Right…
So according to Iz, there was one other Handler here, other than herself that is. As for fighters, counting Gentaro and Iz herself, there were 5 of them. Brook hadn’t met the other 3, one of them wasn’t even at the spa right now, apparently he was spending his time in a bamboo forest just a short walk away. For what reason? Iz couldn’t answer beyond “he’s just the type of person to spend his time alone in a bamboo forest.” The other two, they were a few rooms down. Brook took a sip from a small cup of rice wine, also known as sake if you wanted to brush up on the local language. She was a fan of the flavor; it was an acquired taste, unfiltered sake, but it was a taste that her alcohol imbued taste buds could get use to.
She was surprisingly relaxed, lounging in her robe, no pants on, not caring if anyone were to walk in on her right now; which someone, as a matter of fact, did.
Gentaro, walked into the room wearing a similar robe, albeit with shorts on. “So, Brook, I’d like to talk to you about-” He then jolted as he saw Brook shamelessly sounding around in her short robe, that barely went down to her thighs, her white underwear and bulge visible. Shameless as ever, so use to being around Ethan, a man who was never phased by casual nudity, looked up at Gentaro.
“Talk about what?” She said, moving to a different position that wasn’t as revealing, yet still unaware of Gentaro’s bashfulness.
“Er…” He blushed, looking away from her. “You… Uh… Seems I walked in on you under dressed. Sorry about that.”
“Oh right… Thought these things were worn without pants. It is a robe meant for a spa after all. Think it’s called a yukata.”
“Uh, that is absolutely not what it is.”
“Kimono?”
“Still no.” He said, hoping she would stop guessing. Why would one come to the country and not brush up on the basic culture or terms?
“Well, whatever,” She said, stretching, flopping down on the ground, looking up at the ceiling. “I came here to relax, so that’s what I’m trying to do. It just doesn’t feel right. This place is gonna be replaced with a mine, I can’t with a good conscience relax here.”
“I understand,” Gentaro came over and sat down next to her. He crossed his arms. His stark white fur shined under the bright light of the room. He really did look like a rabbit version of Ethan, complete with social anxiety. “So are you aware of why Primal fights are held, right?”
“Entertainment? Seems rich people are obsessed with watching people kill each other.”
“That’s part of it.” He said, “Actually that’s the primary reason, yeah.” He scratched his chin. Brook offered him a sip of her sake, but he refused. “They can also be seen as races. It’s not just entertainment, but the rich folks in the audience, people behind the scenes, and shareholders, they love nothing more than taking bets on these fights.”
“So straight up gambling.”
“Exactly.” He nodded. “Betting more than just money, but shares and business deals.”
“Ethan was way into that a few years ago. I managed to pull him out of it.” He hasn’t quite managed to pull her out of her vices. “I think I see what you’re getting at. You’re going to try and win this place in a fight, right?”
Gentaro just grinned, nodding.
Brook snickered, “Well, the guy who is sponsored by the dude taking this place is staying the night here. So why tell me about your plan? Why not go over to him… Or her. It’s not Iz, I know that much.” At this point, the whole No-Working-During-Vacation thing was thrown entirely out the window. Fuck it, she just wanted to see a fight. Some jackass getting his ass kicked would really make the vacation feel complete.
“I don’t know who it is.” He shrugged. “I haven’t seen the other three Fighters staying here. Don’t even know where Iz ran off to, so she won’t be much of a help.”
Brook silently nodded, unsure of what to say next. Thankfully, that wasn’t a problem, as before she could say anything, there as a knock on the sliding door, causing both of them to look over. Someone else? Right, this wasn’t a private room but the lounge. It had to be one of the Fighters or the single other Handler.
“Come on in.” Gentaro said. Brook didn’t feel it, but Gentaro sure did. There was a certain presence that a powerful fighter gave off, just by looking at them or being around them. You had to be a seasoned combatant to sense it. Behind that door there was a hell of a powerful aura. Like a radiant light, beaming just on the other side, the thin wall of the sliding door just barely containing it. No, not a light, it was more akin to a collapsing flood of stone, ready to crush him the second the door opened. No, it was something akin to both. Which was why Gentaro was on edge, as the door opened, and the two were greeted by a muscular snow leopard.
Brook gasped seeing her.
The woman dressed in a pair of pink and white shorts, and a tank top. She was massive. Actually, massive would be underselling her size. The door she stood in front of had to be about eight feel tall, and she was having to hunch over just to walk through. Her head now completely visible, it was revealed she was wearing a wrestler mask, akin to those worn by many wrestlers. Her muscles though… Her thighs looked larger than Brook’s waist. Her biceps, so large that she couldn’t put her hands around them, even if she used both. As any fan of combat sports, you’d have to be a total fool to not recognize her. She was the Shining Star of Yisk. The Goddess of Combat Sports. The Wrestling Queen. Opal Lightstone.
Brook needed an autograph. Why did she feel aroused?
“I heard talk about setting up a fight!” Opal grinned, towering over Gentaro.
“That I was.” Gentaro nodded. Without warning, he swung a kick at her.
Opal didn’t even have to block the kick in order to defend herself. In a similar technique to Darnell’s Bulwark, she tensed up at the spot he aimed the kick at. It hurt, but the damage was minimal. Hitting her muscular body was like hitting a suit of armor covered in soft, cozy fur. “Oh I like you.” She said, grabbing Gentaro by the lapel of his robe and lifting up, and tossing him forward like a long eared ragdoll. “I don’t like fighting without an audience, but I won’t not fight back.” Fully inside the room, her size was even more apparent, easily taking up most of it. The whole time she had a wide grin on her face. It really reminded Brook of Eli… Dammit, now she was wondering how he was doing, and thought about how upset he would be if he learned he was missing out on this.
The fall didn’t hurt, the floor was soft. Gentaro even broke the fall with a tumble. “That wasn’t a wrestling move!” He shouted. “That was just an ordinary underhand throw!”
“Why are you fixating on that of all things?!” Brook said, interjecting for a moment. That’s when it dawned on her. Maybe it isn’t a good idea for these two to go paw to paw, in this small room full of fragile things; she was one of those fragile things! “Wait, wait!” She stood up, waving her arms, standing between the two. “Hold the fight! You haven’t even set it up with staff yet!” She specifically had her eyes on Gentaro. “I didn’t know you were so hotheaded!” She then looked over to Opal, initially shouting as well, but quickly adjusting to a hushed tone. “And you! …Sorry about this, but could I get your autograph later, I’m a huge fan…”
Of course, the two of them let up, realizing the spark of meeting a powerful warrior was starting to fade as Brook stood between them.
“Right,” Gentaro stood up fully. “Sorry about that. I guess I was a bit heated.”
Opal giggled, a girlish giggle that contrasted with her musclebound appearance. “Teehee, sorry, I will fight with anyone who is willing and who I know can take it.”
“Care to continue this another time,” Gentaro furrowed his brow. “You’re Audwin’s fighter aren’t you?”
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“Who?” Opal asked, looking confused.
There was a moment of silence between all three people, all of them feeling a bit dumb right now. Except for Brook, who never felt dumb in her life, so she told herself. Brook, did, however, break the silence. “Uh, seems there has been a bit of a misunderstanding here.” From there, she explained the situation. As it turned out, Opal was in a similar place to Brook; she just wanted to have a little vacation away from her home country. Her older brother, her Handler, told her about this place and that it was closing down, so a visit here would be the last chance you get. She did not, however, know the cause of the shut down.
Nodding, Opal hummed, “Well, that sucks. Wish I could be more of a help.”
“I assume we can’t fight and have this spa be part of the winnings.” Gentaro suggested, even though he knew the answer to it would be no.
“That isn’t how it works.” A fourth person spoke up, standing in the corner. Somehow, he managed to get in without anyone noticing, probably due to everyone being distracted by the 8 foot something snow leopard in the middle of the room. He was, for lack of a better descriptor, substantially weaker looking than the muscular woman of the same species; actually, there were certainly a lot of better descriptors than that, but that was the first thing that popped into Brook’s head. As opposed to everyone else, who dressed lightly and informally, he dressed in a lavender colored suit with a Primal pin on his lapel.
“Hi bro!” Opal waved, kneeling down to face the smaller snow leopard, who stood up to her chest. Opal then looked to the others, “This is my-”
“Older brother,” he said, rudely interrupting his little sister. “Yes, I’m aware of the irony that, despite being the big brother, I’m literally her ‘little’ brother.”
“No one was gonna say that.” Brook said, raising a brow as to why he was bringing it up. “I wasn’t really thinking it until you said it, but it is kinda funny.”
“So you must be Gem, correct?” Gentaro said, “I heard that was the name of Opal’s handler. I didn’t know that family could be Handlers.”
“A Handler can be anyone. Family, friends, bosses. Anyone who has the skills to manage a Fighter and set things up.” He crossed his arms, “I was always Opal’s fight manager, getting her matches set up, working at Primal is no different.”
“Guess introductions are out of the way.” Brook said, “But what do you mean ‘that’s not how it works?’ Why can’t Gentaro and Opal have a fight to win this spa.”
“It should be obvious.” Gem scoffed, “Because I’m not the owner of the spa and neither are you. As of now, Audwin is technically the owner. He bought up the land here and this place is on that land, obviously.”
“Which means that we can set up a bet with his fighter. That was the original plan after all.” Brook looked over to Gentaro, “…And why Gentaro tried to attack you.”
“That is possible, yes,” he nodded, “But I’ve met Audwin before, he’s a greedy greedy man, I don’t think he’s going to let this place go, not through a single fight.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Gentaro said.
“I suppose.” Gem shrugged, rubbing his chin. “Now that I think about it, he is a gambling man, he can never turn down a bet if there is a lot to gain from it. I won’t be helping you though. Sorry, but this ain’t my fight. So I won’t be throwing Opal into the ring.”
“Why not!” Opal declared, looking at her brother with sad, baby doll eyes. Although she had just met them, she was always one to make quick friends. “I like these two, they seem nice! Audwin sounds like a jerk so why can’t we fight for this?”
“Because I don’t want to get on Audwin’s bad side. He’s a gambler who hates losing. So all I can tell you two, Gentaro, Brook, it’s your funeral if you want to take this. Won’t stop you, I’ll just be watching from the side lines.” He sighed, taking a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lighting one. “Why are you so fixated on winning this place? It’s a small family owned spa. There are a million ones like it throughout Qest. It will disappear without a blip on the world’s radar. Sorry, I’m just scratching my head over this.” If Opal was a beam of light, her brother was much dimmer. Not dark or bleak, but definitely not the ray of sunshine that his sister was.
But, Brook thought about his question. He was right. The only people that this would hurt would be the residents of this small island, the owners of the spa especially. But, just as quick as that thought popped into her head, Brook already had an answer. “I don’t need a reason to save this place. The owners are still people. So are the residents of this island.”
“Well said,” Gentaro said, “I’m sticking by my creed. Just because people are insignificant in the grand scheme doesn’t mean they are less than everything else.”
Opal nodded, looking impressed by the two, the same wide eyed amusement a child would have watching their idol.
“Well, I guess I can’t argue with that.” He said, “Doesn’t change my views or what I plan to do. But at least I can say I see it your way.” He turned his head, blowing a smoke ring to the ceiling. “Guess I can at least tell you about the other fighters here, the two you haven’t met. I assume you’ve already seen Iz.”
“Yes. What’s her deal?” Brook asked.
“She’s strange.”
“Can say that again,” Gentaro said.
“Here’s the most I can tell about her. She’s a fighter who specializing in breaking bones and striking pressure points. I’ve heard she also a body modification artist. Piercings and all that. She’s hard to read, but I wouldn’t underestimate how dangerous she is, she is the winner of the Primal Royale from 2 years ago.”
“That’s the big tournament, right?” Brook nodded.
“Bingo.” Gem nodded, “You’re learning fast.”
“What about the other two?” Gentaro asked.
“There is Patrick Taxis. He’s a construction foreman. He’s incredibly strong. A real ball buster of a worker. He’s another one of those Brute Force fighters who uses pure strength to fight, but from what I’ve heard, he is really good at using his environment or using any tool that he comes across in the arena. Hence why most of the fights he’s lost were in arenas that had no nearby tools.”
“Not too impressive.” Brook said, “Anyone can win a fight if they have a weapon and their opponent doesn’t.”
“You say that, but when someone pulls out something you didn’t expect to be a weapon or something that was thought to be too heavy or cumbersome, you’ll be silent.”
“Still stand by what I said,” Brook said, “The last one?”
“That would be Tao, I think he’s been meditating in the bamboo forest for the past day.” Gem scratched his head. “He is… Uh… I actually don’t know anything about him. He’s old. He’s strong. He’s another previous tournament winner. That’s all I know. He keeps his secrets and I’m too afraid of him to confront him.”
“Afraid?” Gentaro asked.
“Yeah, uh… I think you should see him for yourself, you’ll know.”
Opal shivered, “He’s spooky… But I’d love to fight him one of these days.”
“I’ll set it up whenever he’s free.” Gem nodded to his sister, giving her a thumbs up. “But if you’re looking for the one fighting for Audwin, I recommend going to him first.”
“Why him? Don’t you know who is fighting for Audwin?” Gentaro questioned.
“I do.”
“Can you tell us?”
“I could. But I don’t think I will.” He extinguished his cigarette and deposited his ashes into an ashtray in the middle of the room, one which Brook had been using. “Where’s the fun in just going straight to your opponent? Don’t you want to explore and see who is who? Think of it as a game you can play.” He said as he walked out of the room. “But if you do set up a fight, I’ll be there to watch out, hate to miss out on such a thing.”
Opal scratch her head, still smiling, before looking back to the duo of Gentaro and Brook. “Hey, sorry about him, he’s a bit of a weirdo.” She said, offering her hand to shake.
“It’s fine, aren’t we all?” Brook said, shaking Opal’s hand. Brook’s hand was absolutely tiny in Opal’s grip. She felt like a baby shaking an adult’s hand.
“Touche,” Opal giggled. “But hope to see you guys later, I’d love to get to know you more, but I assume you guys have better things to do, huh? That and get you that autograph.” She said as she looked over to Brook, giving her a hearty thumbs up.
“That we do…” Gentaro nodded, smiling. While there was a bit of lingering annoyance from Gem’s attitude, he was immediately comforted by Opal’s radiating warmth.
With no more to say, Opal walked out, hunching over to get through the door. Gentaro and Brook were alone once more. Gentaro lied down on the floor, while Brook sat down next to him; he looked away as to not get flashed again.
“So,” She said, “Who should we visit first? We know for sure that it isn’t Iz right?”
“I don’t think so, otherwise she probably would’ve said. But at the same time, she’s seems like a girl who has a lot to hide.”
“Yeah, true.” Brook nodded. “What about that Tao guy, do you know anything about him? Gem seemed like he wanted us to go after him first.”
“If I did, I would’ve went straight to him.” He nodded, “But I do agree with Gem, that he should be the first person we visit.”
“Why’s that?”
“Call it a hunch.” Gentaro said, “But there is another reason. I’ve heard rumors about a legendary master of martial arts. A former war veteran and an inventor of a specialized form of martial arts that only he truly mastered. No one knew his name or what he looked like, only of what he had done. Maybe I’m overplaying his legend, but there is a nugget of truth to it.”
“Kind of like Rakkan? Rakkan, the Undefeated?” She asked.
“You know about him?”
“Of course, anyone with a tiny bit of knowledge of the martial arts world would know about Rakkan. He’s a celebrity in the world of fighting.”
“Hm, guess you have a point there. But I guess they’re similar. While Rakkan stays in the light, a bright beacon for all, this man lurked in darkness, fine to live in obscurity as a bizarre hermit. There is also tales that the only person who has ever beaten him in combat is Rakkan himself.”
“…And you think this guy is our man? That’d also require that this Tao guy and this man are the same person.”
“It’s worth a shot.” Gentaro said, taking another sip. “Plus, even if he isn’t, I’d like to meet him. You don’t have to come with me. It’d be dangerous.”
“Eh,” Brook shrugged, “I already almost died once. I think I can risk it again.”
Gentaro paused, knowing from what he’s seen of Brook so far, there was no stopping her. With a sigh and a smile, he stood up. “Very well. Shall we get going?”