Dream

"Ho - How did you enter, Shishio-kun?"

Looking at Shishio, who entered his house together with Shiina, without anyone noticing, Tokugawa felt a shudder. He knew how powerful the security of his house was, and even a mouse had a hard time entering his house, but Shishio could enter his room so easy together with his girlfriend in his arms.

Not only had no one noticed them, but they were chatting to each other for a moment that Tokugawa only realized that Shishio was right beside him, which made him scared, but at the same time, he was amazed.

"Shishio-kun, did you learn ninjutsu too?"

"It's Bajiquan. Have you not heard from the record that Li Shuwen can hide his presence from his enemy?" Shishio asked.

"..."

Tokugawa knew that Shishio was a Bajiquan practitioner, but he didn't expect him to be so strong!

Hiding someone's presence, Tokugawa knew that it wasn't that simple, and he could also feel that Shishio's technique was quite different. It felt like even though they were sitting in the same room, Shishio was in a different place. It was as if Shishio was in a different space.

"I want to visit the arena, is that alright?" Shishio asked.

"Yes!" Tokugawa forgot all the worry that he felt before and quickly agreed to Shishio. "Should we go now?"

"Yes." Shishio nodded, but..,

"Tokugawa-sama!"

The sound of footsteps was heard, and a group of people quickly approached Tokugawa's room after they heard his scream.

"You stupid! Go away for me!" Tokugawa shouted toward his bodyguards, who were too late to come. "Wait a moment, prepare a car for me. I want to go to the arena."

Hearing Tokugawa's words, even though they were a bit dumbfounded and felt a loss since they were confused about why Tokugawa was angry, they also quickly followed his order.

Tokugawa sighed, then looked at Shiina. He had to admit that she was cute, but he was already old, and his place didn't work anymore, so he didn't have much interest in the opposite gender and indulged himself in watching a fight on the underground arena. "This is...?" However, he felt that Shiina was somehow quite similar. 'Where have I seen her?'

"She's Shiina Mashiro. My girlfriend," Shishio said.

"Hello." Shiina nodded then asked, "Who is he, Shishio?"

Hearing Shiina's question, Tokugawa smiled kindly and said, "My name is Tokugawa Mitsunari. You can call me Grandpa, Mashiro-chan." Still, he had to admit that Shiina was too cute, right?

Tokugawa looked at Shishio then Shiina and had to admit that they were matched, but why did he feel that he had seen Shiina?

"Hello, Granpa." Shiina nodded and didn't think too much.

Looking at Shiina, Tokugawa looked at Shishio and asked, "She's going to the underground arena too?"

"I don't really want to hide anything from her, so I think it is necessary for her to know more about me," Shishio said.

Tokugawa nodded and said, "Good." Of course, it wasn't uncommon to see a fighter with a lover or a wife, or rather, he had seen a lot of them, so he didn't feel surprised when Shishio wanted to bring Shiina with him. "Still, have I seen her somewhere?"

"She's a famous painter, so it isn't surprising for you to know her," Shishio said.

"..."

Tokugawa was dumbfounded before his lips twitched. Looking at Shishio, he felt that Shishio really resembled his grandpa. Still, at the same time, he also felt that Shishio was amazing since Shishio could make a famous painter as his girlfriend, and from their interaction, he could see that both of them were truly in love.

"Grandpa."

"Hmm?" Tokugawa then looked at Shiina, who suddenly called her, showing a kind smile, and somehow felt that he just wanted to pamper her.

"Is Shishio going to fight? Can he not fight?" Shiina asked worriedly, hoping that Tokugawa could stop, asking Shishio to fight.

Hearing Shiina's words, Tokugawa didn't feel surprised since many women also showed such a reaction when their men were fighting in the underground arena. "If you're his woman, you should believe him." He didn't say much and only said those words.

Shiina was quite surprised since, unlike Tokugawa's previous gentle tone, this time Tokugawa's voice was quite strict as if Tokugawa was teaching her, but even so, Tokugawa was still gentle. She was in silence for a moment, then looked at Shishio.

"You don't need to worry," Shishio said as he patted Shiina's head.

"Um." Shiina nodded and decided to believe in him.

"Your relationship is so good," Tokugawa said with a smile.

It might be his first time seeing Shishio's gentle smile, and Tokugawa had to admit that Shishio was so handsome, and he might remember this smile for his entire life.

"I love her," Shishio said with a gentle smile.

"Shishio..." Shiina showed a gentle smile. "I love Shishio too."

Shishio then looked at Tokugawa and asked, "Do you remember the deal, right?"

"Of course." Tokugawa nodded without hesitation. "Have you chosen which place you want your house to be?"

"I'll tell you later." Shishio wanted to get an apartment building for Nana, so he needed to ask her which apartment she wanted to live in.

Tokugawa nodded and didn't ask much. He wanted to see Shishio's fight, and he didn't mind paying him.

"Tokugawa-sama, we have prepared the car."

Tokugawa's bodyguard's voice was heard from the outside. Tokugawa nodded and looked at Shishio. "Shall we go?"

"Good."

Tokugawa, Shiina, and Shishio walked out of the room, but it made the bodyguards dumbfounded since they wondered where they were coming from.

---

Inside the luxurious car, Tokugawa started to tell the story of the Underground Arena.

During the summer "Siege of Osaka" (1615), the Toyotomi Clan fell to ruin. But there were a lot of masters of fighting who only saw the battlefields as a place to express themselves, and they treated it as merely the coming of winter when they couldn't fight anymore. The inevitable result was an increase in bloody incidents all over the country.

Worried about the chaos and the public order, the shogun of that time, Iemitsu Tokugawa, in order to take hold of the fighters' place of self-expression, made the decision to create an arena. He ordered this from his most trusted friend, Mitsukuni, child of Yorifusa Tokugawa. Mitsukuni, also known as Mito Koumon, had a villa at Kouraku, Bunkyo, Tokyo. In other words, he created the arena in that place.

But in 22 years of the Meiji Era (1889), the duels became outlawed. Then Mitsunobu Tokugawa, with the interest of upholding public order, established a tolerable alternative. And according to Mitsunari Tokugawa's (his son) words, even if Mitsunobu was eventually assassinated, he wouldn't let it fall.

Later, construction on the Tokyo Dome stadium began on the 5th month and 60th year of the Showa Era (May 1985). At that time, in exchange for financing the construction costs, a single financer, Mitsunari Tokugawa, made a deal to have his own private room in the Tokyo Dome.

"Everyone thinks the stadium is six stories above ground and two stories below ground, but the truth is that there are six stories below ground, and at the very bottom, there's the Underground Arena," Tokugawa told the story of the Underground Arena.

Sipping her orange juice, Shiina listened to Tokugawa's story, but her eyes had been on Shishio.

Shishio looked at Tokugawa and asked, "Are there any rules?"

"Of course." Tokugawa nodded and told the rules of the Underground Arena.

There are four rules in the Underground Arena: no weapons allowed, no matter how small; the arena takes no responsibility for any injuries that occur; no awards, rewards, or money are presented; and champions will be remembered and honored for all eternity.

"Oh? So I'm an exception?" Shishio asked.

"Yes." Tokugawa nodded and said, "You might be the first fighter who asks me for money."

Shishio nodded and didn't say much.

"Still, why are you asking for money? It doesn't seem that you need money, right? You have a lot after all, especially when you have ransacked the Kengan Association before." Moreover, Tokugawa knew that Shishio had bet 500 million yen on his own match, and since Shishio had won that much, Shishio had won at least more than billions of yen!

Even though it was quite easy for Tokugawa to gather that amount of money, it was still a considerable amount of money.

"I don't want a small fry to gather in front of me," Shishio said simply.

Tokugawa nodded and understood his words since, unexpectedly, there were many stupid people in this world.

"You should know how stupid a martial artist is." Looking at Tokugawa, Shishio said, "They want to prove themselves as the strongest, and they want to fight someone strong, so you should understand after I have won Agito Kanoh, there will be many people who will try to challenge me, right? If I don't set a requirement, then how many people are going to ask me for a fight?" He didn't mind trouble, but he didn't want to face a stupid problem.

Tokugawa blushed in shame since he knew that he wasn't that much different from those stupid people that he had agreed with before. "I'm sorry. If you have something to ask more about, then you don't need to hesitate."

"You don't need to worry too much." Shishio's eyes turned sharp, and he said, "Still, if they don't know what's good for them, then I don't mind turning them into a pellet on the Tokyo Bay."

Tokugawa had a shudder when he saw Shishio's eyes, and it was the eyes who didn't hesitate to kill someone!

"Shishio..." Shiina held Shishio's hands worriedly.

"You don't need to worry, Mashiro. I was joking," Shishio said with a smile.

Shiina looked at Shishio for a moment before she leaned on his shoulder as she held his hand. She knew that he was good at acting, but unlike before, this time, she was here to support him.

Tokugawa looked at Shishio, then Shiina before he nodded. He had a feeling that if someone dared to do something on Shiina, then Shishio might wreck the entire Tokyo. Luckily, even though he also agreed that the martial artist was a stupid creature, they were respectable beings, and they probably wouldn't commit a crime.

Well, even if they did, Tokugawa had a feeling that they would die. He didn't doubt it and knew that Shishio would kill someone to protect his woman.

After that conversation, the trip turned quiet. Luckily, before long, they had arrived at the Tokyo Dome, and they didn't waste their time, so without hesitation, they entered the lift that led them into the Underground Arena.

As they arrived on the bottom floor, Shiina, who was walking right next to Shishio, could feel the pressure that was coming from the arena, and as they arrived at the Underground Arena, she could feel an intense feeling that made her a bit overwhelmed but when Shishio held her, she felt serene, warmth, and a secure feeling.

"Are you alright, Mashiro?"

"Um." Shiina nodded with a gentle smile.

"Tell me if you don't feel well,"

"Um."

They arrived at the Underground Arena and stepped into the octagonal arena.

Shiina couldn't describe her feelings since it was her first time to see this place, but if she had to give an example, she felt that she was watching a bloody battlefield right in front of her. She could also imagine many people were fighting to gain their honor and pride so they would be known as the strongest.

"Welcome to the Underground Arena," Tokugawa said with a smile, showing how proud he was at this place.

Shishio looked at the surrounding area, and it was empty. He then looked at the sand ground and grasped it with his hand. Not only sand, but there were teeth and nails mixed on it. As for his feelings, there was nothing much really since, in his mind, the Underground Arena was just a place for someone to fight. There was no special meaning, but since there were thousands of fights that had happened in this place, it might give a different kind of sense.

It was like when a dark and abandoned house would give anyone a sense of horror. This place would be a sense of chill to anyone who saw it, but not for Shishio.

Shishio grasped the sand that was mixed teeth and nails, causing a cracking sound, before he threw them from his palm.

"..."

Shiina and Tokugawa were dumbfounded when they saw the sand that Shishio held had become dust, but more importantly, they had never seen someone who was so harmonious when he was standing in this place.

When Shishio stood in this place, it felt like he was the ruler of this place.

Tokugawa gulped and asked, "Shishio-kun, can I ask you something?"

"What's wrong?"

"What is your dream?"

"Dream?" Shishio raised his eyebrow.

"That's right." Tokugawa nodded and said, "For the martial arts who come to this place, they have a dream to become the strongest fighter, but what about you?"

"Is it necessary to answer?"

"No, but I just want to know. For you, someone who is so talented with everything, what do you seek in this world? What do you want to do?" Tokugawa asked with an eagerness.

Shiina also didn't say anything and was waiting for Shishio's answer in anticipation too.

Tokugawa and Shiina weren't sure why they felt this feeling, but they just wanted to know what he wanted to and what he wanted to achieve in this life.

Shishio thought for a moment and said, "I'm looking for a way to live forever."

"...." Shiina and Tokugawa.

Tokugawa was dumbfounded and asked, "Yo - You want to achieve immortality?"

Immortality wasn't something uncommon, or rather, a lot of emperors in history and even Tokugawa's predecessors also sought a way to become immortal so they could live forever. Even some wealthy people were using their money to research a method to live forever, which was why Tokugawa was dumbfounded when he heard that Shishio's dream was to become immortal.

"Nay, I don't mean that kind of immortality. Literal immortality will get boring fast."

His momentum started to change, and everything seemed to bow down at him from the air, the building, everything seemed to bow down by sheer of his presence.

"I'll perform feats to shake the Earth and Heavens! Then, my name will pass down through the generations and become legendary. Until they're telling bedtime stories about me! The name "Oga Shishio" will live forever! My image, my words! They'll paint pictures and pen tales far into the future and beyond! That is true immortality!!"

Those words seemed like a joke if other people told them, but in Shishio's mouth, it felt like a declaration. This declaration would tell everyone that he would make a name in history, and they felt that Shishio would really be able to do it.

As for Shiina, who heard it, she wanted to go home now and have a child with him.

As for Tokugawa, he lamented that he didn't have a cute daughter who he could betroth with Shishio.

As for Shishio, he was just joking since his inner "Chuunibyou" wanted to act, but he didn't expect that both Shiina and Tokugawa would react like this, which made him helpless. He looked at both of them and wondered what would happen if he said, "I was kidding."

"....."

Shishio was sure that both of them would be speechless.