It turns out, Reika still standing outside near her car. She turns toward him the moment she sees him, her expression tightening slightly again.

"Kenta..."

He stops in front of her. For a brief moment, neither of them says anything.

Then Reika exhales quietly and lowers her eyes. "...I really didn’t mean to cause trouble. My brother came to me saying he was interested in bringing you to America. And honestly... from my perspective, it looked like a huge opportunity for you."

She hesitates briefly before continuing. "But in the end, the decision was always yours. I just... didn’t feel right selfishly closing that door and preventing him from seeing you."

Kenta looks at her for a few seconds before shaking his head lightly. "No, it’s okay," he says. "I understand your intention. Really."

Then a faint smile slowly appears on his face as he scratches his cheek awkwardly. "...I was just a little upset because for a moment there, I thought a beautiful woman was inviting me to dinner. That’s not exactly something that happens often in my life."

A short laugh escapes him afterward, embarrassed more than confident. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Reika blinks once. Then unexpectedly, she laughs too, not loudly, just enough for some of the tension between them to finally loosen.

Kenta gives her a small nod afterward and starts walking away down the sidewalk. But before he gets very far...

"Wait," she calls.

Kenta turns back, and sees Reika lifting her car keys slightly.

"...Are you going home? I can drive you there if you want."

Kenta pauses for a second, and glances at her Lexus for a moment.

Then he shrugs lightly.

"...Sure."

Without thinking too deeply about it, he walks toward her car.

Reika watches him circle around toward the passenger seat, and for a brief moment, something inside her feels strangely quiet, a kind of relief she rarely experiences strongly enough to even notice it.

The feeling catches her slightly off guard, mostly because she realizes how long it has been since somebody simply understood her intentions without suspicion or resistance attached to it.

This entire time, she has spent so long trying to make people understand her intentions, especially Ryoma, only for everything she does to somehow become twisted into pressure, manipulation, or selfishness instead.

At first, wanting Ryoma’s attention had felt simple enough. It was admiration, then attraction, and then the desire to stand closer to someone extraordinary.

But somewhere along the way, those feelings became heavier. It leans more toward possessive, more desperate to be acknowledged by him. And the more she wanted something back from him, the more distant Ryoma became.

That was why she started changing little by little without even realizing it herself. Instead of trying to possess, she began trying to give, supporting his events, helping the gym, opening doors whenever opportunities appeared.

Even this meeting with Jackson originally came from that same mindset. She genuinely thought she was helping Kenta.

And yet, all she had felt was guilt, tension, and the fear that everyone here now saw her as someone causing trouble for the gym.

But Kenta simply understood her intentions for what they truly were. He’s no looking at her with suspicion, no longer treats her kindness like manipulation, and doesn’t hide any resentment behind that awkward smile of his.

That simple acceptance settles inside her far more deeply than she expects. And somehow, that feeling settles inside her chest far more comfortably than getting what she originally wanted ever did.

Reika slowly lowers herself into the driver’s seat afterward, her fingers tightening lightly around the steering wheel for a moment before finally starting the engine.

***

December 30th, 2017.

Las Vegas glows like a city trying to outshine the night sky itself.

Outside the arena, enormous digital billboards cycle endlessly between sponsor advertisements, fighter promos, and countdown graphics for the main event. Black SUVs continue arriving one after another near the VIP entrance while cameras flash nonstop against the barricades outside.

The entire strip feels infected by the event’s presence tonight, from giant posters hanging across casino walls to sports channels replaying highlights from both fighters every few minutes inside nearby bars.

And inside the arena itself, the production already looks worthy of a world title stage long before the fighters even make their entrance.

Massive LED screens hang above the ring, rotating animated visuals across every surface while rows of moving lights sweep slowly across the audience seats like searchlights scanning an ocean.

This is no longer the scale of regional boxing. Everything tonight is built to feel larger than life. The vacant WBO world title sits beneath a spotlight near ringside, displayed inside a glass case like an object carrying religious significance.

At ringside, the commentators’ voices continue rolling through the arena speakers while highlight footage flashes across the giant screens above the ring.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Las Vegas!" one of them says energetically as the camera sweeps across the packed crowd. "Tonight, we close out 2017 with one of the biggest fight cards of the year, headlined by the vacant WBO world title fight between Liam O’Conner and Miguel Carbello!"

The audience erupts loudly again as both fighters appear on the massive screens overhead. Liam O’Conner receives a strong wave of cheers from traveling Canadian supporters.

"You’re talking about two completely different kinds of monsters stepping into that ring tonight," the second commentator adds as footage from both fighters plays overhead. "Liam O’Conner is the kind of pressure fighter who keeps coming forward no matter how hard you hit him. Heavy hands, relentless pace, ugly exchanges, he drags people into wars whether they want it or not."

Meanwhile, the screen shifts toward Miguel Carbello slipping punches during training footage with smooth upper-body movement. It draws an even louder reaction from the American crowd, the noise swelling through the arena hard enough to briefly overpower the commentators themselves.

"And then there’s Miguel Carbello," the second commentator continues. "Sharp footwork, beautiful timing, clean counters, the kind of fighter who can make you miss three times and punish you before you even reset your stance. This is going to be a clash of pressure versus precision tonight."

"And honestly?" the first commentator cuts back in. "This entire card feels like a statement event. The production, the atmosphere, the names sitting ringside tonight... boxing is trying to end this year with something spectacular."

The camera shifts briefly toward the VIP section, capturing several well-known promoters and business figures seated near the ring.

"But the main event isn’t the only reason the boxing world is watching tonight," the second commentator continues. "Because earlier on this card, we’ve also got a massive WBC ranking bout featuring Japan’s Shimamura Suzuki against Elliot Graves from England."

"Now this one is dangerous," the first commentator says. "Shimamura enters ranked tenth by the WBC, Graves sits at number four, and the winner tonight could put himself right in line for a world title eliminator next year."

"And let’s not forget," the second commentator adds, "Shimamura’s development in America has been backed now by Logan Rhodes’ side of the industry. So trust me, there are a lot of powerful people paying close attention to this fight tonight."

The event itself only became possible after Hugo Ramirez secured the hosting rights through a successful purse bid worth 3.5 million dollars.

But no promoter carries a risk that size alone anymore, not when consortium structures make it easier to spread both investment and danger across multiple companies. And one of the companies sharing that risk tonight is NSN Global Promotion.