"Ya gonna let me or do I go elsewhere?" Ranma asked, letting menace creep into his voice.
"Sure kid, all you got to do is beat 'Tiny' here. Hey, Tiny?" the manager yelled the last to the guy in the ring.
Ranma quickly assessed Tiny. Big. Really big. Thick layers of muscle and callous. Tough looking. Strong. Fairly slow, and the guy moved a little off somehow.
"What you got, bossu?" said the guy as he walked over, grabbing a towel to wipe sweat off.
"This guy wants to be a street fighting champion, get into the underground circuit," said the manager. "I told him if he could beat you, I'd sponsor him."
When the big guy had first spoken it was in a rough and uncultured manner, that shifted completely as he knelt down to look Ranma in the eye. "Look kid. It can't be that bad. You can get into another line of work. There just isn't much future in street fights. It might look glamourous from the outside, and a quick way to get lots of cash, but it doesn't pay in the long run."
Ranma blinked at the sudden change in mannerisms. "You saying you're not gonna fight?"
The giant sighed heavily. "All right, fine. We'll fight. When I win though, you'll go find another way. Something that won't end up with your teeth decorating the mat."
Ranma wasn't sure how to handle the obvious concern. "I expected something different from your reputation."
The giant chuckled as if at some private joke. "Aw, c'mon kid. The fights are mostly real but the stage persona are a different matter. I'm not the caveman type I portray, and most everyone in the circuit knows it but that's what the crowd loves. I'm not a villain, I just play one because the whole stereotypical brute thug provides an immediate conceptual handle for the masses. More people come, so it's more money."
Ranma thought about that as the ring was cleared and the giant stepped over the ropes in order to get into the ring. Guy was about seven feet eleven in height, nearly that broad. Looked a bit chubby like his father, but like Genma that was mainly deceptive. Lots of muscle under that. "So if fighting in the ring is so bad, why do you do it?"
"Look at me, kid," said Tiny. "My thyroid did all kinds of weird stuff. Enlarged heart among other things. Medicines cost a lot of money, particularly when they're not available in Japan. Well, let's get this over with."
Ranma had already analyzed the guy's movements. He was favoring one knee slightly, and he moved a little stiffly. From the way the punching bag had been anchored to the floor, LOTS of physical strength.
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(Posted Fri, 04 Jun 2004 10:05)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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