The Primal staff were really good at setting things up, seems that everything was all ready; Brook didn’t know if there was any one who did paperwork for them to set these things up, but whoever it was, they were godly at it. It was a sunny afternoon, the sun hanging high in the sky; usually fights were held at either night or in the morning, however the isolated location of Ishinomori allowed for them to hold the fight at anytime. In the bamboo forest, Gentaro was practicing and limbering up for the big fight. The livelihood of his home town rode on this fight. Just over there by the edge of the clearing, watching him, was Brook. Surprisingly relaxed, despite having poured her heart out last night; seems that when you do it once or twice, it isn’t so hard. Therapeutic even.

“So you ready? The fight is in like 10 minutes?” Brook asked, looking at her non-existent watch, before looking back to Gentaro.

“Of course,” he nodded, taking a deep breath, standing with his feet side by side, putting his hands together, then exhaling.

Brook, curious about what he was doing, had to ask, “So what’s that? That breathing technique? It’s Tai Chi, isn’t it?”

“Tai Chi?” He asked, before shaking his head. “No, it’s something different. It’s just simple meditation. No real name for it.” He said, holding his hand out in a fighting stance, as if fighting an invisible opponent. Right now, he was picturing his enemy, right there in front of him. Not a clear picture just yet, he had no idea what to expect.

“Does it have a practical purpose in a fight?” Brook asked again, striking a similar pose, mimicking him.

“Kind of?” He said, “It’s more to clear your mind. When you complete purge your mind of all distractions and are completely focused on the ‘now’ exclusively, it can come in handy. All the little details, stuff people would miss in a panic, become clear as day.”

“I think I get it?” Brook nodded, “So it is just focusing extra hard. Harder than normal.” She said, walking up to him. “Plus it looks pretty cool.”

“You think so?” He raised a brow. “Fighting is more about surviving and winning. I think looking cool is secondary.”

“Why not both simultaneously? Look cool and survive and win?” She laughed, before looking at her phone, checking the time. “…Right… Let’s get going. Don’t want to be late and look bad.” She said, walking off, Gentaro following her.

Down by the beach, everyone had gathered, from the fighters to the spectators, to the staff and judge. Cameras and drones at the ready for once the fight picked up; there were a pair of White Shirts who were inspecting one that wasn’t quite working as expected. The white sand of the shore meeting the sea foam. On any other day, this place would be beautiful, but now it was an arena for a pair of hardened warriors. Not every fight was to be had in a normal arena; actually, the majority of fights were in some random location. A fight can start anywhere after all, so why not allow Primal’s fights to be set up just about anywhere?

“A beach.” Gentaro said, feeling the sand beneath his shoes.

“Is that an issue?” Brook asked.

“Nope,” he shook his head. “As a matter of fact, it wouldn’t be the first time I had a fight on a beach. It’s a problem for some people, with how you can have trouble gaining a footing on the sand, or something unexpected like stumbling over a rock or the waves interrupting a fight… But I have experience with this battlefield.” He said, kicking up some sand, looking across the beach to see Patrick there, chatting happily with a group of White Shirts. “I have a feeling that man has had the same experience as me. He’s a veteran, so he’s likely seen it all.” Stretching, he had to mentally prepare for this one. “This, Brook, isn’t going to be an easy fight.”

She patted him on the shoulder, “Nah, I think you got this. The guy is all talk!”

“Pride does come before the fall,” he said. “Although I do love your confidence.”

“Everyone does,” she winked, before going back over to a group gathered by a hill overlooking the beach. Looks like there wouldn’t be much of an in-person audience for this one; other than those already present at the island. The hill was uncomfortably close to where the fight was being held, but that might add to the fun, running the risk of being caught in the cross fire; well, depends on who you ask. Most wouldn’t want a 200 pound man to miss their tackle and run right into them.

“You guys are finally here.” Iz waved, lounging back in a chair she brought with her, dressed in some sort of cocktail dress that clashed with the environment around her. She was one of the first ones here. “Why is it that the people instigating the challenge are the last ones to show up? My goodness, so unprofessional.”

Next to her, sitting cross legged on the ground was Tao. “Give her a break. She was probably exhausted after that story of hers.” He had a beer in hand that he sipped idly. “I still haven’t forgotten our deal.”

“Are you in our out?” Brook asked, sitting down next to him. Even now that she got to know him and even when he was relaxed as he was, he still emanated such a dark presence. One that she doubted she would get use to. Yet, at least she was able to sit next to him; at arms length at least, she wasn’t quite as comfortable as Iz was.

“I said I’d think about it.” He laughed, drinking down the rest of his beer, before opening another one from a cooler behind him. He then offered a can to Iz and Brook, both of which silently accepted it.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Whose cooler is that? Doesn’t look like something you’d own, Tao-Tao,” Iz said, able to be close enough to him to give him a pet name.

“The leopards brought it.” He said, referring to Gem and Opal. “They’re over there.” He said, pointing down the hill with a bony finger. They were front and center with the fight. If anyone was gonna be caught in the cross fire, it was them. “The male of them, quite annoying… Arrogant, but he knows what he’s doing.” He sipped his beer, his eyes locked on Opal, who was happily standing there with her arms crossed. No matter wear she went, she wore her mask.

“How about Opal?” Iz asked.

Tao slowly grinned, “Her… I can tell just by looking at her: A worthy opponent. Will she be the one to grant me my second defeat?”

But, this wasn’t about Opal, now was it? They were here to see the big fight they’ve been building up to. The two fighters, Patrick and Gentaro, stood in front of each other on the beach. Gentaro stood a head below Patrick, dressed in his riding jacket, holding a helmet in his hands. Patrick meanwhile was much more underdressed. Wearing only a tank top with Ceiling Unlimited’s logo on the front, as well as a pair of shorts with the same logo down the side; he was being paid to wear those, might as well wear them.

The helmet in Gentaro’s hands raised a few brows. Patrick looked over to the Redliner acting as judge and referee for this fight, a short capybara. Winston Young was his name, standing at a mere 4 feet tall but possessing a noticeable musculature. He just happened to be in the area, so he was quick to come down here. He was a quiet man, very plain for someone considered to be Primal’s top material.

“So you’re fine with him wearing that?” Winston said, “It is giving him an unfair advantage after all, by virtue of protecting him from blows to the head.”

“It’s fine, you said it was inspected?” Patrick sighed.

“Correct, it looks to just be a modified motorcycle helmet. A few LEDs in there and shaped to look like some superhero mask. But other than that, it’s just an ordinary helmet. No onboard UI or AI, nor any additional weapons.” Winston smiled and looked over to Gentaro, “You always wear that thing to fights?”

Gentaro nodded, “Yeah. I’m a motorcycle enthusiast. So I wore my helmet during vigilante duty and it sort of became synonymous with me.” He said, putting the helmet on. His long rabbit ears sticking out the back. The front of it lit up with 2 round lights, giving the appearance of an insect’s compound eyes. Despite this, it was incredibly easy to see out of it.

“Very well… If there is no more to say, then I guess we can start, eh?” Winston said, shrugging. “I expect a dirty fight from you. Go crazy. Get mad. Break the other guy’s knee.” He laughed, “As long as you don’t do anything that’ll offend the audience, anything goes. Those are the rules, aren’t they?” He took a few steps away, going over to Opal and Gem.”

Just as always, with the fights just second away from starting, everything was silent. Deathly still. Everyone’s hearts stopping for that moment. Then, things begun

Fight

Gentaro “Lago Rider” Hojo

vs

Patrick “Weight of the Earth” Taxis

Gentaro leaped forward, rushing him. One solid punch to the chest was what he had in mind. That was until…

“Hold on, wait!” Patrick held up his hand, his tone forceful but friendly. The gesture caused Gentaro to stop in his tracks, kicking up sand and rocks as he skidded to a stop. “Just a second, rabbit! Mind if I give a weird request?”

“A request?” Gentaro said, raising his brow behind his mask.

“Yeah, yeah.” Patrick laughed, crossing his arms. “Care to hear me out?” He said, looking to the Redliner judge. “That okay?”

Winston shrugged, “Guess so. Just make it quick.”

“Thank you,” Patrick gave a thumbs up, before looking back to Gentaro. “Listen, we kind of started this fight abruptly. We walked over, we were given instructions to fight, then we started to fight. That’s kind of dumb, isn’t it? We got to know each other last night, but here? Feels like we’re just meeting each other.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s dumb.” Gentaro crossed his arms, in thought. “But it is a bit abrupt, yeah. I just got here and now we’re already fighting.”

“Exactly!” Patrick nodded. “Which brings me to my request.” He said, holding his hand out. “A handshake is all I ask.”

The audience went silent, some confused, some feeling like they were being blue balled. Brook was in both crowds.

“Interesting.” Tao said, leaning forward, scratching his chin. In his years of fighting, since he was a young man, he had never seen someone request a handshake after the fight started.

“Well? What do you say?” Patrick said, “Don’t leave me hanging, man, I won’t feel right unless you shake me hand. As a word of advice: All it fair in love and war, yes, but sometimes you should consider your opponent’s feelings.”

Gentaro stared at his hand, then sighed. “Well, I guess you’re right. It isn’t like everyone here is a battle hungry maniac.” He extended his hand and grabbed Patrick’s. “Very well, here’s to a good and clean fight.” He tried to take his hand away, only to find Patrick’s grip was a hard to break out of. No, more than that, it was like the bear had his hand in a powerful vice grip.

“Indeed.” Patrick nodded, squeezing harder, enough that Gentaro grunted in pain. A sly grin spread on Patrick’s face. “Here is another word of advice.” He said before swinging Gentaro over his head. For a brief moment, Gentaro found himself vertical, upside down, in the air, his hand still firmly held by his opponent. “I’m a dirty fighter!”

Gentaro made impact with the ground, the sand doing nothing to lessen the painful landing. A large cloud of sand was kicked up. He hissed in pain, his back arching slightly.

“Can’t believe you actually fell for that? Consider an opponent’s feelings? In a fight to the possible death? Are you that fucking dumb?” Patrick laughed, pulling on Gentaro’s arm, straightening it out. Placing his foot on the rabbit’s chest, he pushed down. The air had mostly lefted Gentaro’s lungs, causing the pressure on his chest to be suffocating. “Oh well, I’ll take an easy fight over a hard one. All in a day’s work, eh?”

Before he would continue though, Gentaro gripped at the ground, grabbing a handful of sand and pebbles, and tossed it at the bear’s eyes, surprising him. Not damaging, but certainly painful and blinding. Just enough so that he loosened his grip on Gentaro’s hand. Quickly getting back on his feet, Gentaro went back to what he was doing before the handshake; a punch to Patrick’s chest. The attack struck his blinded opponent.

Stepping back, holding his chest, Patrick groaned. Gritting his teeth, he stared at the rabbit. This was indeed gonna be harder than he thought.

“Forgot that you were a scumbag at heart.” Gentaro said, moving to a combat stance. “But, if you’re a dirty fighter, that’s fine by me. I can be a dirty