A Sponsor

In the hands of the Overseer, who seemed to be trying to pursue some semblance of incognito by his aviator sunglasses and more casual attire he wore, with a black t-shirt, plaid scarf, and slick, black trousers, he held the cafe menu.

"I'll have an americano and…an affogato," the man with slicked back red hair told him with a smile.

"Yusei Ito…" He mumbled.

"Is there a problem with that order?" The Overseer smiled.

As he glanced back, he could see Mr. Genji looking at him as if telling him "What's the hold up?" to which he begrudgingly looked back at the casually-dressed Overseer.

"...No, will that be it, sir?" He put on his customer-pleasing smile.

"Just about," Yusei smiled slyly as well.

As he returned to behind the cafe counter, letting out a sigh as he slumped his shoulders, the wizened owner of the cafe looked at him worriedly.

"Do you know that man?" Mr. Genji asked.

He nodded a bit, "...I guess you could say that."

Placing the order note down on the counter, he got to preparing the americano ordered, which was easy enough.

Next, for the affogato, he went to the back into the freezer area of the employee-only side of the cafe, retrieving vanilla ice cream before dumping a hefty serving into a coffee cup, then pouring piping hot espresso over it.

The result was a rich dessert that held a sweet, enticing aroma that he brought over to the seated, crimson-haired man at the window-side table.

"Smells delicious. Who knew a nice place like this occupied a rowdy neighborhood?" Yusei said as his americano and dessert were placed on the round, silver table in front of him.

He squinted, "Out with it already–what're you getting at here?"

"Hm? Who says I can't partake in some local coffee brew? I'm a pretty big fan of coffee, you know," Yusei smiled.

"--"

He gave the Overseer an unappeased look that told him clearly "I'm not buying it for a minute", to which Yusei smiled.

Yusei looked at him for a moment before gesturing for him to sit across from him, which hesitantly obliged.

"Well, if you must know, you've got a pretty big fan, Touma Daigo," Yusei told him.

"Huh? You seem more like a stalker to me," he folded his arms over his chest.

"Not me," Yusei laughed a bit, sipping his steaming cup of coffee.

"Then who?" He asked, confused.

The Overseer didn't answer his question right away as he reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone with a smile.

"You're really not familiar with how things work in the martial arts world, are you?" Yusei asked.

"No, not really," he answered.

"Hmm…" Yusei smirked, tapping his phone screen, "You've got TINE, right?"

"Yeah?"

TINE was an instant messaging app, similar to Twotter but without the flood of posts.

"Add me on there—we'll need some line of communication. I definitely wouldn't mind coming to this place, but I'm a busy guy, ya know?" Yusei smiled.

"Err, sure…" He nodded.

As they exchanged TINE usernames, he received a message from the man seated across the table from him, getting a personal sticker of Yusei himself holding a peace sign: "Yo!" it said.

He's got his own stickers on TINE? This guy really is a big shot…He thought.

"You didn't answer my question," he said, setting his phone down.

"Right, right…Well, it's now my responsibility to make sure you're probably accommodated, Mr. Daigo," Yusei explained.

"And why's that…?"

The Overseer nudged his aviator glasses down again, "Let's just say my boss has taken a liking to you. You're really a hit online, you know? That's how I found you earlier—he had me issue a personal invitation to the Celestial Fist."

"I was meaning to ask…Is it hard to get in, or something?" He asked.

As the man was asked this, Yusei held his silver spoon, scooping a serving of the coffee-lathered ice cream past his lips.

"Yum," Yusei smiled.

"—" He gave an unamused look to the man.

Yusei laughed, "Right. Just to qualify for the tournament itself, you have to be given special admission. Like what you're familiar with—you were given a ticket as a favor from your "sponsor"—my boss. Higher-ups like the Boss can only sponsor one competitor."

"Really?" He asked.

Knowing how exclusive his invitation was, it set it into a new light what he was given.

"Mhm," Yusei nodded, "That's more of a special case, though. The normal way that fighters "qualify to qualify", so to speak, is by proving their capabilities through famous tournaments around the world. MMA, Boxing, Olympian Competitions—you name it."

"Sounds like there are going to be a lot of competitors, then," he said.

"There are usually a hundred that arrive at the qualifiers. And all are masters in their own right. Nervous?" Yusei smiled.

Though that definitely wasn't it. The silver-haired young man was absolutely giddy with the prospect of such an elite event.

"...Also, that's not mentioning those who earned an even higher right–the fighters who have already qualified at this point," Yusei said.

"There's people that are already qualified?" He asked.

Yusei nodded, swirling his spoon in his cup of coffee, "Semi-finalists and finalists of last year's Celestial Fist are obviously already allowed to rejoin. That's not to mention…One new prospect earned himself such an elite qualification already–Gento Ryoto, the "Immaculate". It's looking to be one helluva Celestial Fist this year."

Hearing the name of "Gento Ryoto", memories stirred up in his mind as his fists quivered–remembering a man with pale-white hair and crimson eyes.

Just that was enough to ignite a flame within him, setting his sights on reaching the one who held that name.

Gento…You're here, too, then? If that's the case, I'm not holding anything out, he thought.

"I'm pumped up," he responded.

"Good. You wouldn't want to disappoint the Boss after he's been generous," Yusei smiled.

The Overseer once again partook in his coffee-flavored dessert, seeming to thoroughly enjoy it.

"Wait…"

"Mm?" Yusei looked at him.

"If I was specially invited, then why did you test me in a fight?" He asked.

Yusei wiped his mouth with a napkin, "Oh, that? I just wanted to see what you were capable of for myself. It's pretty rare that the Boss takes such interest."

He let out a sigh, "So you caused a scene at a school and laid out some students? What kind of adult are you, anyway?"

"Hah!" Yusei laughed out loud, "I'm only twenty, you know."

"I guessed as much."

After their brief meeting, Yusei finished his desser and americano before taking his leave, placing his payment down before heading out of the door.

"I'd recommend to start training rigorously, Mr. Daigo," Yusei advised him with a smirk, "I'll be seeing you. I enjoyed the dessert."

With the eccentric Overseer gone, he picked up the dishes before retrieving the payment for the bill, only noticing the tip that was left after returning the dishes to the back.

"Wha—?"

He didn't believe his eyes at first before picking it up and carefully inspecting it.

"One-hundred thousand yen?!" He let out.

(Note: One-hundred thousand yen roughly equates to one-thousand USD.)