by Unknown
“Hi, sir...We found Bunshichi Tanba!!” said the man on the other line of the receiver. He was one of the team members that was searching for Bunshichi's whereabouts since the last incident.
“What!? Where is he!!? is he in Yokohama!!?”
“That's right, sir...”
“I knew it....As long as Kajiwara is participating in said event, Tanba will be there to ambush him.”
[194]
“Tell me his location.”
“He's in front of the Toukai Kankou hotel. Tanba is wearing black trainers, and he's in the Ashida cafe that's located next to the lobby area”
“He's wearing black trainers, you say?”
Himekawa had the image of the day when Bunshichi met Izumi Souichiro in Nara fresh and burned into his memory.
He was also wearing black trainers in that day too .
“Is he planning to fight Kajiwara seriously!!?
Himekawa's lips, that were inundated with the pleasant feeling of Saeko's lips, got tense immediately.
“What does he have against Kajiwara!!?”
“His TV match is over , so he's staying at the hotel. I think he's inside his room now. But if Tanba is following Kajiwara's routine from the previous shows. He knows Kajiwara goes for some training in the evening. And since It's not dark yet, he must have went out. He should be by Yamashita park by now.”
“Understood”
“After that Shimura San and Tsurumi San went to the hotel soon, I saw them hanging out in the lobby at an earlier hour.”
“I'll be there soon.” Himekawa said with a hasty voice while he was hanging out the phone.
Both of his hands hugged Saeko who was still chewing. He secured Saeko's head and she moved it wildly.
During their intimate moment, the only person who appeared in Himekawa's mind was Bunshichi Tanba.
CHAPTER V
Wearing some comfortable trainers that had the “Toyoo Pro-Wrestling, we are the strong” logo printed on its chest, Kajiwara went out to explore the city. His match went good, it was the semi-final series of Tag Match and it ended a little before 9:00 pm. so he arrived at his hotel around 9:30 pm.
[195]
He left the hotel around 10:30. A normal athlete would take the night off and rest all day the next day. It was not recommendable for them to train right after the match was over, let alone going out at night for some jogging like Kajiwara. But it was a habit for him. Kajiwara was always training even in his spare time. Even after or before matches, that issue didn't concern him much and never had an effect on him.
Kajiwara never suffered from over exerting himself. He was tough enough to bear the soft pain of an injury every now and then, he forgot about his resistance and he just continued his routine as one would watch TV or sit in the sofa to read a book.
Before jogging, he did some bending and stretching in front of the hotel and took off.
His pace was fast and constant. To avoid running into pedestrians, he was alternating between the street and the sidewalk.
A little after running beyond the downtown lights, he passed a big shadow of a man that started following his pace of running, lining up next to him. Yes, it was that man, Bunshichi Tanba.
He was silent and both men ran side by side. A passerby that came in front of them moved out of the way. The city lights were even more distant, lighting their backs as they ran. Although Kajiwara was a tall man, with a simple look, their body weight was about the same.
“So, you finally came, huh?”
“That's correct” Bunshichi answered.
They were silent for a while, while still running side by side at the same pace. When they suddenly arrived to a busy street with a red light, both of them stopped there. The light turned to green and both men crossed.
After crossing the signal,they stood up in the sidewalk. Beyond the light, there was an asphalt road that both of them followed. Gradually the scene got darker and darker until, eventually, the whole street was just illuminated by the moon.
They did not run anymore.
[196]
Shoulder to shoulder, they started walking calmly and silently.
“How's your wound?” Bunshichi asked suddenly.
“ It healed alright, it wasn't a big deal at all.”
“I see...” Bunshichi answered, then kept his silence for a little while.
There was an air of opportunity that was blending with the wind. “a sudden attack? Is he waiting for it?”
“Damn, it was close...” Bunshichi answered with a smile.
“Close? What are you talking about?”
“The belt. The champion belt you got in America. That return match was for the purpose of going back and taking it once again, isn't it?”
“That's not true, actually I just gave it away.”
“What!? You...?”
“If you get a national champion title over there, you cannot afford to come back to Japan, unless you pay a high price for a few months off, otherwise, they will keep booking you for title defenses over and over, there's great demand for rematches there.”
“Man, it is so confusing, the business deal of fighting.”
“That is true...unlike us....”
Kajiwara suddenly appeared as the one that seized that chance, when his words were stolen by the wind.
Everything got quiet....
“You surprised me over there.” This time, it was Kajiwara the one that started the conversation.
“What!!?”
“Right at the moment when you appeared in front of me in the Korakuen hall.”
“Because it was so sudden and unexpected, was it?”
“ At first, I didn't notice it was you, but then, you raised your hand and everything came back to me.”
“Yeah, that's when I tried to...”
“Nobody told me you went to the old Kawabe's gym.”
“What if you knew?”
“Then I would have been waiting for you, ready to fight you once again, in your favorite place.”
“That means, you're pissed off about it, eh?”
[197]
“You're correct.” Kajiwara answered, somewhat bored and absentminded.
“Why is that?”
“ I don't understand, why didn't you come to me first!? Why did you have to take a detour and make things more complicated? It'd have been better for me if you have come and ambushed me here in the middle of the night, without the drama that has ensued.”
“I should have done that...uh?”
“Man, do you like the drama and the crowds screaming that much?”
“Hahahah...Maybe...” Bunshichi laughed a little.
“To be honest, I was a little freaked out by you, scared even...”
“Scared of me? Really?”
“Yes...”
“...........”
“That evening, when we met at the Korakuen hall, all I could think was what would I have done if I were to attack you, I kept wondering about...”
“About what?”
“Dunno, about what kind of fight were you offering, would you counter attack if I attacked you? If I took advantage before you could recover? If to accept your challenge and listen to your conditions? Do we fight with rules or with all our might and tricks? In the ring or out of it? Those kind of things...”
“Ah, I see...”
“One can never be too sure about you, you might have pricked my eyes all of a sudden. Or kicking me in the balls. If you were to fight down and dirty, I would have done the same too, screw rules.”
“I'm very relieved.” Bunshichi answered calmly.
“Relieved?....”
“To hear that you were scared of me.”
“Hahah, ain't that funny?”
“I was scared of you too. Even now.”
“Hahah, hmmm... Sure...” Kajiwara relaxed a little and let a smile sneak through his lips.
The smell of opportunity has gotten stronger and more intense.
[198]
“Like what?”
“Don't ask that, you know they're secret.”
“Ohh, I see where this is going.”
“The moment you discover them, it will be when we have an all-out fight.”
“All-out? You want a fight like that? Or maybe...” Bunshichi asked with a suspicious tone.
This tone was to sense at what level Kajiwara wanted to take the fight. Kajiwara understood what Tanba was implying and tried to make sure about his real intentions.
“We can make it exciting but I don't want us necessarily to kill each other.” Said Kajiwara.
“Same here...” answered Bunshichi, then quietly added “Even though, the result will be that one of us will end up dead.” Kajiwara nodded in silence while they were quietly walking away.
This stroll continued in silence for a long time. The darkness directed Kajiwara's body heat to Bunshichi, who was walking next to him. He even could hear the sound of Kajiwara's breathing clearly.
The feeling wasn't there, the one when you tell yourself “I'll kick this guy's ass now!!” They enjoyed the conversation along the way, and it seemed that they were walking and looking for an affordable bar to continue the chat.
He could hear his sound in the dark, while looking at the bright ocean that was illuminated by the moon and stars above. Walking forward a little, Tanba distinguished dots of lights. It was Yamashita park, since both of them entered it, Tanba decided to ask something.
“Could you tell me one thing?”
“What is it?
“When we fought last time, why didn't you break it?”
“That time?”
[199]
“When we fought for the first time, you had more than enough chances to break my arm.”
“That time, eh?”
“Yes...” Bunshichi said with determination in his eyes, Kajiwara didn't say anything. He seemed to be trying to remember something then he sighed and said.
“A little while ago, I did it...”
“You did it?”
“Yeah, in the opening performance show, Probably you've hear the name of the guy. Hiroshi Nagata.
“You broke Nagata's arm?.....”
“The guy didn't give up. He'd lost his cool. I just pulled a little more and it was broken.”
“.......”
“ It was a disgusting sound, I could hear it all from my hand to my guts.”
“Hah, Hah...” Bunshichi smiled a little. Kajiwara turned to Bunshichi, then He moved back to face the darkness ahead of him.
“I will shatter it now.” Kajiwara stopped for the first time since they started walking.
Bunshichi, who was walking a little ahead of him, stopped and turned around looking at his face. Now they were finally facing each other.
“Do you want to fight here?” Bunshichi asked bluntly. But Kajiwara shook his head.
“ Didn't you hear what I said? I told you it was complicated. This is not just my problem anymore. More people got involved now and Toyoo pro-wrestling lied to the press and the media. The number of people involved with this issue has increased. ”
“I see, so the big guy that has been following us for a while, he's also...?
“Yes...”
“Hah, hah, This is so predictable, the dude is so huge, he's unsuitable to tail anyone without being spotted. ”
“Kawabe said that if you beat him without being broken in the end, then we can fight.”
[200]
“Hahahah... One detail that escaped Kawabe's mind, though. What if I decided to kick you ass right now? What would you do, then?”
“I don't care either way, but I'm not the one that will attack you first, he is. You attack me and you'll have to fight both of us at the same time. A poor idea considering the fact that he has fought in New York and honed his skills there for some time. If you decide to go ahead, then, this will hardly be a match of skills.”
“Damn that Kawabe, I guess I owe him this match for bending his finger.”
“I'm going to train a little and I'll be back in about an hour or so. If you're still in the mood for fighting me, then just come. But you still need to defeat that guy first.”
“You have plenty of energy left for what I can see.”
“If I don't exhaust myself at the end of the day, then I can't sleep well. That's how I do it.” Kajiwara said this while giving a deep look at Bunshichi. Once he said this, he turned around slowly and walked a few steps before starting jogging again. It would seem that his figure was swallowed by the darkness and disappeared soon enough.
Bunshichi turned slowly and there it was, a giant shadow waiting for him.
It was a tall, blond man with long hair, he must have been about 6.5” Ft. tall. A giant with blue eyes that stared silently at Bunshichi while getting closer to him, you could only heard his steps and the wind around the trees. He was like a mad dog when he fought, that earned him the nickname of “Crazy Dog” in the fighting circles. His shiny eyes were glowing in the darkness while staring at Bunshichi, when he got close enough. He stopped, smiled a little and then laughed loudly.
He reeked of alcohol and cheap cigarettes, that smell reached Bunshichi quick enough. With a quick glance, Bunshichi assessed the man that he was about to fight. By his looks, he was 6'5” Ft. and about 240 lbs estimated on his build. Compared to Bunshichi, he had an advantage of 66 lbs. of pure muscle for what it looked like. The man was wearing a comfy business suit and his chest was wide open. You could see a bush of golden hair over the hard muscles.
Bunshichi got ready for the fight, bending his knee slowly and lowering his stance, he already decided his moves for the opening and counter-attacks. But the scene got interrupted by a loud scream in the darkness.
“WAIT!!” A deep and solid voice was heard.
Two men appeared behind Crazy Dog. These guys were a tad shorter than Bunshichi but their height was still close to the 6”0. Ft. It was obvious that, in regard to fighting, these weren't ordinary men.
[201]
When they advanced, their steps didn't make sounds. Being men with excellent footwork, probably martial artists with thirst for blood at whatever price it might come. Both of them moved slowly and stood right in the middle. Back-to-back, One faced Crazy Dog, the other glared at Bunshichi. Both of them had exceptionally sharp eyes.
“I'm Shimura, from Hokushinkan.” Said the man that stood in front of Bunshichi.
“I want to have a fight with you, Tanba Bunshichi!!”
“What!? With me?”
“The man behind me is Tsurumi, we both have been informed that you were the guy that took down our students in Shinjuku. Izumi-sensei was the one that told us. That's reason enough to challenge you without delay!!”
“Well, I'm in the middle of something right now. If you don't mind, I'll fight you another day. Gotta finish this first.”
“ I won't accept that!!”
“Come on!! I'm not gonna run away.”
“We're gonna fight, right here, right now!!” The man was determined in his answer.
Crazy Dog was confused and had a perplexed look that quickly turned into anger.
“Get the fuck outta my way!!” he roared.
The guy fought so many hard battles in the past. And, by his own might and talent, he had gotten himself a main event at the Madison Square Garden arena in New York. His pride never let anyone get in his way and this wasn't going to be the exception either. The giant walked around Tsurumi without touching him. Being so close to a taller man, Tsurumi wasn't scared and he figured that, if the giant tried something funny, he would deliver a solid kick in the groin area and the giant would be done for.
All of a sudden, Crazy Dog held Tsurumi's shoulders with pressing power. That's when it happened....
[202]
Tsurumi kicked his right
leg to the ground to launch his attack. The force and speed of his attack was amazing, His kick was directed at Crazy Dog's groin area. The contact made a cracking sound.
The movement of Tsurumi's leg stopped midway because Crazy Dog checked the kick with his giant knees that were surprisingly fast. Crazy Dog laughed out loud before delivering a devastating head-butt to Tsurumi that was barely blocked and answered with a solid punch.
That was the start of the fight.
CHAPTER VI
The wind that came from the ocean was so cold that it created a chilling atmosphere. A taxi stopped right at Yamashita park and a man walked out from it. It was Himekawa Tsutomu. As soon as he walked and entered the park, he sat down on the bench close to a big tree's shadow. Looking around, he only noticed a couple walking away. Those were the only human figures he could distinguish. Moving further, he kept walking and started looking at the ocean that was at his right side.
He could sense that someone was there, even though the hunch wasn't strong enough. Instead of a person, he was sensing something more alike to a sharp object and someone's unusual breath. It was tearing up the atmosphere. It was not the wind, it was something else.