Kengan liner, 18 hours till arrival

(Y/n) and Lihito were sitting on a bench eating hotdogs on the main deck of the Kengan Liner toward the rear of the ship that had been styled to look like a park, it looked very nice to be in the noon sunlight

Lihito glanced at the foreign competitor

Lihito:*He's gone back to being completely blank like he usually is, after last night I thought he'd of ripped off everyone's head to get after that Kure guy. Either way, bringing that up is probably a bad call...but sitting completely silent like this might work for him, but I can't just talk about nothing!*

Lihito:Soooo...you hear what happened to Himuro? People are saying he got taken out by that nobody, Kaneda.

(Y/n) just kept eating his food in silence

Lihito:apparently he's in the ICU on the ship right now. Dozens of broken bones, even stopped breathing and didn't have a pulse for a minute...or so I've heard. Kaneda must be pretty tough to take out a guy like that and leave him in that kinda state, Himuro wasn't the type to get taken out by some mook and he was a master in Jeet Kune Do.

His friend still wasn't talking, which wasn't unusual given (y/n)'s more solitary nature but he was dead silent

Lihito:actually I think we should be at least a little worried, there's an unwritten rule that says non fighters can go after real fighters like us. The problem is that we don't know who, when or how many people can come after us, cause rumor has it that representative fighters get loads of perks.

He finished his hotdog and licked the remaining condiments off his finger

Lihito:Yu, what do we do?

(Y/n) eventually let out a sigh

(Y/n):what does it matter?

Lihito:what do you mean "what's does it matter"? You wanna get jumped?

(Y/n) looked at Lihito out of the the corner of his eye, he'd gotten that look back in his eye, that calm but ready stare he usually walked around with

(Y/n):We just gotta take them out before they take us out.

It was a simple but effective mindset to have, high levels of stress can drastically effect a fighters performance and cause exhaustion prior to even fighting, this laissez-faire attitude is similar to how a wild animal won't waste unnecessary energy to combat a foe that isn't there, in the wild there is no room for wasted energy, and (Y/n) Yu was about as feral as they come.

Lihito looked slightly surprised but then started grinning as he stood up

Lihito:looks like we agree then.

He threw his arms up in the air in declaration

Lihito:alright let's get this started! We just gotten take down every last shady prick we see!

Female voice:no, that's not possible.

Lihito turned to the left and saw Kazuo and Akiyama walking towards them

Kazuo:good morning you two.

He waved politely, not trying to stir up any of the fire (y/n) had brewing last night

Lihito:morning, but what do you mean it's not possible Kaede?

Akiyama looked mildly annoyed he'd used her name informally again as she adjusted her glasses to remain calm

Akiyama:out of the 417 members of the Kengan Association, there are currently 299 on board this ship. Excluding the 118 left behind on the S.S annihilation, where we held the preliminary's. And including their affiliates, secretaries, bodyguards and mistresses, that adds up to well over 3,000 passengers. Add in the staff and crew and there's over 4,000 people on this ship, do you really think you could pick out these "assassins" from among them?

Lihito flinched at the massive number

Lihito:wa-wait, I know, we can just go around beating up all of them till we know we've gotten the assassins!

Kazuo:u-uh, but wouldn't that make you just some guy beating people up?

Lihito offered out his hand to (y/n)

Lihito:what do you say? You with me?!

(Y/n) blankly looked up at Lihito

(Y/n):No.

Lihito:WHA?!?!

(Y/n):I'm not wasting energy on Riffraff. If they wanna try proving they're strong then me then I'll put them in the ground. Otherwise I don't care.

Kazuo smiled seeing as his competitor was likely not going to be going out of his way to cause trouble or fight unnecessarily

Kazuo:*it's nice seeing (y/n) acting like himself again, I just hope that Raian fellow doesn't try to start anything again...*

He remembered the events of last night and it sent a chill down his spine, the aura's of the two fighters

(Y/n):YOUR NOT GETTING AWAY!!

Raian:WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT RUNNING!!!

Akiyama:it would seem the best ways to ensure you own safety are, to shut yourself in your room till we reach our destination.

Lihito pictured himself sitting on his bed alone in his room, he didn't like that idea

Akiyama:or to always act in groups.

Kazuo pictured lihito and (y/n) fighting a cliche Japanese assassin, he shook his head frantically at the ridiculousness of the idea

Lihito:oh I have an idea! If we should stay in our rooms with a group, you can come to my room tonight Kaede!

Akiyama:absolutely not.

Lihito:WH-WHA?!?! I'M NOT GONNA TRY ANYTHING!

Akiyama:that's a lie.

Kazuo chuckled awkwardly at how forward and brutally honest she was in rejecting Lihito's advances

Meanwhile, in a vip area on the main deck of the ship, was a small meeting of CEO's

The representatives in question were Nogi, Shion and the representative of the gold pleasure group, Rino Kurayoshi

Rino was a young, 5'4 and an overall beautiful yet classy woman, she had mid length maroon colored hair that at the end was styled as curly ringlets that reached just down to her sizeable chest to show off her perfect hour glass figure, she wore an ankle length sleeveless dress which exposed her chest and back

Shion:alliance? You're not asking me to surrender, are you now?

Nogi chuckled to himself as he rested a cigar on an ash tray

Nogi:as if you'd ever play second fiddle to anyone. Haven't you heard the news? A fighters already been taken out. I looked into Kaneda Suekichi, but couldn't dig anything up on him. I find it hard to believe he's here on somebody else's orders, much like how Mr.Ohya, his manager, suggests. But the chances of someone going to systematically capturing fighter slots...

Shion:I see.

She tapped her cigarette on the ash tray

Shion:so you want to declare a cease fire till we arrive at our destination.

She blew smoke out her her nose onto the table while her assistant, Tomoko who was standing behind her, noticed Hatsumi sitting at a table beside them sweating profusely

Nogi:very perceptive Ms.Soryuin. That makes everything quicker.

Tomoko:you're oddly quiet right now, Hatsumi.

Hatsumi quickly looked at her, slightly jumping at being acknowledged

Hatsumi:u-uh no...I'm not...

Shion put her cigarette back to her lips, she started giving Nogi the stink eye

Shion:relax Nogi. I wasn't planning on using an assassin to begin with, only cowards who are scared of losing would do that. Although...

She slowly turned her head towards Rino who was sitting at the other end of the table quietly like a goodie two shoes, her attitude clearly rubbed Shion the wrong way

Shion:I don't know about her.

Rino giggled cutely in response

Rino:I see you're quite suspicious, Ms.Soryuin.

Tomoko looked confused, specifically because of Rino

Tomoko:*I thought she was some kind of hooker...*

Hatsumi:that's Rino Kurayoshi, representative of the gold pleasure group. They call her The Sexual Violence of the Kengan Association. I came up with it.

Tomoko:hmm...? So she's competing too?

Hatsumi:Gold Pleasure is the biggest name in the night leisure industry at the moment. And of course I'm a patron of their services.

Tomoko:*why does he sound proud of that...?*

Hatsumi:*Rino looks as fine as ever. I wonder if she'd ever be my sparing partner if you catch my drift.*

He started laughing internally as Rino noticed him staring but politely waved

Rino:Hiiii Mr.Hatsumiiiiii, long time no see.

Shion snapped her head towards Hatsumi before he could respond and Hatsumi fell back into his meek attitude he had previously which made Rino giggle

Rino:I see your as hard on Mr.Hatsumi as ever Ms.Shion.

Shion:he needs to be kept on a lease.

Shion redirected her attention back towards Rino, it was abundantly obvious she didn't trust her, or at the very least that she didn't like Rino

Shion:So, are you gonna join the ceasefire, Rino?

Rino didn't respond with a hint of malice or ill intent, she picked up he tea cup with a smile and took a reserved sip

Rino:naturally, I never even considered using an assassin.

Shion:I wouldn't be so sure, I find it hard to trust Vixens.

Rino rested her head in her palm as she giggled again

Rino:I'll take that as a compliment. But really, I have no intention of using assassins. I don't need to, you see...I already have.

A clatter of a tea cup emanated from behind Hatsumi as he stood up while turning around like a startled cat, completely dropping the meek persona

Rino:someone I can trust.

Hatsumi:I couldn't sense him?! Me?! How long has that guy been sitting there?! WHO THE HELL IS HE?!

The man in question was Rino's representative fighter, Rei Mikazuchi, he stood at 5'10 with a defined physique that was apparent even through his well dressed suit, he was an attractive young man with a youthful face and spikey black hair with two notable bangs that fell on either side of his face, however his eyes held a dead boredom to them

The trip remained uneventful for the next ten hours, at roughly 9pm with eight hours remaining in their trip, (Y/n) and Lihito left the dinning hall with Lihito patting his slightly enlarged stomach

Lihito:wow this place is a lifesaver. Sure is generous of the association to offer us all the food for free. Not that we've had our fill, why don't we go have some fun, what do you say?

They started walking down the almost empty hallway, the only other people were two Kure clan members walking towards them, it was Reiichi and the hooded Kure

(Y/n):fun?

Lihito:yeah I heard there's this wicked casino on the third floor, what do you say we go gamble and make some money?!

(Y/n) looked bored as he looked down at Lihito out of the corner of his eye

(Y/n):Gam...bling...? I don't know what that is.

Lihito noticed the Kure clan members and pulled (y/n) to the other side of the hall to avoid confrontation, (y/n) either didn't notice the Kure clan members or didn't care about them

Lihito:oh then you've gotta come, I can show you the ropes!

(Y/n):mmm...not interested.

Lihito:oh come on, you've gotta enjoy life!

(Y/n):you enjoy it too much.

They passed the Reiichi and his clan member, the hooded Kure stopped as they passed and looked over their shoulder at (y/n) and grinned

Lihito:oh come on, just one hand! You've just gotta remember one thing about gambling. That 99% of people give up before their big break.

Reiichi stopped and turned around

Reiichi:is something wrong?

His sibling didn't respond

Lihito:who knows, maybe we can pick up some chicks too! Just turn up the charm a bit and we can be taking them out in droves!

(Y/n) still didn't have any noticeable change in mood

(Y/n):don't drag me into this.

Further below in the ship, Cosmo Imai walked into one of the generator rooms, the door was ajar and it looked like it had been beaten in by a gorilla or some kind of massive muscular beast

As Cosmo walked further into the dimly lit room, he saw Wakatsuki leaned against the far wall with his arms crossed

Wakatsuki:sorry about calling you all the way down here.

Cosmo had a large chicken wing in his mouth with about a dozen more on a plate he was holding in his off hand, but he was still childishly bothered about it

Cosmo:you could say that again, I was in the middle of eating.

Wakatsuki:fine then, I'll wait till you're finished.

Once Cosmo finally finished, he put his plate on the ground as wakatsuki started on why he'd called the young grappler down there

Wakatsuki:I checked with my CEO. All previous Kengan Annihilation Tournaments have operated by the rule that the director of the winning corporation is appointed Kengan Association President. But in this tournament, the winning corporation is only awarded "The right to nominate the next president".

Cosmo tilted his head to the side confused

Cosmo:is it really that different though?

Wakatsuki:it's entirely different. Think about it, under the past rules, tournaments were entirely left to individual matches. But under the current rules, there's more room for conspiracy, bribery and threats.

Cosmo:o-oh I see. So you think you can steal the nomination spot now?

Wakatsui:in essence, yes, that's what it means. The only person with the power who can amend the rules is the sitting chairman of the Kengan Association, Metsudo Katahara.

He paused for a moment

Wakatsuki:*it doesn't make sense. Why would the chairman himself make such an unnatural amendment. It would clearly be disadvantageous for him.*

Cosmo:uh...wakatsuki?

Wakatsuki:hmm, what is it?

Cosmo:you just kinda spaced out there for a second. So what else, don't you have something to tell me?

Wakatsuki paused and then nodded

Wakatsuki:there's a corporation that's participating in the tournament that's as close to guilty as you can get.

Wakatsuki:*the only thing I lack is evidence. But if anyone were going to try anything...it would be Him.*

Cosmo started looking mildly panicked at the though of the corporation representatives playing dirty

Cosmo:huh? Wait, huh? So which corporation is it?!

They heard the rusted hinges of the generator room creak open and then the door slammed shut with a pair of footsteps approaching afterward

Wakatsuki:here they come.

Two average high men with muscular builds came into view, one was covered in bandages like some kind of mummy and the other was wearing a black tank top and jeans with a holster on his hip along with a bandana looking almost like a biker gang member

Gang member:found them, these guys are fighters.

Mummy:time to crush them and take their slots...uhhhhh, never mind. I don't give a shit about their names.

Wakatsuki sighed

Wakatsuki:...well I'll be damned. You've got a real tendency to get carried away, I was hoping to warn you to watch your back...but I guess my plan to talk out of sight backfired.

Cosmo started smirking

Cosmo:nah, this is perfect.

He turned towards their opponents and started rotating his neck

Cosmo:I was getting pretty bored of this long voyage.

He slammed his fist into his open palm with a innocent smile

Cosmo:guess it's time for a little workout!

The gang member scoffed

Gang member:whoa there, don't you guys have any sense of danger?

He pulled out a stun baton and began approaching Cosmo

After a mere 7 seconds, Cosmo had won after putting him in a rear naked choke and the fighters was rendered completely unconscious

Cosmo:you've really underestimated the Kengan Matches. I'm not letting someone who's all bark and no bite take my spot.

In this world, there are people known as progeny's. Cosmo Imai, age 19. His first Kengan match debut was at 14! The youngest in association history! He fought a striking debut match where he fought a giant of a man who was 20cm taller and over 30kg heavier than him and put him into submission! No one could doubt his talent as a progeny. Cosmo's most fearsome hold is the rear naked choke, as a grappler. It strangles the neck and cuts off the blood flow of the carotid artery, along with shutting down the flow of oxygen to the brain. No living creature has ever withstood Cosmo's very own Python Hold. He's refereed to as the King Of Stranglers.

A loud crash emanated from the generator room as Cosmo jerked his head around in a panic

Cosmo:wh-what was that?!?!

His eyes settled on his comrade standing unscathed and he calmed down quickly, he was oddly used to this

Cosmo:oh...heh, it's just you.

Wakatsuki was standing in the middle of the room, the mummy was in a massive crater in the concrete wall with his entire chest cavity caved in.

Cosmo:heh, think you went a little overboard wakatsuki.

Cosmo:*I mean really...who punches through concrete with their bare hands? This guy gets more inhuman every time I see him. Then again...if I ever wanna beat him one day, I'd rather he be a monster.*

Takeshi Wakatsuki. Aka Wild Tiger. 306 wins, 2 loses. He's the longest serving active fighter with the highest number of wins ever recorded in the Kengan Matches.

Wakatsuki raised his bloody right fist

Wakatsuki:He broke after just one punch.

Elsewhere on the ship, other assassins had proven to have had better luck

In the shared bedroom for Byakuya news, the manager was standing over the dead body of Hisayasu Takemoto who's chest had a deep gouge ripping across it from his right trap to his left oblique

In his 82 years of life, Takemoto had fought in over 90 matches and won every single time. He'd created a martial art all on his own. Eventually he became recognized as A God of War.

Now that takemoto was dead, his managed looked up at the culprit while quivering

The culprit was a fighter from Taiwan with a tone but lean physique, he had an androgynous face with a hairless visage with black hair being held to the left side with a side parting, he was 5'9 and wearing a sleeveless changshan, his name was Ren Nikaidō

Elsewhere, Masaki Meguro was sitting on top of the corpse that used to be the representative fighter for Umiichi security, he had a heavy muscular build but with a hunched over, almost beast like posture, he had a messy but spikey set of hair and psychotic eyes with an open mouthed grin to match his eyes, he was wearing dark coveralls without sleeves and stood at roughly 6'5

Up on the main deck, by the swimming pool was Rino and Rei

Rei was standing closest to the pool with Rino behind him, across the pool was another assassin standing in the dark

Rino:oh dear, I guess Mr.Nogi turned out to be right.

Despite not expecting to be attacked, neither her nor Rei were concerned and held onto their normal demeanors

Rino:you send in fighters affiliated with you, so you can plunder the nominations, right? You do love political struggles, don't you?

She talked like she knew who the assassins employee was as well

Rei slowly raised his hand and spread his five fingers apart

Rei:Five Seconds. I'll be done in five seconds, wait for me Rino.

His voice was calm but serious but Rino found him amusing enough to giggle

Rino:take your time Reiiii.

Less then half a minute later, Rei was on his hands and knees bowing to Rino

Rei:Rino...I'm sorry...I kept you waiting for 22 seconds...

Rino knelt down and started rubbing his head

Rino:it's okay, Rei. Please get up.

She looked at the floating body of their would-be assassin floating in the pool, his arms were completely broken in multiple places and his face was caved in

Meanwhile on another part of the main deck, both Lihito and (Y/n) were on their knees in front of Akiyama who looked furious

Lihito however, was in nothing but his underwear

Kazuo was standing a few feet behind her with a cup of coffee to help him stay awake at this late hour

Kazuo:*it sure is taking a while, how much longer does Miss Akiyama intend to scold them for?*

(Y/n) rolled his eyes, he didn't seem interested in the slightest

(Y/n):*why me...?*

Akiyama:I don't believe it, Lihito! How could you lose everything you had in the casino?!what were you planning to do if I hadn't come to shoulder your debt?!

Lihito looked genuinely guilty for what he'd done but Akiyama noticed how (y/n) couldn't care less

Akiyama:and as for you, (Y/n)!

(Y/n) perked up hearing his name mentioned or rather, yelled

(Y/n):hmm who, me?

Akiyama began pointing right at him

Akiyama:You had all those w-women waiting on you at the casino! What were you even thinking?!

Kazuo chuckled slightly as he remembered when they saw the two on the casino, Lihito was on a major losing street about to give up his boxers and (y/n) was standing at the buffet line with nearly a dozen attractive women all either clutching onto him or surrounding him

(Y/n):dunno, they just showed up. They wouldn't let me eat in peace.

Akiyama looked like she was about to blow a gasket over those two

Akiyama:a-at any rate! You could both be targeted at any minute! You need to refrain from any rash actions!!

Lihito rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself

Lihito:that or someone's just jealous...

Akiyama:What was that?!

Lihito put his hands up in surrender

Lihito:n-nothing!

Kazuo started to feel bad at this point, she'd been ripping into them for a while now and he'd rather not watch anymore

He turned around as he took another sip of his drink when he spotted the Kure clan member in the parka approaching them from behind with an evil grin

Kazuo adjusted his glasses as he couldn't quiet make out their shape in the dim night light

Kazuo:*wait...is that the one who was with the Kure Clan earlier?*

—————————————————————————

To be continued

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]