Women's Fighting

Shiraki Uke tapped the center of his forehead. "If I had to describe it—if I lost my 'individual consciousness' and was forced to change, then I suppose I would have lost."

Kure Fusui looked a little puzzled. "You prefer to follow one path all the way to the end?"

"No, it's not that I 'won't change myself,' much less that I 'won't accept change.'"

Shiraki Uke shook his head repeatedly. "But if I were made to do this or that, I'd feel like I'd lost."

"I want to move—driven by my own consciousness, moving with everything I've got, experiencing those things, rather than clinging to some 'right life' or 'right way to live.'"

"I want to define 'myself' through my own consciousness and become someone who stands on his own."

Shiraki Uke smiled. "If I wanted to make money and live comfortably, I should have plenty of opportunities right now, shouldn't I?"

"Doing the right thing, making the most efficient choice, maximizing every benefit—would my 'consciousness' really exist in a life like that?"

"...What does it really mean to be 'strong'?"

Shiraki Uke narrowed his eyes, enjoying the evening breeze and a comfort that was hard to put into words.

Kure Fusui liked how things felt right now, too.

It was casual conversation, so naturally they chatted on and off about all sorts of things.

"It'll probably be a few more days before the Nogi Group contacts us."

Kure Fusui turned to him. "Bai Mu, dear, what are your plans for now?"

Shiraki Uke thought for a moment, then answered, "...Spend money."

Kure Fusui blinked. "Huh?"

"Figure out how to spend the ten million I have."

Shiraki Uke turned and gestured behind him—at the dilapidated dojo, an unsafe building, with the temporary metal housing where he and his sister were staying beside it.

"Now that we have money, I should at least fix up the place first, so Arisa can live more comfortably."

Shiraki Uke rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "The dojo's main structure can't hold up anymore. I'll have to tear it all down and rebuild it, but what should I build in its place?"

Kure Fusui thought for a moment. "Why not restore it to the way it was? You need space to train, after all."

"If it's just me, I don't need much space to train. Rebuilding a whole dojo would be a bit wasteful. It'd be best to put the space to use."

Shiraki Uke lowered his head in thought.

There had to be a reason the Teiai Group coveted their family's land.

Compared with the remote Ninefold Tower, which had no development value, the Shiraki Family's land was a treasure. Not only was it easy to get to, but it also had every kind of infrastructure nearby.

Although a mere ten million was a drop in the bucket when it came to real estate development, if he took the right approach, there would be a chance to bring in a steady stream of funds later.

Even in ancient times, the finest warriors hadn't trained through solitary effort alone; they needed the support of powerful families and clans. Poor households couldn't afford to produce a "military commander."

Modern fighters likewise needed considerable funds as essential support for their daily lives and training.

So how exactly should he spend the ten million he had?

"..."

Seeing Shiraki Uke mull it over for so long, Kure Fusui waved her hands and suggested, "Actually, there's no need to go to all that trouble. If you don't want to worry about money, just marry into the Kure Clan!"

Shiraki Uke: "Hahaha!"

Kure Fusui: "Hahaha!"

A cheerful atmosphere filled the air again.

Since they couldn't keep chatting, the two had nothing else to do and began another round of sparring.

Having learned from her crushing defeat earlier, Kure Fusui no longer chose to meet Shiraki Uke head-on. Instead, she stayed extremely close, trying to use her agile build to pull him into a ground fight.

At such close range, Ryu's techniques were hard to use, so Shiraki Uke leaned more toward Zangief's style.

"Bai Mu, your wrestling skills aren't bad..."

"But wrestling is centered on taking your opponent down, after all. It doesn't have any 'ground techniques'!"

Kure Fusui lowered her body as far as she could and seized the chance to lock up one of Shiraki Uke's legs. "If I pull you into a ground fight, your wrestling won't be much use in the ground game either!"

That was true.

Kure Fusui had locked up Shiraki Uke's right leg, and her Armbar was almost in place.

But to Kure Fusui's utter surprise, Shiraki Uke lifted his right leg high despite her weight, as if he were about to stomp down.

Whoosh!

Kure Fusui let go at once and retreated several steps to a safe distance, looking a little shaken.

"Haha, is the difference in our builds too big?"

"..."

Feeling the restraint on his right leg, Shiraki Uke couldn't help praising her. "Impressive!"

In fighting matches, a difference in build was a decisive factor in victory or defeat. But skillful use of technique could make up for that difference to an extent, as when Shiraki Uke had defeated [Nioh] Komada.

If Kure Fusui had completed her Armbar, she might have turned the tables!

How could he deal with such a nimble attack?

Ryu's style was steady and balanced, while Zangief's was heavy and powerful. Against extremely agile moves, most of the time he could only defend and counterattack.

Could he try a lighter, quicker technique?

"..."

The idea occurred to Shiraki Uke, and the more he thought about it, the more interesting it became. He couldn't stop mulling it over.

Seeing this, Kure Fusui didn't disturb him. She casually said goodbye and left.

Shiraki Uke sat quietly for a while and began to feel a little restless.

Arisa and Maruk were still playing in the park. The house was empty, and there was no sound from the surroundings.

In a bit of a daze, Shiraki Uke decided to go for a walk. He planned to find inspiration somewhere lively; perhaps an idea for a new style would come to him.

He wandered on for who knew how long, until the sky had turned completely dark.

Shiraki Uke came to a bustling street.

Countless neon lights flashed, dazzling signs of every color filled the streets, and waves of noise came from the various shops along the roadside.

Shiraki Uke was lost in thought when two punks suddenly approached him.

Seeing that Shiraki Uke was alone and looked like a vacant big oaf, the two punks got the wrong idea and came over, hoping to extort some spending money.

One blocked Shiraki Uke's path while the other put an arm around his shoulders and threatened him in a low voice.

"Hey, buddy, lend us a little spending money. We'll pay you back later!"

"..."

Shiraki Uke had just hit upon an idea, so he grabbed the taller punk's wrist and hooked his right leg out to the side.

Whoosh!

The taller punk lost his balance, spun upside down through a full three hundred and sixty degrees like an acrobat, then landed back on the ground.

"...!?"

Both punks stared blankly, with no idea what had happened.

Before they could recover, Shiraki Uke walked away, muttering "Still not right" to himself without another word.

Only then did the taller punk let out an "Ah!" of pain and realize his wrist had been dislocated.

"..."

Shiraki Uke continued to follow his instincts. Before he knew it, he had turned onto a secluded street, then gone down a flight of stairs and into a quiet bar.

"...Hm?"

Shiraki Uke suddenly heard a clamor.

He followed the sound into a warehouse behind the bar, and the space before him suddenly opened up.

More than a hundred people had gathered in the warehouse, surrounding a ring in the center and cheering and shouting nonstop.

Clearly, this was an underground fighting arena!

But what puzzled Shiraki Uke was that the roars from the ring sounded a little unusual, noticeably higher-pitched.

Moving closer, Shiraki Uke immediately understood why—

This was a venue for "women's underground fighting."

Chapter 41: Women's fighting

Underground fighting matches were not the exclusive domain of the Kengan Association.

Or rather, Kengan matches were underground fights, but the Kengan Association was far from the only organization that held them.

Unlike the "Kengan matches," which arose from business competition, more underground fighting groups actually favored "direct profit."

They often had yakuza or even politicians backing them. They recruited fighters, held matches, attracted spectators and gamblers, and collected admission fees and betting money.

Just like "legitimate" fighting in the public world, underground fighting had the classic "men's division" as well as a "women's division," which had fewer fighters but was just as popular.

This was "women's underground fighting"!

Drawn by the "smell and feel," Shiraki Uke had stopped and started along the way until he arrived here.