Eventually, Ryohei begins giving ground again, not willingly, but simply because he is losing the battle. But he imdiately holds his ground again, and drives a sharp one-two.
Ryoma parries the jab, and then ducks under the cross, rolling to the left before unleashing his trademark triple hooks, the restrained one.
Thud! THUD! Thud!
Ryohei folds slightly under the pressure, his guard tightening as he gives another half step back.
From the side, the others react with mild surprise.
"Wohoo!"
"That’s sick!"
Imdiately afterward, Ryoma subtly resets backward himself, deliberately leaving a faint opening around the jawline.
Ryohei sees it. Desperation takes over, and he fires a cross instantly.
Ryoma pulls his head away with another short half-step before driving his right hand straight forward.
DHUACK!
Ryohei’s head knocked back, but he actually stays standing, just for a beat before Aramaki slams the bell.
DING!
Then finally, Ryohei ’s legs give beneath him as he drops down onto one knee.
Ryoma gives him a small nod. "That’s better. You finally fought with the sa intensity you used against Umoto. But you lost your composure at the end there."
Then he turns away before adding calmly, "Keep that intensity, and keep your calm. And I assure you... nobody in this country can beat you. Except , of course."
Ryohei feels sothing twist quietly inside his chest after hearing that. The irritation is still there, stubbornly lingering beneath the exhaustion and pain.
"This damn brat..."
But Ryoma is not the kind of person who throws acknowledgnt around lightly. So for him to say sothing like that, it ans far more than Ryohei wants to admit.
Sera steps in closer to him, eyes scanning his posture.
"You okay?"
Ryohei wipes his mouth with the back of his glove.
"I’m fine."
Sera nods once. "Good. You’re getting better. You can go the full three rounds against him today."
Ryohei’s expression tightens imdiately. "Getting better? He dropped to a knee and you’re calling that getting better? That guy was even pulling his punches earlier."
"Don’t get disheartened yet," Sera says. "That’s only because the kid’s getting better too."
Ryohei exhales sharply through his nose. "Yeah, right. His step-in is so sharp... and the hooks coming after that... they are damn heavy."
***
Sera steps in and guides Ryohei toward the ropes. As they pass Nakahara, Sera gives a brief nod toward him. Without breaking rhythm, Nakahara turns back toward the ring.
"Okabe. Aramaki. In the ring. Three rounds."
Okabe imdiately rolls his shoulders and steps forward, slipping between the ropes with a steady breath. Aramaki follows a second later, loosening his neck as he climbs in from the opposite side.
Hiroshi steps toward the bell. But just before he rings it, the gym entrance suddenly opens, and two won step inside; Reika and Maria from NSN Tokyo.
"Good afternoon, everyone," Reika greets politely. "I hope we’re not interrupting anything."
Ryoma doesn’t respond at all. He simply walks toward the nearby bench and drops himself onto it with a tired exhale. So Hiroshi ends up approaching the two won instead.
And While Maria begins speaking with Hiroshi, Reika’s eyes quietly drift toward Ryoma. And once more, that sa faint disappointnt resurfaces seeing how completely indifferent Ryoma still acts toward her presence.
A mont later, Maria turns back toward her.
"Hey. Let’s go."
Reika blinks once before following after her. After a few steps, Maria slows slightly while leaning closer.
"Get yourself together, girl. We’re here for important business."
Then they stop near the ring while Hiroshi informs Nakahara casually, "Sir, they are here to talk about production for the next event."
Nakahara glances toward them. "Didn’t I already explain before? We already hired another production company for the Ota Gym event. It’s only a local-level card. We’re not expecting anything spectacular there."
"What about Yoyogi?" Maria asks politely. "Have you already hired production staff for that too?"
Nakahara exhales quietly. He still clearly prefers avoiding deeper business ties with NSN whenever possible. But now, he also lacks a direct reason to reject them.
"I don’t think so yet," Maria continues. "Could you spare a little ti? I believe our proposal will interest you."
Nakahara’s eyes shift first toward Okabe and Aramaki already preparing inside the ring, both of them waiting for instructions before the spar begins. The glance alone already makes his situation obvious enough; his hands are full at the mont.
Then his eyes move toward Ryoma instead. And Ryoma imdiately catches the intention.
"...Need another ice pack," Ryoma mutters casually before standing up and walking off toward the exit, acting completely indifferent.
Nakahara’s brows twitch slightly while watching Ryoma walk off without the slightest intention of helping.
"That damn brat..."
Then he exhales once before turning his attention back toward Maria and Reika again.
"Sorry, I’m busy preparing Okabe and Ryohei right now. Their fights are less than two weeks away. Yoyogi still has ti."
"I don’t mind waiting," Maria insists smoothly.
Nakahara exhales again. "Why not discuss it upstairs with Kurogane first. I’ll hear his opinion later about your proposal."
Maria turns toward Hiroshi afterward. "That’s fine with ."
Hiroshi simply gestures toward the stairs.
"This way, please."
***
Outside the building, cold winter air imdiately brushes against Ryoma’s skin the mont the entrance door closes behind him.
Wearing nothing but a sweat-damp tank top from training earlier, he stops near the side of the entrance as the freezing air hits directly against his bare arms and neck. A faint stream of white breath escapes his mouth while he exhales into the afternoon cold, looking completely ridiculous standing outside like this.
And all because he blurted out sothing about needing an ice pack just to avoid dealing with Reika, while the freezer is obviously still upstairs.
Which only makes the whole thing worse, because now he just looks like so moron standing outside trembling in the winter cold for absolutely no reason.
His eyes drift briefly toward the glass entrance behind him, then toward the gray winter sky above. And eventually, his thoughts circle back toward Reika again.
"...Seriously troubleso."
He clicks his tongue softly afterward. Because honestly, ignoring her completely is harder than he expected. Reika’s charm alone always draws attention naturally.
Ryoma understands himself well enough to know distractions are dangerous right now. His focus needs to stay on boxing, not on girls.
But then, another small detail suddenly resurfaces inside his mory. The sunglasses resting on top of Reika’s forehead earlier.
"What’s with her wearing sunglasses in winter..."
And that is when his eyes casually catch sothing else farther down the street, a car parked near the curb, with two foreigners sitting inside.
And through the windshield, Ryoma notices one of them wearing sunglasses too.
"And there’s another weirdo over there..."
Then slowly, his gaze sharpens. And just as quickly, he looks away again, acting completely uninterested as if he never noticed them at all.
But inside his head however, thoughts imdiately begin racing. Because that sa car has been parked around this area repeatedly over the past few days.
And sohow, those faces feel familiar.
"Who are they?"
He likes to take a second look, but he does not want them realizing they have already caught his attention.
So instead of staying in cold like a moron here, he simply turns back toward the gym entrance and heads inside the building again.
A minute later, he quietly reaches the second floor. Carefully, Ryoma approaches one of the windows near the office area before peeking through the slight gap behind the curtain.
From this angle though, he still cannot see the n clearly enough.
"...Damn it."
Then suddenly, Reika’s sunglasses co back into his mind again.
"That’s right... I could just borrow her sunglasses."
***
Inside the managent office, Kurogane is seated together with Maria and Reika at the eting table.
Several proposal docunts are spread neatly across the table while Kurogane slowly reads through them.
"...So instead of us paying for your production services," he mutters, "you are offering four million dollars for exclusive broadcasting rights inside Japan?"
"Yes," Maria answers calmly. "Exclusive only for Japan. You can still sell international rights separately or organize your own PPV overseas."
Kurogane doesn’t answer imdiately, but the interest already shows clearly across his face.
Eventually, he looks up from the papers. And only then does he notice Ryoma standing near the doorway behind Reika.
"Ah, Ryoma. Good timing. Why don’t you read this and tell what you think?"
Reika turns and imdiately startles after realizing Ryoma is already standing so close behind her.
Ryoma barely glances at the proposal before his attention shifts toward the sunglasses tucked above Reika’s forehead.
Instantly, Reika’s cheeks flush beneath his stare. "Y... yes?"
"Ah, sorry..." Ryoma says, then simply takes the sunglasses off her head. "Can I borrow this for a while?"
And before anyone can react properly, he already leaves the office again without showing the slightest interest toward the proposal, or toward Reika herself.
Maria blinks and turns to Reika "...Did he seriously co up here just to steal your sunglasses?"
***
Monts later, Ryoma exits the building again. This ti he actually dresses properly first; thick winter jacket, beanie hat, and Reika’s sunglasses covering his eyes despite the cloudy afternoon.
Then he casually walks down the sidewalk toward the parked car across the street. He keeps his pace relaxed while pretending to stare forward casually.
But behind the sunglasses, his gaze quietly studies the two foreigners inside the vehicle. And soon, he recognizes them imdiately.
"...Right, I’ve seen these guys before."
>
Ryoma keeps walking normally without turning his head toward them directly even once.
"What is this now? Are they stalking ?"
The system’s voice speaks again inside his mind.
Ryoma’s eyes narrow faintly behind the dark lenses.
"Who sent them?"
>
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