Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I probably never will.
Author's Notes: This chapter is slightly inspired by the earlier chapters of Hunter X Hunter manga, which is another excellent title that you guys should look into.
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Shinichi slowly stirred from his designated bed. Upon opening his eyes, all he could see was the creamy white ceiling, a scenery he's not very used to. He blinked his eyes couple of times to adjust them to the bright light that poured from the window beside his mattress. When he was finally conscious again, it only took him a second to figure out where he was.
"The hospital…" he whispered, eyeing the IV standing next to his bed.
He rolled his head to his side and caught a glimpse of something that caused him to frown.
"What are you doing here?"
Rock Lee stared back at the old man from his own bed with a faint smile on his face. Then he lifted his left hand and gave him a shaky thumbs up sign.
"I'm your room buddy," he announced happily. The Old Man furrowed his eyebrows in discontent. Then he grunted and rolled to his side again to avoid the boy.
"Oh come on, you're not mad at me still, are you?" Lee inquired playfully.
Just then, the door to their room opened and the white haired Jounin peered through the crack. Lee turned his attention away from the old man and smiled at Kakashi.
"Yo," the copy ninja greeted. Then he opened the door wider to reveal the identical twins standing behind him. They wore heavy bandages around their body and their arms were encased in heavy casts.
"These two wanted to see their grandpa," Kakashi explained, pointing back at them with his thumb. Lee was surprised by their presence and tried to cover his face with his blanket. The girls limped inside the room and the Jounin closed the door behind them.
"Well, you weren't satisfied with beating us up that you had to go and pick on our grandpa, didn't you?" one of the sister accused the young ninja. Lee only turned redder underneath his sheets. The sisters both sighed in unison and approached their only existing family member. The Old Man jumped from his bed joyously and embraced his grandchildren.
"Oh am I glad to see you two!" he yelled out happily. Both girls wore disappointed look on their faces while pulling away from his brittle arms.
"We heard about the fight, grandpa," said the first sister.
"We also heard you lost," the second sister continued. The Old Man was lost for words. The only two people he trusted in the world were staring at him like a failure and it caused his heart to ache painfully. He turned his gaze away and sniffed like a little child with his back turned against them.
"I mean, who would believe that you were once an Anbu leader with a disappointing loss like that?" they both muttered in sync. Their words shattered Shinichi's heart completely. Watching from across the room, Kakashi felt a bit sorry for the geezer. When he was just about to go and join them, the door was opened again, and a strange looking man in raggedy clothes stepped inside. Kakashi recognized him as the traveler he met earlier during the battle.
"Um, excuse me…Is this where that young boy is resting?" he asked, taking off his straw hat to reveal a rather nasty scar on his head. Kakashi's eyes narrowed at the sight of his hideous mark, but he was able to mask his suspicion. By this time, everyone was looking towards their direction.
"Yes, but who are you?" the Jounin asked. The stranger hesitated, staring at the ninja briefly before opening his mouth again.
"I'm sorry, I may have been rude interrupting their much needed rest, but…" he trailed.
"But I am Hozaku Tomahara, and I'm a fighting promoter."
"And what kind of business would a fighting promoter have in this room?" Kakashi inquired further, having already grasped his intentions. As he felt the heat of his interrogation getting intense, the stranger could not help but smile in his situation.
"Why, because I would like for that boy to fight for me, of course!"
Chapter 7: Onward Towards the Tournament
A week passed, and both Rock Lee and Shinichi were back out on the streets. The entire city was already being built from the ground up and Lee marched towards the half built gate while shouldering his belongings. The citizens of the sea port city had all stopped their work and gathered around him to say their goodbyes, including Shinichi, who was placed as their new mayor by the request from nearly everyone in the city.
"You're gonna do well, Old man," Rock Lee commented in his "nice guy" pose. Shinichi scratched the back of his head and yawned upon hearing his words.
"Ah, shut your trap and get out of my city already," he replied. Instead of getting discouraged by his words, Lee merely grinned and fastened the strapping around his shoulder. Then the Old Man produced something from his bag and handed it to the young boy.
"Here, take this. It's the thing that I promised to wager during our battle."
The Genin took a looked at his gift. It was an old casing with ancient Chinese scriptures written on the cover. Puzzled, Lee opened the box to reveal a metal nunchaku, conjoined in the middle with chains. Lee beamed at the sight and turned to face the old man.
"Thank you," he said, but Shinichi looked away disapprovingly. The young ninja gave a sheepish grin and turned away to face Kakashi who was watching from the side.
"Thank you again, too, Kakashi sensei."
The white haired Jounin nodded.
"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Kakashi asked, still worried about the path that the boy was about to take. Then the Genin replied without hesitation.
"Of course. This is all part of my training!" he yelled.
"Come on, we got a lot of ground to cover today!" Hozaku reminded the boy. Lee nodded in understanding and turned around to wave at the crowd for the last time. Then he ran to the fighting promoter's side and they began walking away towards their new adventure.
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"So what exactly is a fighting promoter?" Lee asked while they continued to trod their way through the forest.
"I mean, from what you told me last week, all I know is that you're like a sponsor for a fighter…"
Hozaku stopped walking and looked around his surrounding. When he confirmed that they were safe, he turned to the boy and smiled.
"How about we rest now and I'll tell you more about my job and the tournament?"
Lee returned his smile and nodded, wholly approving his plan. They settled on a clearing and unpacked their things to get ready for night fall. While the older man tended to the camp fire, Lee started cooking some potatoes with a stick.
"You see," Hozaku started.
"Fighting promoters are people who find capable fighters across the continent and sponsor them to battle in public tournaments. They perform physical examinations on their employees and basically coach and manage them for each bout. They are also responsible for their employees' publicity. When their fighters are well recognized and they keep winning their fights, the promoters receive a handsome share of the money that the tournament brings in, because the public will be coming to the arena to watch the top fighters duke it out," he explained. After having listened to the man give out a brief job description of his profession, Lee came to just one conclusion.
"So it's a high form of gambling?" he said. The man looked up briefly, before placing his attention back to the fire.
"Well, it is a risky trade, but it's honest," he replied. "It's not illegal and it takes more than luck to remain in this occupation."
Lee felt that maybe he hurt the man's pride by comparing it to gambling. But when he saw the man's face glimmer by the light, he saw Hozaku's soft smile and relaxed a bit.
"So how does this tournament work?" Lee asked, handing a potato-on-a-stick to the promoter. Hozaku bit into his meal and sat back to watch the fire slowly burn.
"Well, each fighter is given three points. Every time you lose a fight, you lose a point. But when you win, you keep your points. As soon as your points dwindle down to zero, you're outta the game. You will be pinned in three matches each week, so it doesn't give you too much time to recover and you could be out of the tourney in just a week. So it's best if you try to not hurt yourself," he explained. The young ninja was lost for words.
"Three battles a week!" he exclaimed.
"Oh yeah. You're also not allowed to replenish your health through any medical supplements like the soldier pills and stuff. If you do, you're disqualified," Hozaku added. Lee didn't know whether to be excited or anguished. It seemed like a hell of a tournament.
"Is it worth it?" Lee finally asked. Hozaku pulled his gaze away from the flame and looked at the young ninja.
"Oh, it's definitely worth it. For the promoter," he answered. "After all, you said it didn't matter what you get out of the tournament, as long as you were pinned with some of the finest fighters around, right?" he said. Lee played with his food, a bit disgusted with himself for making such a remark.
"That's true…But what incentives do they offer to the other fighters who aren't like me?" he asked again.
"A portion of the promoter's earning," the older man replied. "But that stuff is handled outside of the tournament. Not really legal, according to the rules, but nobody really cares because some of these fighters are real cash cows that the tournament wants to milk for all they're worth. Hell, sometimes, the tournament holders pay the fighters to come back and fight in their next tourney."
"So, why can't fighters register to fight without promoters?" Lee asked, struck by the obvious error in logic.
"That's a good question," he said.
"That's because without a fighting promoter, a fighter cannot last a single week. We're well versed in handling fighters within the restrictions it gives us, and we behave as mediators so there are no mishaps outside the ring. But I guess, more importantly, the tournament does not want to be liable for legal proceedings, if you know what I mean," he said. "You know, stuff like death? Since we sign you guys up, we become responsible for you all."
"Anyways, the fighters need us as much as we need them. You'll see soon, if you don't already," he added. Lee nodded absent mindedly, not quite understanding him yet.
"Now since we've satisfied our curiosity enough to last us for the life time…Why don't we get some sleep already, huh?" Hozaku suggested with a grin. Lee agreed, yawning and unfolding his sheets.
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Lee tossed and turned in his sleep while he faced unknown opponents in his dream. He swung his fist in the air as he began to sleep talk, causing little critters in the forest to scatter away from the camp site. Then from across the clearing, the bushes rattled as two shadowy figures stirred up and spied on the unsuspecting preys. They stepped out from their hiding and slowly crept towards the ninja and his companion, bringing out their concealed weapons as they came closer.
"Take this Neji-san!" Lee shouted, throwing his arms up and catching one of the sneaking men in the chin. The thief screamed in pain and tumbled backwards. His partner ran past the fire to his friend, but he stopped when he felt a sharp object being placed on his neck. Hozaku stood right behind him with a fruit knife.
"Get lost before I kill you both," he whispered. The thief slipped out a coin from his sleeve and flicked it up towards the man's chin. On impact, Hozaku was sent stumbling backwards and the thief took that chance to kick him square in the chest. The fight promoter was sent flying and he crashed into a nearby tree. The loud crackling noise echoed through the forest and Lee stirred from his sleep.
"Wh-What's going on?" he murmured as he rubbed his eyes. When his vision was clear, he caught sight of an unsuccessful burglary in action.
"What are you two doing here?" he asked casually, getting up from his sleeping bag and flattening out the wrinkles on his green pajama. The two thieves looked at each other for some sort of a plan, but they both drew a blank.
"Hold it, Lee. I'll take care of this," came a voice from behind the two unsuspecting partners. When they turned around, they felt their jaws sink deep into their face as they were pummeled in the face by Hozaku. He continued his onslaught until they were both toothless and sprawling on the floor like they were suffering from seizures. He dusted his hands and took a few step backwards. Then he came running and reeled back his right feet as far as he can. Before they both knew what was coming, they were both sent flying towards the beautiful night sky.
Rock Lee's draws dropped at the sight of such brutality.
"Um, promoter-san. Do you really think all that was necessary?" he asked. Hozaku cracked his knuckles for good measure and turned around to face his new companion.
"It's my job from now on to look after you, Lee. I can't let you be involved something so trivial," he remarked. Lee nodded absent mindedly.
"But aren't you hurt?" the young ninja inquired. Hozaku chuckled and took a step forward and found himself off balance and falling flat on his face. Lee face faulted.
"You're not in any position to chuckle!" he hollered. The older man got back on his knees and smirked as he took out his pack of cigarettes.
"Heh, I guess I'm a bit rusty," he mumbled. Lee knelt quietly, eyeing the man before him.
"But you're not at all bad at fighting. When did you learn to fight like that?" questioned the young boy. The man puffed his smoke and closed his eyes, recollecting his past memories and deciding whether his story was worth telling anyone.
"Before I became a fight promoter, I used to participate in the competitions myself," he began.
"There used to be this man that I looked up to. He was my own fight promoter and he did everything to make sure I was safe. One time, I got lucky and made it to the final bout. Heh, I was beaten senseless in the fight and was left with these scars on my head. At the time, I was coping with my heavy injuries so I wasn't able to compete. Of course, I was no use to my fight promoter…But he didn't abandon me. He looked after me until I was able to get back up on my own. Afterwards, he told me to leave the business because I was a disgrace."
Hozaku sat watching the ash fall from the tip of his cigarette.
"At the time, I resented him for telling me that. But soon afterwards, I knew. I wasn't able to get back in the ring. I tried to get back in the competitions with several different fight promoters, but I couldn't even look at my opponents' faces. I was completely terrified of the arena. I began to have dreams of my defeat that day and I was scared shitless. But I couldn't stay away from it. All my hopes and dreams remained unresolved in the ring. So I decided to become a fight promoter so I can continue to cling on to my aspirations."
The older man sighed and put out his smoke on the ground. Then he heard soft sniffling noise coming from his companion. Rock Lee was in tears.
"Th-that's such a great story!" Lee shouted. Hozaku stared at him, then shook his head.
"No, it's pathetic," he replied. "This is the only thing I have to look forward to, so I hold on to it."
This time, Lee shook his head, disagreeing with the promoter.
"No, not at all! It's not your inability to find something else in your life that has you tied to the arena! It's your passion for the event that has continued to keep you in your position!" the young Genin exclaimed.
"You…You are trying to follow the path that your promoter has tread. So I'll help you become the greatest promoter ever, Hozaku-san!" he added.
The older man stood still, looking at the young ninja in tears. Then he began to chuckle to himself. Rock Lee stopped crying and looked up at Hozaku.
"Wh-What's so funny?" he asked, suddenly getting a bit upset at the man's behavior. Hozaku continued to chuckle, until it became a violent laughter.
"Yo-You are very amusing!" the man shouted. Lee became suddenly bashful at his remark.
"Wh-Why does everyone seem to say the same thing to me?" he asked himself as looked up at the starry night sky.
To be continued…
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Author's Notes: Sorry it took a long time to dish this one out. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long.