Using his time wisely, Katsuya Masamichi spends the day polishing his skills up with his father and Evan Armstrong. He's taking extra precautions due to his opponent, Johnny Lewis.
- "Just like old times, eh?"
Katsuya says with a smile, as he polishes up on his straight punch form. Mentaro chuckles.
- "I'm proud of you son."
Mentaro comments. Katsuya stops and stands straight while scratching his head.
- "What's up dad? What's with the sudden praise?"
He asks.
- "Of course he'd praise you! You've made it to the quarterfinals of the biggest fighting event in the world. I also thank you for bringing me back to the light, I am in your debt once more."
Evan replies. Katsuya gets a little flustered.
- "Come on guys…"
He says while blushing.
- "There is just one difference though. You're stronger than the both of us now."
Mentaro says. Katsuya fidgets with embarrassment. He loves the praise, but he doesn't know how to act. The two continue commenting on Katsuya's form as the training resumes.
Meanwhile, in the public gym of the hotel, loud bangs could be heard. The rest of the gymgoers, who mostly consisted of fighters who didn't make it to the tournament bracket and the various VIPs, look on in astonishment. The source of these noises? Johnny Lewis and Michael Tan sparring each other, with body armor and gloves of course.
- "Shouldn't you be resting?"
Michael slips in during the start of break time.
- "Can't."
Johnny replies, before turning off the boxing timer. He removes his headguard, takes his water bottle and pours it all over his face before drinking.
- "Can I be honest for a second?"
He adds. Michael tilts his head in curiosity.
- "Yeah sure, what's up?
Michael replies.
- "Before every fight, I get scared. I've done nothing but shake. No matter who the opponent is, I still get the feeling of hesitation when I walk towards the ring."
Johnny says, expressing his thoughts. Michael sits silently, listening to what he has to say.
- "But once I get in that ring, I feel a sense of calm. I feel comfortable there. I feel confident, even arrogant at times. I wonder why that is."
He adds as he takes another sip of water.
- "And right now, I've never been more scared. I'm about to fight The God Hand after all. The only way to get my mind off that is to fight. So, thank you for sparring me."
Johnny finishes as he starts the timer back up. Michael puts his gear back on as well.
- "Don't fret it, man! I'll be sure to put up a picture of you in my gym after this is over!"
Michael says as he gets into the ring. Johnny chuckles.
- "I'd like that."
He says before the bell rings, and another round of sparring commences.
In a private room on the highest floor, a man meditates on a mat in the balcony area. Another man is leaning on the doorframe. The man meditating is Francisco Luna, and the man leaning is Jitae Won. Francisco seems to be a bit annoyed at Jitae's presence.
- "Shouldn't you be with your kid?"
He says, a bit ticked off.
- "Come on, can't a guy hang out? And besides, Sang is off with his new friend Adam."
Jitae replies. Francisco looks at him with dead eyes.
- "You really shouldn't leave a kid here on an island like this, much less bring one."
Francisco replies.
- "Hey, I'm not the only one who did!"
Jitae jokingly replies.
- "Two wrongs don't make a right."
Francisco continues.
After a few minutes of waiting, Francisco decides to stop mediating. He gets up and sighs.
- "Alright, what do you want?"
He says.
- "Well, I was thinking we could talk about our opponents."
Jitae replies.
- "Fine. That Tamar woman, she's damn strong. Beating guys like Jawad Uzman and Aleksandr Jovovich, that's no easy feat at all."
Francisco says.
- "And to think that we wouldn't have ever seen a fighter like that had it not been for the chairman changing the rules."
Jitae says.
- "It never made sense to me why women couldn't participate in Paraiso matches. It's definitely not a strength thing; I've been up against and worked with strong women in the past."
Francisco adds.
- "It's whatever. With this rule change, there'll be an even larger number of great fighters to face off against! It's too bad the chairman changed the rules a bit late which probably limited the amount of female applicants."
Jitae comments. Francisco sighs.
- "Rule changes aside, her skill combined with her power make her a deadly opponent. I'll have to be careful otherwise I'll lose."
Francisco adds. Jitae chuckles.
- "You? Lose? She's strong and all, but don't think I don't know about you holding back."
Jitae replies. Francisco side eyes Jitae.
- "You're saying that as if you're not doing some sandbagging yourself."
Francisco comments. Jitae shrugs.
- "You're right. I'm gonna stop that next round though. Ozeki Genryuuzan is not an opponent to be taken lightly. After all, for just a few seconds Sumo wrestlers could be considered the strongest men in the world."
Jitae says, talking about the strength of Sumo in general.
- "Then of course, what would happen if we both win our fights."
Jitae adds. Francisco glares at Jitae. Jitae smirks deviously. The tension in the air grows thick as two fighters of similar skill level ponder.
- "Guess we'll see."
Jitae finishes before leaving the room. Francisco stares at him before going back to meditation.
Genryuuzan spends the day alone. Walking around the island, making sure not to overexert himself. The injuries he got from round 1 regularly flare up.
Tamar Dadiani is out in the nearby patch of trees doing some light sparring with Hobin Choi.
- "What do you think of your opponent?"
Hobin asks, throwing a light jab.
- "Dangerous. He's nothing like anyone I've ever fought before."
Tamar replies, blocking the light hits.
- "Never seen you describe anyone that way before."
Hobin adds.
- "There's just something about him. Something that strikes fear into the hearts of his opponents, and I can tell he hasn't gone all out."
She stops for a moment.
- "I feel like that spinning counter he did on Jacques Williams was just a taste of what he's truly capable of."
She adds.
- "But that just makes me more excited!"
She continues before throwing her own light flurry of punches.
- "That's the Tamar I know! Let's rest after this, you've got a big day tomorrow!"
Hobin replies as he continues with the light sparring.
Leonardo sleeps soundly in the infirmary. His injuries are much worse than the other fighters. While he was able to minimize the damage he took in round 1 even despite the body shot barrage, he wasn't so lucky in round 2 against Punyawit Kaemkratok. While he sleeps, Jack and Waldemar discuss some things.
- "Still, I'm surprised to see you even came back."
Waldemar says with a big smile on his face.
- "Ah it's nothing. I didn't really come back. I'm just here to watch this kid achieve the dream I was never able to."
Jack replies. Waldemar stops smiling.
- "What makes you so sure he'll achieve it?"
Waldemar says, playing it completely straight and in a different tone than he normally talks
- "What do you mean?"
Jack asks, confused in the shift in tone.
- "You couldn't do it. Why would he be able to?"
Waldemar adds. Jack pauses for a second to collect his thoughts.
- "He's not like me. While I was confident in myself, I doubted myself often, to the point of overtraining my body. Look where that got me. You don't know this, but I've been agonizing over my failure every day since then, thinking about what I could've done better. Now, I can give a younger fighter a shot at achieving what I wasn't able to achieve."
Jack says. Waldemar scoffs.
- "But what then? Do you think that'll redeem your failure?"
Waldemar adds. Jack closes his eyes calmly.
- "Nope. Not in the slightest. Because Leonardo is his own person. What he achieves is separate from my achievements. Just because I trained him doesn't mean I get to use his glory. His style of kickboxing, despite taking many elements of mine, is completely different."
Jack replies. Waldemar rolls his head.
- "Sure, sure, let's go with that. But then what if he wins? Surely you know of the curse."
Waldemar says. Jack's face scrunches up.
- "That curse has been broken long ago, by Yu Yi, and it has stayed broken ever since his second win and by Jitae Won's win."
Jack replies. Waldemar shrugs his arms.
- "You could say they're exceptions to the rule. After all, every single winner before them died shortly after their coronation."
Waldemar says. Jack stays silent.
- "What then, huh? So, he achieves his dreams, do you think they are worth giving up his life?"
Waldemar continues. Jack sighs.
- "What makes you so sure Leonardo will fall as well? And why are you arguing against something you yourself believe in? I know damn well your ass would say yes to that question."
Jack replies. Waldemar chuckles.
- "You're right, I do think dreams are worth giving up life for. That's why I'm the way I am."
He says, before leaning back in his chair. His smile quickly fades away.
- "That being said, I'm obviously not a good role model. And you didn't answer my question."
Waldemar continues.
- "I did answer your question. Leonardo is not like those who've fallen. He will achieve his dream and keep his life."
Jack replies adamantly. Waldemar closes his eyes and smiles.
- "Alright. You really do believe in your student, eh?'
He says.
- "You're damned right I do."
Right as Jack finishes speaking, Leonardo wakes up, yawning.
- "Oh, hey Leo, we were just talking about you."
Waldemar says in a friendly way. Jack side eyes him but ignores what he said.
- "How are you feeling?"
He asks.
- "Eh, I've been better, but I'm still ready to fight!"
Leonardo says, excitedly.
- "Yes, yes. I know you're excited, but your body needs rest."
Jack replies. Suddenly, Leonardo gets a nosebleed.
- "Ah, Leo..!"
Jack exclaims worriedly. Leonardo stops the nosebleed.
- "It's fine, don't worry! I'll go take a piss and then get water."
Leonardo says as he gets up, leaving the infirmary. Jack stares with a worried look on his face.
- "You should follow him."
Waldemar suggests. Jack looks back, before following his suggestion and leaving the room to follow Leonardo. After a few minutes of trailing, Jack finds Leonardo in front of the bathroom mirror. He seems to have coughed up a huge amount of blood, and his nosebleed has worsened.
- "Leo!"
Jack shouts, worried about what had happened to Leonardo. Leonardo turns around, mouth open with blood dripping from his lips.
- "Oh, hey, Mr. Jack…"
He says, with a soft, weak tone. Jack's face twists in worry.
- "What's wrong Leo? What happened?"
Jack asks, growing increasingly worried. Leonardo wipes his face clean.
- "Let's go to our room. I'll explain there."
He says. Jack assists him in walking, as it seems like he's unable to walk properly from the loss of blood. They arrive at their private room. Leonardo lies down on his bed.
- "Before you say anything, do you want to continue? With the tournament, I mean."
Jack asks, holding Leonardo's hand.
- "Of course, I do. I want to be the strongest in the world. I never expected to walk that road without some injuries."
Leonardo says smiling. Jack's eyebrows furrow.
- "These aren't just "some injuries", Leo! That was an insane amount of blood you lost earlier! If you keep this up, you might…"
Jack stops at the thought of it. Leonardo grabs Jack's hand with his other hand.
- "I know. I know…but please, don't stop me."
Leonardo says, shakily. Jack holds himself back from crying.
- "But-"
Just as Jack was about to retort, Leonardo squeezes harder.
- "I've never been uninjured. There wasn't a single day where I could even consider being healthy. Only recently in the two years that I've been your student have I been able to receive the luxury of health."
Leonardo adds. Jack's heart sinks.
- "It looks like those injuries are finally catching up."
Leonardo says, with a sad smile on his face. Jack can't do anything but stay silent.
- "Even if you stop me…I don't think I'll live to see another day. I know it's selfish but-"
Just before Leonardo could finish his sentence, Jack interrupts him.
- "I got it. I won't stop you. But that doesn't mean I can stop myself from crying."
Jack says, as tears flow. Leonardo's eyes close.
- "I can at least tell you my story. Will you listen?"
Leonardo asks. Jack wipes the tears off his face.
- "Yes. Gladly."
Jack replies. Leonardo closes his eyes and nods.
- "Alright, listen, it's going to be a long story…"