Boyle imdiately stops talking midway through the proposal. For a brief second, Ramirez’s earlier advice resurfaces in his mind.
"...Is the purse too small?" Boyle asks cautiously. "We can increase your side to $700.000 if necessary."
Then he glances toward Liam again. "But Liam, I hope you understand we can’t afford to also increase your..."
Suddenly, Ryoma cuts him off. "The purse isn’t what bothers ."
His gaze sharpens slightly now. "I’m fighting Canadian boxer. And in fact, the arena they used for Jean-Pascal Roy’s fight yesterday looked pretty great already. But why Vegas?"
"Of course this is related to business potential," Cross answers. "Sponsors, marketing value, broadcasting rights..."
"Does this have sothing to do with Hugo Ramirez?" Ryoma suddenly interrupts.
"So you ran into Ramirez outside just now?" Cross asks carefully.
"Yes."
"But I can assure you this has nothing to do with him."
"I’m not convinced."
A faint tension settles over the room again, but Boyle quickly pulls the discussion back before it drifts further.
"Whatever business we may have with Ramirez," Boyle says, "it won’t affect your fight with Liam. Right now this negotiation is only between us and you."
Then he leans slightly forward. "And if seven hundred thousand still feels too low, we can raise your purse to one million dollars. Plus fifty percent of the ticket profits."
But Ryoma slowly shakes his head again.
Cross imdiately joins in. "What about the broadcasting rights? You can have 100% of the revenue coming specifically from Japan."
Then Boyle adds carefully, "And if that still isn’t enough, we can continue discussing..."
"Whatever deal you offer, Mr. Boyle..." Ryoma cuts in calmly, "as long as the event is held in Vegas, I will never accept it."
Boyle’s face gradually hardens now, frustration slowly replacing the earlier politeness. The more Ryoma rejects everything, the more unreasonable he begins to look in his eyes.
"I honestly thought you were more mature than this," Boyle says flatly. "But it seems I’m still dealing with a kid. If you insist on being this stubborn, then there’s no point continuing this discussion. We’ll settle everything through purse bids instead."
"But you haven’t heard my proposal yet," Ryoma says.
Boyle exhales sharply through his nose, frustration finally surfacing openly across his face now.
"I don’t need to hear anything from you anymore. If I keep dragging this discussion further with a stubborn kid acting impossible like this, it’ll only make look ridiculous as a promoter."
Then he gives a small dismissive gesture toward the office door.
"You can leave now."
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