Kitsune no Ken GAIDEN Chronicles

by Neon Majestic

During the periods of time skipped over by official records, people did not sit in a vacuum. They lived their lives, being who they were, doing what they were able to do. These chronicles tell tales of people who lived at the same time as the Kyuushingai. SUPPLEMENT to "Kitsune no Ken: Fist of the Fox." GAIDEN 64, "Mist City Chronicles, Part 8," now up!

64. Mist City Chronicles, Part 8

Kitsune no Ken GAIDEN Chronicles

Written by Neon Majestic

(DISCLAIMER: The Naruto franchise and the characters therein belong to and were originally created by Masashi Kishimoto.)

OoOoO

GAIDEN 64 – Mist City Chronicles, Part 8

(N.B. This Gaiden takes place immediately after the events of Gaiden 63.)

Hanare was in her personal quarters, changing out of her white dress and heels and into a white short-sleeved blouse, black knee-length tights, and black sneakers. She carefully tied the back section of her hair into a ponytail, using a red ribbon to hold it in place. Then she went to the nearby bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. "All right…now I just need to count down the time until the first round," she said aloud.

Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock!

"Coming!" she called out, hurrying out of the bathroom to answer the door—and when she opened it, both eyebrows shot up. "What's this, now?"

Standing on the other side of the door were a clearly agitated Ajisai and an apologetic maidservant. "I'm terribly sorry, Hanare-sama, but she was insistent that I show her to your room," the servant said with downcast eyes.

"It's all right," Hanare held up a hand to stay the other woman's concern. "You may return to your duties. I'll take it from here."

The servant bowed deeply and left down the hall. Hanare, meanwhile, kept her focus on Ajisai. "Going off your face, there's something that deeply bothers you."

"You're damn right about that." Ajisai was blunt. "That fighter old man Mifune showcased earlier—Kentaro. He's Mikoshi's father."

Hanare cocked her head slightly to one side. "Yes, I know. All three of us Paragons know about him. So?"

Ajisai's brow knitted together. "Does that mean you also know what Kentaro did to Mikoshi as a kid?"

"Kentaro was a habitual drunk who regularly beat his wife, then one night he abused her so badly that he killed her, and he ended up going to prison for it, only now he's out on parole. As I'm sure you know by now, we make a full check of every fighter we allow into the Zenkusen, including whatever skeletons they have in their closets, and he is no exception." Hanare rested one hand against the doorjamb. "But what happened to the Kimura family isn't anything that affects you personally, yet here you are in front of me."

"You said you saw when the two of us and Omoi fought those gangsters to save Mikoshi's sister. Didn't you see what Mikoshi did during that fight—what he could have done?" Ajisai demanded. "His sister told me all about their life of abuse. Based on what I've seen him do, it's got to have screwed him up worse than he's letting on. And…" Her eyes widened slightly as her voice got choked. "If you guys already know of the relationship between Mikoshi and Kentaro, and what happened between them in the past, then you set out to invite him here knowing that he'd meet his abusive dad again after all this time of estrangement! What the hell did you think such a thing was going to result in?"

"Would you please help me to understand why you're feeling so strongly about this?" Hanare asked.

"Why shouldn't I? It's called having empathy!" Ajisai snapped. "You ever hear of it?"

"Please understand something, Ajisai-san." Hanare looked coolly at the redhead. "When we invite participants to the Zenkusen, the only criteria we consider for entry is the invitee's potential as a fighter now—whether they did bad things in the past or not is irrelevant. If we only sought candidates whose images were squeaky-clean or who didn't have skeletons in their closets, our tournament pool would be far smaller, and that wouldn't be fair. In your and your friends' cases, we decided to invite you because we saw significant potential in all of you…but we are also cognizant that all three of you have underlying issues that you need to deal with if you are to grow and mature, both as fighters and as people. Mikoshi-kun's lousy upbringing is his cross to bear, and you and Omoi-kun also have issues that must be addressed. And since fighting is something all three of you have in common, and also something you have in common with us, what better way to handle your issues than in a venue where you can communicate in a language everyone can understand—the language of fists?"

Ajisai glared at her. "And what if we weren't fighters? Not everybody can solve their problems by beating people up—I want to be a champion female boxer someday, and even I know that much!"

"Then you wouldn't be here, and we wouldn't be having this conversation right now," Hanare answered.

Ajisai shook her head. "…I'm going to walk away now before I get any further sick to my stomach." Then she turned and marched off, not caring that she could feel Hanare's eyes on her as she left.

Hanare, for her part, crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorjamb. "If empathy was all it took to overcome problems…" she said softly.

OoOoO

Omoi stepped out of his room, tying a green bandana around his head. "Just a little longer from now…then we all get to brawl," he chuckled, smacking one fist into his other palm.

"…insensitive, heartless, uncaring…!"

"Hmm?" Looking up in the direction of the angry muttering, Omoi saw Ajisai tramping around the corner toward him. "Oi, what's got you so worked up all of a sudden?" he asked.

"It's the damn Paragons! They deliberately invited Mikoshi to this tournament knowing he'd meet his father here—that Kentaro guy we saw earlier!" Ajisai exploded.

"Oh? Kentaro is Kimura's dad?" Omoi cocked an eyebrow. "I guess that explains the pissed-off look Kimura was giving him when he showed up. Definitely history there."

Ajisai let out a breath sharply. "Yes—and obviously it's a bad one. Mikoshi looked fit to rush up there and take his head off right there and then. And the Paragons knew there was bad blood there, and they still had him brought to the tournament where he'd be bound to see his father."

Omoi fingered his chin. "You know, I was going to find Kimura and ask him what was up with him when Kentaro arrived—but I think I can guess that it's because Kentaro wasn't exactly father of the year."

"I think I'll take a page out of your book and go talk to Mikoshi—make sure he's actually okay," said Ajisai. "Excuse me." And she turned to walk off.

"Wait for me, eh? I'd still like to hear this story directly from him for myself," and Omoi hurried after her.

Ajisai immediately wheeled around to face him again. "Is that all you people see that kind of thing as—a funny story that's nothing but filler for a guy as long as he's a potentially strong fighter? He's obviously a traumatized kid, you asshole!" she yelled.

"And what—going boohoo and sharing hugs and singing 'kumbaya' is going to make a difference?" Omoi countered. "We might be first-timers in this Zenkusen, but I've been hearing about it for far longer than you have, so let me tell you straight up—in a tournament like this, other people simply will not care. They won't want to hear about how Mommy beat you, or how your creepy uncle fondled you, or how the bigger kids at school stuck your head in the toilet every day. All they'll care about is 'can I fight on equal terms with this guy, or am I outclassed?' So if Kimura's gonna be fired up because he's seen his old man who he probably has a lousy history with, then so much the better—he'll be motivated to fight that much harder and he'll be way more likely to win his fights. That's all."

"…you know something? I already knew you were all about proving yourself the strongest guy around, but honestly, I was hoping there might be something resembling a heart in here," and Ajisai stepped up and jabbed a finger on Omoi's chest, "especially after how you helped to save Maki the other day. Clearly I set the bar too high." She spun on her heel and walked off. "I need some air."

Omoi merely scoffed as he watched her go. "Hmph. Good luck getting far in this tournament while being so soft-hearted."

OoOoO

A moment later Ajisai emerged on the outside of the fighters' lodging, and she took a deep breath of the incoming sea breeze. "Whew…okay…just cool off for a bit, Ajisai," she mumbled to herself. "Hopefully they won't mind you doing a short walk around the place…it's still a good while before the 1:00 starting time."

With that, she walked along the pathway down toward the docks, where the yacht was still anchored—but something caught her eye just off to her left, further away from the docking pier. "Eh?"

Some distance away was a sandy beach, with several rocks towering high above the water…and Mikoshi was sitting atop one of those rocks, looking out to sea. Eyes narrowing, Ajisai headed over to his location. "Hey," she spoke up to get his attention.

He didn't look her way. "Howdy."

Reaching the rocks where Mikoshi was, Ajisai carefully climbed up them to join him on top of his perch. "So…enjoying the view, huh?" she asked, sitting down next to him. "It's not all that bad, actually."

"You're here because of how I reacted when I saw my father today." Mikoshi did not mince words.

Ajisai looked at him. "…do you want to talk about it?"

The only sound for a moment was the noise of a few random waves washing up along the shoreline.

"Nine. Maki and I were nine. Our father beat our mother to death in front of us."

She'd already heard the story straight from Maki, but just now…hearing Mikoshi speak of it the way he did…an indescribable coldness swept over her.

"He hit her…I think it was something heavy, I can't remember what exactly…but he kept hitting her, even while she was twitching and bleeding on the floor." Mikoshi's voice held no emotion.

A paperweight. Maki's account of the incident came back to Ajisai.

"It had happened before…so many times before…to the point that Maki and I had pretty much gotten used to it. Only this time…she wouldn't wake up. Even when the paramedics eventually came, she still wouldn't wake up. That's when I knew…she'd never be able to come back from that beating." Mikoshi's expression slowly hardened. "Dad got arrested and ended up in jail…but while our aunt had to jump through hoops to try and officially adopt us, Maki and I were placed in temporary state care. And those families they gave us to, they only cared about the little financial grants they'd get per month to see to our care while we were with them. Meanwhile…you know the Cinderella story, right? Except that story never says anything about Cinderella being beaten up by her wicked step-relatives if she didn't do as she was told at the speed they wanted it done—well, that was our reality. And when they weren't using me and Maki as convenient slapping practice, they wanted to…know us better."

Ajisai distinctly recalled that Maki hadn't mentioned that part of the story concerning the foster care experience…and the way Mikoshi emphasized the word, she could guess quite easily why Maki would have kept silent about it. "…oh, Kami…" she whispered.

"The day our aunt finally got to finish the adoption process and get full custody of us was the best day of our lives. And she's been good to us ever since. But it still can't undo what was done, even with her level of kindness and sacrifice for us." Mikoshi hung his head slightly, his eyes overshadowed. "Because of that…I made three promises, all packaged together into one."

"And those were…?" Ajisai prompted.

"I promised myself that I would do all I could to protect Maki as her big brother. Then I vowed that I would get stronger, so that we would never have to go through all that suffering again. And…" Mikoshi slowly clenched one hand into a fist, grinding his fingers against the rock where he'd been resting that hand. "I swore…that if I ever saw my father again…for all the pain and suffering he'd put us through…I would kill him stone dead."

There was no doubt in Ajisai's mind that Mikoshi meant what he said. She looked down, rolling his words through her mind repeatedly. "So what are you going to do if you end up making it to the final challenge? The rules do say we're not supposed to kill our opponents, you know."

"Easy. During the tournament, I'll simply break him. After the tournament…then I'll kill him." Mikoshi's voice was hard.

"And then what'll happen to the brother Maki loves so much? Won't you have broken one of your promises in order to honor the other two?" asked Ajisai.

"She'll still have our aunt. And she'll be fine on her own, once she comes of legal age." Mikoshi looked sideways at Ajisai. "We live in Mist City. What happened to us…it's not unique to us. If you look long enough in the right places, you'll find plenty of similar stories. In Mist City, you either grow up fast or you die fast—that's how it's always been. And if you care too much…you die faster."

He carefully stood up and turned to walk away. "Roshi-san, despite your rough edges, it's obvious that you have a good heart. But take it from someone who's lived in Mist City all his life and knows better than you who's just come to live there…in Mist City, if you care too much, you die faster. You might not be able to do anything about your living situation now, since your mother moved you here…but here's a tip for you: you're already not that attached to Mist City—don't get too attached. As soon as you come of age, leave and never look back. Forget about everyone you've met in this area. You'll be better off for it."

With that parting shot, he walked off, Ajisai staring at his back and not being able to give a response. She stayed where she was, though, and slowly turned her eyes back toward the sea, simply watching the ripples of the ocean.

OoOoO

The time passed…and then 12:50 came.

"All participants for the Zenkusen are being asked to report to the resort's main courtyard within the next ten minutes for the first round of the tournament! Repeat, all Zenkusen participants, please report to the resort's main courtyard immediately for the start of the tournament's first round!"

Mifune listened and smiled as the announcement blared out over the resort's P.A. system. He was standing in the middle of a square arena that was twenty-five feet long by twenty-five feet wide and three and a half feet high, built with crushed stone and mortar and overlaid with a padded topping that was one and a half feet thick and covered with a plain white canvas. Standing outside of the arena were several of the servants from earlier, two of whom were standing next to a large box with a hole cut in the top, the hole being big enough for a person's arm to fit in. Off to one side, one of the servants was standing next to a large gong whose disc was vertically suspended, holding a mallet in hand in anticipation of using it.

Now Mifune watched as, one by one and two by two, the tournament's participants entered the courtyard from one of several doorways leading from the resort's main building, until at last all sixteen were gathered. "Very good, everyone is here now," he said. "Now, we will begin the first round of fights in the Zenkusen tournament. But how will we determine who fights whom?"

He gestured to the box the two servants were standing beside. "See that box there? Inside the box are sixteen yellow plastic eggs, and inside each egg is a slip of paper with a number printed on it. Two of the eggs have the number 1, two eggs have the number 2, and so on up to the number 8. Each of you will take one egg and open it, and if two of you have the same number, you will fight each other. Of course, those of you who get the number 1 will fight first, those with number 2 will fight second, et cetera. You will fight until your opponent is knocked unconscious or forfeits, and if you are knocked outside of the arena and cannot make it back inside within ten seconds, it counts as a forfeit. If anyone tries to help a fighter during the battle, that will also count as a forfeit for the fighter."

There were nods of acknowledgement and assent all around.

"Now, come forward and claim an egg from the box!" Mifune commanded.

One by one, the fighters stepped forward and took one egg each, and one after another they opened their eggs to see the slips of paper inside.

"You have all seen your numbers," Mifune went on. "Will those with the number 1 enter the arena…"

The sixteen all looked at their slips of paper to see what numbers they had…and…

ZENKUSEN FIGHT 1: Gantetsu vs. Junichi

"All right! I'm in the very first fight!" Gantetsu roared triumphantly, and he ran for the edge of the arena and hefted himself up into it. "Let's go!" he yelled, raising both fists skyward.

Junichi was much more composed, walking forward and getting atop the platform with ease. "How appropriate that one of the Paragons should be in the very first match, in order to show all of you how it's done," he remarked.

Mifune stepped as far back from the two as he could. "Gentlemen, you are set to fight in the very first match. Fight well, and hold nothing back. And now…let the first round of this year's Zenkusen tournament officially begin!"

The servant with the mallet lifted it and hit the gong's disc hard. Twooong!

Gantetsu wasted no time lunging forward to grab Junichi, only for the latter to swiftly duck and dodge out of the way. As the wrestler turned to face him, Junichi swung his left leg around in a roundhouse kick that caught Gantetsu right in the face. "Ungh!" Gantetsu grunted from the impact.

Junichi then swung his right leg upward, but Gantetsu reacted fast, blocking it with his left arm—only for Junichi to drop that leg and balance on it, at the same time swinging his left leg up in another kick to the face. "Agh!" Gantetsu growled. "Damn it with the kicking!" and he pulled his right arm back for a punch—

—but as the bigger man flung his fist forward, Junichi caught it in his left hand without flinching, and held it tightly. Eyes widening, Gantetsu flung his left fist forward, only for Junichi to catch that one in his right hand and likewise squeezing it hard. Then, abruptly, Junichi let go of his opponent's fists and delivered a swift left-right-left-right punch combo to Gantetsu's face, forcing the other man to take a few steps back.

"I can punch, too, you know," Junichi said dryly.

His eye twitching, Gantetsu let out a roar and charged again, punching wildly. Junichi jumped back several steps to avoid the onslaught, though, and sidestepped to Gantetsu's left before shooting his right leg up into a kick to the wrestler's ribs. Painfully sucking air in between his teeth as the kick connected, Gantetsu hunched over slightly—and Junichi swung his right fist forward in an uppercut that crashed hard under his opponent's chin. Gantetsu fell down on his side and then rolled slightly on his back a moment later with a low groan…and with that he was still.

Mifune, watching the whole thing from a safe distance, raised his right arm. "The fight is over!" he announced. "Winner: Junichi!"

Hanare and Ryota applauded, accepting the decision; following their example, the other fighters and the watching servants likewise clapped their hands. Junichi, meanwhile, bowed respectfully to Mifune and then to the spectators. "Thank you, thank you," he said as he exited the arena.

"Well done," said Mifune. "Now, as to our downed combatant…" He walked over to Gantetsu. "Oi."

Now Gantetsu was groaning and slowly sitting up. "Ugh…what happened…?"

"You went unconscious for a bit. Too many blows to the head, you know. Even a big man like you can be taken down with that," said Mifune. "Junichi defeated you."

"Really…" Gantetsu glanced down at the arena floor. "I see…well, it was one of the Paragons, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Oh, well." With that, he carefully picked himself up and exited the arena.

"All right—right away, let's get into the next fight!" Mifune called out. "Those with the number 2, please step into the arena!"

ZENKUSEN FIGHT 2: Pakura vs. Funari

"Yosh! I'm up next!" Funari hollered as he made his way into the arena.

Not far away, Pakura visibly tensed, but made her way to the arena with much less fanfare.

Watching the two fighters climbing onto the platform, Ryota scoffed. "This one will be over quicker than the fight just now," he declared. "With all the bulk Funari's carrying, Pakura won't stand a chance."

Standing next to him, Ahmya scowled. "You don't know that. Looks aren't everything."

"Just watch, then." Ryota crossed his arms over his chest.

By this point Funari and Pakura were standing across from each other, Mifune standing a little distance away from them. "Let the second fight in the first round of the Zenkusen tournament begin!" said Mifune.

Again the servant with the mallet smacked the gong. Twooong!

Pakura reacted immediately—she shot forward and jumped into a flying spin-kick to Funari's midsection. "Ha!" she cried out.

…only for Funari to take a deep breath and then flex his chest, his stomach bulging out from the action and knocking Pakura back. "Whew! Was that all? That felt more like a cherry-tap than a kick!" he grinned.

"Grr…!" Pakura rushed back forward till she was just in front of Funari, and she jumped and sent a forward-kick up to his chin—but he swung both hands down and slapped her foot aside. Pakura didn't let up as she landed, though, sending two swift punches up to his face; Funari, in turn, slapped her punches aside with first one hand and then the other.

"…he's fast," Ajisai commented as she watched Pakura's continued assault on the sumo wrestler.

Temujin, standing beside her, chuckled at that comment. "One important rule to remember when it comes to larger opponents—bigger doesn't always mean slower. And sumo wrestlers tend to be pretty fast as well as strong."

"Well, this guy's definitely a tough one…I can't help but think he let her get in that first kick on purpose just to prove it," Morio, standing on Ajisai's other side, remarked. "She might as well have tried kicking a steel girder for all the good it did."

Back in the arena, Pakura's frustration was clearly starting to show, despite the mask hiding her lower face. "All right, strikes don't work—what about grappling?" she demanded as, getting in on Funari's right side, she locked both of her arms around his bicep and stuck her right leg behind his right leg.

"…a throw? Against a sumo wrestler? Seriously?" Kyoya slapped his palm over his face.

Funari merely grinned wider at this new development—and with his left hand he grabbed the waist of Pakura's outfit and hefted her up, drawing a surprised yelp out of her. "Bye-bye," he said to her before…

WHAM!

…he body-slammed her on the canvas.

Ahmya cringed at the heavy impact. "Ooooh."

Ryota smirked. "Told you so."

Mifune took a tentative step forward and beheld Pakura's sprawled and senseless form, laid out on her back. "The fight is over! Winner: Funari!"

"Ha-ha!" Funari pumped both fists in the air in victory. "Behold the power of sumo!" and with that he exited the arena.

Mikoshi frowned as he beheld Pakura still lain out on the canvas. "Is she okay in there?"

In response, Mifune snapped his fingers, and two servants hurried into the arena and carefully lifted Pakura up to remove her. "She'll just need a little time to recover, but no worries—she'll live," Mifune informed the others. "All right…next fight! Those with the number 3, to the arena!"

ZENKUSEN FIGHT 3: Morio vs. Zosui

"Niiiiiiiice! I'm up next!" Morio raced toward the platform and jumped up onto it with ease, only then turning to watch as Zosui climbed into the arena more slowly. "Oi, good luck to you, pops!"

"Same to you, young man," Zosui replied as he straightened up and walked toward where Morio was.

With both fighters in position, Mifune stepped back. "Third match in the Zenkusen's first round, begin!"

Once more, the servant manning the gong hit it with the mallet. Twooong!

Morio rushed forward instantly, striking at Zosui with a left jab-punch that the older man quickly parried; Zosui, in turn, struck forward with a left-right punch combo to Morio's midsection. Staggering slightly, Morio swung his right leg up toward Zosui's head, but Zosui ducked under it and swung his own right leg around in a sweeping kick that knocked Morio's supporting leg out from under him. Hitting the canvas hard, Morio nonetheless rolled back to his feet and struck out in a leg-sweep of his own; however, Zosui lifted the leg that Morio had been aiming at and then struck out with that same leg, kicking his opponent in the side—and Morio, cringing with the kick, immediately wrapped his arm around Zosui's leg and slammed one arm down on the man's kneecap.

"Agh…!" Zosui flinched and staggered away from Morio, gingerly balancing himself on his uninjured leg.

Wasting no time, Morio swung first his left leg, then his right, in consecutive kicks to Zosui's head. Zosui, in turn, blocked one kick and then the other with his arms, before stepping in and punching forward at Morio's chest. Morio stepped inside Zosui's guard, though, avoiding the punch, and kicked at the back of Zosui's injured leg.

"AH!" Zosui cried out as fresh pain shot through his leg and he was forced to one knee to keep from falling completely—and then pain exploded in his jaw as Morio backhanded him, knocking him to the canvas.

Morio hopped a few steps away from Zosui and watched keenly as the other man struggled to get back up. "Better stay down, pops; you don't look so hot," he remarked.

"I…haven't…lost…yet!" Zosui grated out between clenched teeth as he stood up.

Eyes narrowing, Morio ran forward and jumped, spinning his body and swinging his left leg around in a roundhouse kick to Zosui's head. Zosui blocked the kick with both hands, but he wasn't prepared to respond in time as Morio swung his right leg around and kicked the other man in the head, knocking him flat on the canvas.

Landing smoothly, Morio looked at Zosui's still form. "Yeah, no, I'd say you have."

Mifune, watching the whole exchange, nodded in clear agreement. "The fight is over! Winner: Morio!"

OoOoO

"Hmm…" Omoi cocked an eyebrow as he watched Morio exit the arena and the servants taking the unconscious Zosui out. "Is it just me, or are these fights way shorter than they have any right to be?"

"Don't sweat it, kid," Sabiru answered on Omoi's right. "At the very least, we're not having any time wasted on flashy showmanship that'll get us nowhere. You just hit fast, hit hard, and outlast your opponent—and that's what we've seen so far in these last three fights."

"Makes me wonder if you'll be able to back up that talk in case you get to face me," and Omoi smirked.

"That depends. You got the number 5?" Sabiru held up his paper that he'd gotten from his plastic egg. "Because if you do, then we'll be throwing down in the next match after this upcoming one."

Omoi looked at his paper. "Nope, sorry. But I'll be courteous and wish you luck for whichever guy or girl you do face next."

"Right back at you, kid. It's just a shame I won't be the one to put you back to school." Sabiru chuckled.

OoOoO

"And now, we're on to the fourth match of the tournament's first round!" Mifune announced. "Will the fighters with the number 4 step forward!"

Ajisai looked at her paper and nodded. "Okay…I'm next." She immediately stepped forward and climbed up onto the platform, approaching Mifune. "And who will I get to face…?"

"That would be me."

Ajisai immediately turned to see Hanare walking forward. "Well, what do you know…" Her look turned acidic. "I get to face a so-called Paragon."

Hanare cocked an eyebrow. "So-called?"

"I took a little time to look up the definition of the word 'paragon' before coming into the courtyard," said Ajisai. "It's got a few related definitions, one of which says a paragon is a person or thing viewed as a model of excellence. But considering our last conversation earlier on, I'd say you don't deserve that title."

"You're assuming way too much." Hanare took a fighting stance. "Now what say we get this over with? I'll soon show you how I got the title of Paragon."

"Such as it is," and Ajisai likewise took a stance.

Mifune backed away from the two girls. "Let the fourth match in the Zenkusen's first round…begin!"

OoOoO

END GAIDEN 64

00000

NEON MAJESTIC: In case anyone is concerned about how short these fights in the Zenkusen seem to be, here's the explanation. I took inspiration from watching the Jean-Claude Van Damme movie The Quest, where the tournament fights (which these fights are based on, choreographically) were likewise short. Also, in a realistic sense, blows to the head are bound to incapacitate people, if not kill them outright, and in the case of a fight between a smaller opponent versus a bigger opponent, unless the smaller opponent is going for joint-strikes or anything similar, the safest bet is to bet on the bigger guy.

In any event…Junichi, one of the Three Paragons, has made it past his first-round fight with ease, and now Ajisai is about to go up against Hanare, the second of the Paragons to fight in the Zenkusen! Next Gaiden, the Mist City Chronicles continue!