by Unknown
Led by a young man, Kajiwara was walking towards the runway with a blunt expression on his face. His small profile and features could be seen from the screen, naturally, the spotlight was following him.
Suddenly, he stopped.
There was a man that stood in front of Kajiwara, pushing the young fellow aside.
“Who is this idiot?” Kajiwara thought to himself.
The man held out his right hand and uttered something.
[176]
The crowd was stirred into frenzy and rushed the scene as they rose from their seats. It was hard to see what was going on. Kajiwara said something to this man, in response, the man that was holding out his right hand suddenly moved it. It seemed that there was something strange in his right hand.
In a flash, the man struck Kajiwara's forehead, so violently it made him crouch in agony. The crowd stood up and screamed in unison. A few members of the audience close to the scene witnessed a splash, almost a flamed flag of red interrupting that intimate space. Kajiwara took a small moment before lifting and revealing his face before the audience. His face was stained in red.
The dense humanity that blocked the exit had Kajiwara frantic, seemingly running away, all the while his hand the shade of his forehead as he covered it: red.
Escalating to the border between passionate reporting and screeching, the announcer began repeating the same words from the crowd.
“Who was he!!?” “Why did he do it!!?” “Is Kajiwara alright!!?”
Besides that, he couldn't say anything else…unable to say anything else.
Kawabe, who was supposed to be a guest commentator on the TV shows, had disappeared from his seat parallel to the announcer and walked to the place where Kajiwara was standing. His thick back blocked the screen.
The announcer, who was supposed to be informed of the intruder's name at the moment he was scripted to barge in, shouted in a different tone that gave away the fact that it was an unscripted assault by an unknown man. Eventually, the broadcast showed the list of matches and names of wrestlers that were going to be featured in next week's show.
“I guess you do it like this, correct?” Kawabe said while shutting off the TV.
Matsuo Shozan waited a few minutes for Kawabe to return to his seat, after a brief pause he said with a deep voice.
“So, that's Bunshichi Tanba.”
Kawabe and Himekawa nodded.
[177]
“He's the intruder...”
Shozan was looking at Himekawa and Kawabe without hiding his excitement.
“Looks interesting, to think that he would go as far as that...”
“He's pretty skilled, also very tough” Himekawa replied.
After a few minutes while Kawabe was silent, Shozan asked.
“How’s Kajiwara?”
“Nothin’ serious…bleedin’ a lot, but....” Kawabe answered.
“What kind of weapon was used in the assault?”
“Several bundles of forks wrapped in wires. They were dropped at the crime scene.”
"Does Kajiwara know who the opponent was?"
"He does now."
"Why now....?"
“On the day of the filming, everyone kept their mouths shut; nobody even mentioned the name of Bunshichi Tanba, not even in passing, to Kajiwara. If he knew, he would’ve been extremely frustrated AND in high-as-fuck- spirits”
“High-as-fuck-spirits, eh?”
“Yeah, that night, he yelled at me demanding why I didn’t tell him sooner.”
“Hmmm...such a young guy” Shozan muttered with a small laugh.
“So, what's gonna happen now?”
"What Tanba Bunshichi did was brilliant, but luckily, his face wasn’t exposed by the camera for too long, so talk-about relieving that nobody noticed a goddamned thing." Kawabe said with a smile.
“What!!?”
“The one that assaulted Kajiwara wasn't Tanba, it was Hiroshi Nagata”
“Hiroshi Nagata!?”
"A wrestler of the same class as Kajiwara, and he's currently fighting in Canada"
“Hohohoho!!” Matsuo answered with some laughs, as if he understood something.
[178]
“When he showed up about three years ago, he was pretty slender, but now he’s bulked enough to resemble Tanba's body frame. If you looked at the picture, you'd see that even the shape of his head and his haircut resembles Bunshichi Tanba. Because the exit scene of the bloody escape was so close, the cameras couldn’t focus well. They couldn't capture a clean picture of him. The shot of the footage recorded at the scene’s too small, the facial features weren’t clear.”
“I see...”
“We picked up a guy, a guy that resembles Tanba the most from all the other wrestlers; the ones that are fightin’ abroad.”
“Hmm....”
“The person who assaulted Kajiwara was Nagata. If we say that to the media, then, that's gonna be the absolute truth.”
“I was wonderin’ if, perhaps, some of the fans of the audience took a few pictures close enough to be revealed later.”
“There's always that chance, but even if they were, it couldn't be that many because the place was jam packed with kids whoopin’ and hollerin’ like they own the place.”
“So, it was Nagata...yea?”
“Yeah”
“So it’s safe to assume we’re stickin’ to it?”
“Yeah, we've been building the story line since yesterday.”
“What? What kind of story line’s that?”
“Nagata is a wrestler from the same class as Kajiwara. In the middle of their international tour while conquering different events, he met Kajiwara in the finals of a tournament. At the time, Nagata lost the fight to Kajiwara resulting in some of his joints being dislocated, that took him out of commission a few months. Nagata healed and promptly returned to the international circuit the following year. Hearing that Kajiwara returned to Japan to take the championship, he returned to settle the matter once and for all in a last epic battle. That’s the line we’re feedin’ as of late.”
“That’s very good...”
“Yup.”
“"We've got it covered then, right?"”
“If that's true, then it'd be better if Tanba keeps it for himself.
“What!?”
[179]
“He wouldn't have a problem going to the media, he could introduce himself, and then reveal that he was the one behind the assault, isn't that right?”
“Yeah, we’re thinking the same thing.”
“Oh...”
“It would be beneficial if there were more guys claiming that they did it too, maybe a few fans that are low class fighters or street brawlers that want those fifteen minutes of fame and claim to be the ones causing the incident; introducing themselves to the media. If Tanba was in between those guys, then it wouldn't be such a big deal.”
“But then, Tanba would do something even more extreme and the situation would get worse.”
“We'll cross that bridge when we get there.”
After hearing that, Kawabe stared silently at his right hand, which had the index finger wrapped in a thick white bandage.
“I heard that Tanba was defeated once by a wrestler...but...” Shozan said.
“Yes...”
Kawabe made a tight fist with his right hand, leaving the injured finger out.
“He did this....” Kawabe continued “But I'm not angry or frustrated at all, is that weird? There aren't that many men like him these days; to have that bravado or the balls or whatever you wanna call it, to pull fighting stunts like this.”
Kawabe's face became sour, looking as though it was turning to stone.
“Regardless of his talent and brazenness, I have a duty to protect Toyoo Pro-Wrestling. If we've come this far, we cannot let anyone beat our fighters and walk away undefeated. He must be crushed.”
“Pfffttt...Hahahaha!...”
“But, do we know the right guy for the job?”
&nbs
p; “The right guy for the job?”
“Crazy Dog, he's a foreigner that dreams to fight in New York, he wants rough terrain and loves that easy money. He'll be more than happy to ambush Tanba on the way up.”
“I wonder if that would work, would it, do you think?”
“It will, even if something crazy were to happen, I doubt Tanba will go to the police. Even if he said something to the police about it, it would become just an ordinary street challenge. The only ones responsible would be the people in question. We would need some hush-money for the authorities; sort of an apology for the inconvenience.”
[180]
“When I said “I wonder if that would work” I wasn't talking about a successful outcome” Shozan said.
“What if the foreigner loses to Tanba? Have you considered that possibility?”
“I don't really know, but even if he loses, it would be just another ordinary loss, wouldn’t it?
“Would it be?” Shozan stood up sluggishly and started towards his mahogany desk that was actually the most luxurious and expensive item in the room.
“I was quite surprised when there was a call for me, and the fact that you’re searching for him.”
“It was because Kajiwara showed up; some of my guys went to the arena too.” Kawabe spoke behind Matsuo Shozan's back. Turning around, Shozan put his thick and powerful palm over the mahogany desk and gave a penetrative gaze.
“Just a few days ago in Shinjuku, some of my younger students found Tanba and witnessed his teachers being defeated. Even Izumi Souichiro still can't understand how or why he lost against Tanba in a fight.”
“That's understandable...” Himekawa answered with a smirk on his face.
"What about Shimura and Tsurumi?"
“They have totally lost their cool. It seems that they demanded all his disciples to look for him all over Tokyo.”
“The three defeated guys were from Shimura's Dojo, right?”
“"That's right. They're from the Nerima branch, to be exact."
Himekawa's expression was somewhat indifferent. He didn't seem to be too concerned about the incident as it had nothing to do with him.
“Anyways if you excuse me, I'll be heading out now.” Kawabe rose from his seat.
[181]
“I understand that if you’re here today it must be kept a secret, right? My apologies for what happened to Kajiwara.”
“Great Tatsumi is not the kind of person who would dive into extremes for his own benefit, correct?”
“Only if he was the director of the organization.”
“I see, I don't think it'll be any good if they were to find out that you came here today.”
“Yes, that's true” Kawabe replied.
“ Pro-wrestling is the strongest martial art method in the world, huh?” Shozan asked with a smile.
“........” Kawabe looked at the ground for a second, silently.
“Tatsumi said so because he couldn't afford to keep it for himself and for the sake of his kids show. The strongest martial art in the world is the Hokushinkan Karate. There, I said it.”
“Ain't that right, Himekawa? You know...” Shozan gave a glance and a smile to Himekawa which answered with a silent smirk.
Currently, The Hokushinkan Karate organization was engaged in a subtle rivalry with Toyoo pro-wrestling. When the Great Tatsumi claimed in a popular sports magazine that there was no strongest martial art in the world than pro-wrestling, the fire started to spark among fighting groups of Japan. This was based on the fact that various MMA practitioners challenged Toyoo pro-wrestling and were soundly defeated on the mat. This statement was doubted by Hokushinkan as they had no proof of such matches and they were curious about their actual fighting ability.
To keep their reputation as the number one Karate organization in the world, The Hokushinkan could not accept Tatsumi's statement out of the blue. Therefore they demanded to that sport magazine to denounce and detract the comment made in the previous edition.
“That made an editor very heart-broken...” Shozan said with a rough tone.
“ But when it comes to the heart of the issue, it is not an exaggeration to say that Hokushinkan is the best in the world, specially when it comes to fighting without rules when the result could well be certain death.”
“ I understand, Mr. Matsuo, that you are speaking based on your personal experiences, but my boss said so because he has the same opinion.”
[182]
In just seconds, Kawabe's eyes became hard like a rock and the menacing glance was directed straight at Matsuo. In return to that, Matsuo answered with a think gentle smile.
“Heh, well, I'll take that answer. For now...”
“I appreciate it.” Kawabe answered in a dry tone and turning around, he left the place.
A few moments after Kawabe left the place, Shozan crossed his arms for a while and stared into an empty space.
“Say, Himekawa” speaking with a deep voice.
“What is it?”
“The world of Karate in Japan might have just started expanding due to that man called Bunshichi Tanba.”
Releasing his arms, he clenched his fists and stared at them.
“ But to think he had the balls to invade the arena and attack their most popular player...That Tanba guy sure is something else.”
“So it seems....” Himekawa said, while Shozan was still staring at his fists, when suddenly he whispered something.
“Damn, this never ends, how troublesome.”
“Troublesome? For you?”
“Yes, Himekawa, I'm troubled.”
“Hah!! why is that?”
“Cause this things make me excited.”
“Excited you say?”
“Well, what would happen if I were to make a comeback? I wonder?”
Looking at Matsuo Shozan, Himekawa saw him as excited as a little kid that's about to receive an awesome Christmas present.
“It would be so much fun if I were to wear a mask and crash the whole show, beating all the wrestlers and call out Tatsumi for an ultimate throw down. Then escape!!”
“Hey, don't get too many ideas about it, I still haven't heard that you are joking, old man, you get too worked up.”
Shozan relaxed his hands and once again placed it on the desk.
“By the way, I got a call from Izumi yesterday.”
[183]
“Wait, you mean Izumi San, from Nara!!?” Himekawa asked surprised.
“Yes, it seems his daughter will arrive to Tokyo tomorrow.”
“You mean Saeko San?”
“Yes, Technically, she was supposed to come and talk some sense to Shimura and Tsurumi but...”
“But what?...”
“You know why is she coming here better than anyone, right?” Matsuo said it with a bold smile.
CHAPTER II
“What the hell's going on!!?” “Why do they say it was Nagata!!?”
Ryoji threw the sport newspaper across the room. They were staying in a tiny Inn's room with colored tatami mats and a low table that had a glossy gray color. Bunshichi Tanba was sitting down and placed his elbow on top of the table. His palm was holding his squared chin as he was looking at the window from his left side.
Behind that dirty glass you could see the soft orange tone of the town's sunset. Since they were located in the second floor of the Inn. A nearby alley was so narrow, it seemed that the window was directly facing the wooden apartment building on the other side. The cheap cream colored painting was chipping off, giving the apartment a marginal look and sloppy appearance. It was most likely that the roof was going to leak if it rain, but they weren't concerned about it.
But the room that Bunshichi stayed in was not much different either. Originally, the front wall was white, but now, it turned somewhat brownish or even yellowish. A dark stain that looked like the pattern of a map was increasing in size too. Most likely it was caused by the rain that leaked through the ceiling. The pain was also peeling here and there,
including a few prank doodles from some street kids. You could say you were looking at a surrealist piece of art.
[184]
“It doesn't seem you are the least concerned. Aren't you pissed off for what they did, old man!!?”
Trying to sound arrogant, Ryoji stood up from the other side of the table staring at Tanba. His lips sharpened and his face frowned. His teenager angst was appropriate of a young guy of his age.
But Bunshichi had a calm demeanor and his eyes were quietly lost somewhere in the light outside. Since Ryoji didn't get the reaction that he wanted from Tanba, He sulked and sat cross-legged. “Damn it!!” he muttered to himself.
At his feet was that popular sports newspaper with a headline written in big red letters.
“NAGATA CHALLENGES KAJIWARA” While a line below written in small black letters read “This bloodshed is my challenge letter”.
There was an image of Hiroshi Nagata's full body, whose posture was almost copied from the posture that Bunshichi had. There was a close-up picture of him too, A face that also resembled much of Bunshichi.