VISION GRID SYSTEM: THE COMEBACK OF RYOMA TAKEDA

Sergei continues excitedly laying out his vision, moving from one possibility to another with the confidence of a man already seeing the event unfold, while Sera listens in growing dilemma, unsure when to interrupt without offending his guest.

Eventually, Sera raises a hand without saying a word, the gesture alone enough to make Sergei pause.

”Yes? Is there something you’d like to say?”

”I understand your enthusiasm, Mr. Volkov. Honestly, I didn’t want to interrupt you because you seemed to have everything so clearly mapped out.” Sera offers an apologetic smile. ”But I’m afraid our answer might disappoint you.”

Sergei blinks, slightly caught off guard. ”Ah. It seems I’ve misunderstood the position we’re in. I thought Ryoma had always wanted to fight Elliot.”

”You’re not wrong,” Sera says. ”But you need to understand Ryoma’s position. When the door closed for him in the WBC, the people at the WBO came forward and gave us a way. And they did that with their own expectations. They certainly wouldn’t expect us to suddenly start looking toward another circuit the moment Ryoma becomes champion. It could create the perception that once Ryoma wins a WBC title, he’ll simply turn his back on the WBO.”

Sergei’s expression shifts slightly before he nods a few times, seeming to understand.

”I see. It seems we had a small misunderstanding.”

”Sorry, what do you mean?” Sera asks.

”Both Ryoma and Elliot are newly crowned world champions,” Sergei explains. ”If they fought each other now, one of them would inevitably lose his world title. I understand that it’s simply too soon.”

”Then what exactly was the proposal you were making?”

”That is my long-term plan,” Sergei replies. ”It won’t be possible unless we start laying the groundwork now. Besides, I’m sure Caleb Mercer will try to reclaim his title. Even if the mandatory defense isn’t due yet, Elliot cannot afford to look as though he’s running from him.”

He leans forward slightly, his enthusiasm returning. ”At the same time, Ryoma can make his WBO title defense. Two separate title fights, two champions, one event. We build the audience, establish the rivalry, and let the world get used to seeing their names together.”

Sera’s expression gradually changes as the idea begins to sink in, his earlier hesitation giving way to genuine interest. For the first time, his attention seems to align with Sergei’s enthusiasm.

”Two world-title fights in one event?” he repeats. ”That would be huge. So you’re offering a partnership?”

”Yes,” Sergei says, opening both hands. ”I’d like to invite Ryoma to fight in London. In return, I’ll bring Elliot to Tokyo for his next title defense. At the very least, we can use those two events to start building the campaign toward Wembley. After two successful defenses, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to finally put them together for a unification bout.”

Sera nods several times. ”I think it’s something worth taking seriously. But the final decision isn’t mine to make.”

He gestures toward Nakahara. ”And even if I explain everything to my boss here, he wouldn’t dare make that decision by himself.”

Sergei turns toward Nakahara and gives him a small nod and a friendly smile. Nakahara returns it with the same cheerful grin he has worn throughout the meeting.

”Yes. Yes,” Nakahara says.

At that moment, Elliot appears in the doorway and immediately draws everyone’s attention.

”You done, Sergei?”

All three men turn toward him, and find Ryoma with Aramaki behind Elliot. Sergei straightens and adjusts his jacket, looking as though he is already preparing to leave.

”A conversation like this can’t be settled in a single meeting,” he says. ”Discuss it among yourselves first. Our flight is on the twenty-sixth, so we’ll still be here for at least another week.”

”Ah, all right,” Sera replies. ”We’ll get back to you once we’ve discussed it. But of course, you’re always welcome here whenever you’d like to visit.”

Sergei shakes Sera’s hand, then Nakahara’s. After that, they escort the guests outside and seeing them off as they get into a waiting taxi.

”So, what were you guys talking about?” Ryoma asks as he watches the taxi disappear down the street.

”Something huge,” Sera replies, already heading back inside. ”And we’re going to need a special meeting for this.”

He pauses at the entrance and turns back toward Ryoma. ”Are you sure it’s okay for you to be back this soon?”

”If all I have to do is listen to you talk, I think I’ll survive,” Ryoma replies.

Sera opens the door and lets Ryoma and Nakahara enter first before following behind with Aramaki.

”So, what were you talking about with Elliot?” Nakahara asks. ”Was he trying to challenge you for a unification bout?”

”Not really,” Ryoma replies. ”We were just talking about my fight with Miguel Cabello.”

He suddenly stops walking, his expression changing as something Elliot had reminded him of comes back to him.

”What is it?” Sera asks.

Ryoma pulls out his phone and starts searching through his contacts. ”About Cabello. The hospital isn’t going to conduct the drug test like I thought they would. That’s the WBO’s responsibility. The hospital is only treating him until he wakes up.”

”Is it really that important?” Nakahara asks.

”Why not just leave it to the commission?” Sera adds.

Ryoma shakes his head. ”What if someone on their medical team gets paid off? At least I trust the integrity of a Tokyo hospital more than I trust theirs.”

He brings the phone to his ear and waits for the call to connect. Nakahara and Sera exchange a glance, neither quite sure what to make of his determination.

”Kanemura-san,” Ryoma says when the call is answered. ”Could I ask you for a favor?”

After listening for a moment, he continues. ”It’s about the medical examination after the Cabello fight. This may sound like I’m making an accusation, but I’m convinced he took some kind of banned substance before the fight. Could you go to the hospital and ask them to conduct the examination? Ronin is still covering Cabello’s treatment, so if there are any additional costs, we’ll take care of them.”

After a brief silence, Ryoma thanks Kanemura, ends the call, and lowers his phone.

”I can’t just ignore this,” he says, his expression turning serious.

”But you already won,” Aramaki points out. ”Do you really need to keep worrying about it?”

”Of course I do,” Ryoma replies. ”Because they’re not going to stop coming after my career.”

He looks at Aramaki for a moment before turning toward Sera and Nakahara.

”Remember the guy who stabbed Ryohei?”

”I heard he hanged himself,” Sera says.

”Eh? Really?” Nakahara asks, visibly startled.

”I saw the news this morning,” Sera explains. ”Apparently, he couldn’t live with the guilt, and couldn’t stand being on the run anymore.”

”That’s just the story circulating in the media,” Ryoma says, drawing everyone’s attention. ”Detective Tachibana came to see me earlier. The man was murdered, and there’s a good chance it was done by the same people who wanted me dead. They killed the man to zip his mouth.”

Ryoma pauses, his expression hardening. ”And I have a feeling they’re connected to the same group as Hugo Ramirez.”

But then, without warning, a familiar pulse of pain strikes through Ryoma’s head, the same sensation he felt earlier in his apartment. This time, an image flashes before him: himself standing in front of an apartment door under dim lighting.

He instinctively shakes his head, and the image disappears as quickly as it came.

”What was that?” he mutters.

Nakahara looks concerned. ”What’s wrong?”

”Nothing,” Ryoma says. ”My head just felt a little heavy. It’s gone now.”

”Hey, you just had a world-title fight yesterday,” Sera says. ”And you took quite a few punches to the head. I think you should go home and get some rest.”

Ryoma looks between Sera and Nakahara, considering it for a moment before finally sighing and nodding.

”I’ll take you,” Sera says, already heading toward the exit.

Ryoma glances at Aramaki and gives him a single nod before they both are following Sera out.

”You know,” Aramaki says with a teasing smile, ”throughout your career, you’ve actually taken very few clean shots to the head. You’re so damn good at avoiding them that you might just be less accustomed to that kind of punishment than most fighters.”

Ryoma gets into the car and slides toward the middle, making room for Aramaki. ”Is that why you and Okabe are so damn stubborn about taking punches?”

Aramaki climbs in after him and closes the door with a grin. ”You could say that. We’ve got a reputation to maintain.”

Ryoma chuckles and shakes his head with a faintly amused expression, but the moment does not last long. During the drive, he cannot stop thinking about the apartment door he had just seen in that brief flash.

Something about it feels familiar, and the more he tries to place it, the stronger the sensation becomes. The surroundings even seem strangely similar to what he remembers seeing in the news coverage of Hayashida Muneyaki’s death, as though he has been to that apartment before.

A quiet doubt begins to creep into his mind, turning his own words from moments ago against him. If Tachibana had discovered enough to question his story, perhaps the detective had a valid reason to suspect that Ryoma himself was the one who killed that man.