A moment before I was about to hang my head in despair, a black cloth fluttered through the air and landed on Hitomoshi’s face.
A suit jacket…?
Lico had flung the garment that had been around his arm.
With his free hand, Hitomoshi pulled the suit off his face. Once he did, he turned and faced the young boy standing in the snow.
“Come at me.” The boy loosened his tie and gestured for Hitomoshi to approach. “Mr. Former Ultimate.”
Hitomoshi appeared to accept the challenge. A wide, menacing grin formed on his face.
He tossed Kyoko aside like some sort of old toy and charged straight at Lico.
Lico had fully untied his tie.
With such a big disparity between their body sizes, I didn’t have much faith in a favorable outcome. Lico’s body looked to be thinner than Hitomoshi’s thighs. This was one fight he shouldn’t have picked.
Hitomoshi thrust out his right hand as he ran, prepared to grab onto Lico’s neck. Lico stood perfectly still, making no attempt to dodge the attack.
A smile spread across Hitomoshi’s face, filled with confidence in his certain victory.
Once he grabs Lico, it’s all over…
I felt an urge to scream.
But Hitomoshi’s arm suddenly froze midway through his attack.
Wrapped around Hitomoshi’s outstretched right forearm was Lico’s tie. Lico was pulling tightly on both ends, creating a bind around the man’s arm.
Hitomoshi winced. Blood began streaming out of the parts where Lico’s tie was wrapped around.
“There’s a thin wire inside. The more power you put into your prized muscles, the more the wire will eat into them.”
Paying no attention to Lico’s warning, Hitomoshi grit his teeth and clenched his right arm to try and break free.
“Aaaaaaaaargh!” he yelled.
Blood erupted from his arm, staining the surrounding snow bright red. The tie wouldn’t come off, no matter how much he resisted.
Giving up on his right arm, Hitomoshi now swung at Lico’s side with his left.
Lico released his grip on the tie and gracefully leapt backwards to dodge the attack.
Hitomoshi had regained his freedom. The tie was still wrapped around his right arm, but his left arm was unrestrained. I didn’t know which was his dominant arm, but as a rock climber, he must have had considerable grip strength in both.
I wouldn’t wanna be on the receiving end of an attack by either of his arms.
Hitomoshi predictably channeled all of his strength into his left arm. Lico managed to dodge the man’s swings, but only by the skin of his teeth. Their size difference had placed Lico at a disadvantage.
Before long, Lico found himself with his back against the fence.
“You’re quite the opponent,” Hitomoshi growled, speaking for the first time. Knowing that he had fully cornered his prey, he had the leisure to boast. “Why don’t you tell me your name before I kill you?”
“Is that necessary?”
“What?”
“Do you really need my name? If so, I’ll tell you. I’m Rei Mikagami. A number of people call me by that name.”
“You’re Rei Mikagami? Huh, I guess it’s my lucky day.” Hitomoshi pulled his left arm back, preparing to swing with all his might.
But before that could happen…
He collapsed to his knees, falling flat onto his face.
What had happened?
“Good night, Mr. Former Ultimate.” Lico pulled out a spare tie from his vest pocket and deftly tied it around his neck.
Hitomoshi was no longer moving.
