Eventually, Ryohei begins giving ground again, not willingly, but simply because he is losing the battle. But he immediately 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!"

Immediately 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 me with the same intensity you used against Umemoto. 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 me, of course."

Ryohei feels something 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 acknowledgment around lightly. So for him to say something like that, it means 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 immediately. "Getting better? He dropped me 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 immediately 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 women 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 women instead.

And While Maria begins speaking with Hiroshi, Reika’s eyes quietly drift toward Ryoma. And once more, that same faint disappointment resurfaces seeing how completely indifferent Ryoma still acts toward her presence.

A moment 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 time? 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 moment.

Then his eyes move toward Ryoma instead. And Ryoma immediately 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 time."

"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 me."

Hiroshi simply gestures toward the stairs.

"This way, please."

***

Outside the building, cold winter air immediately brushes against Ryoma’s skin the moment 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 something about needing an ice pack just to avoid dealing with Reika, while the freezer is obviously still upstairs. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Which only makes the whole thing worse, because now he just looks like some 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 troublesome."

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 memory. 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 something 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 immediately begin racing. Because that same car has been parked around this area repeatedly over the past few days.

And somehow, 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 men clearly enough.

"...Damn it."

Then suddenly, Reika’s sunglasses come back into his mind again.

"That’s right... I could just borrow her sunglasses."

***

Inside the management office, Kurogane is seated together with Maria and Reika at the meeting table.

Several proposal documents 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 immediately, 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 me what you think?"

Reika turns and immediately 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 come up here just to steal your sunglasses?"

***

Moments later, Ryoma exits the building again. This time 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 immediately.

"...Right, I’ve seen these guys before."

<< Exactly, the return flight from Toronto. >>

Ryoma keeps walking normally without turning his head toward them directly even once.

"What is this now? Are they stalking me?"

The system’s voice speaks again inside his mind.

<< Of course they are stalking you.

<< Even now, as you’re pretending not to notice them, their attention is still fully focused on you. >>

Ryoma’s eyes narrow faintly behind the dark lenses.

"Who sent them?"

<< And for what motive? >>