VISION GRID SYSTEM: THE COMEBACK OF RYOMA TAKEDA - Chapter 374: Playing Between Beats

Chapter 374: Playing Between Beats

Ryoma doesn’t wait for confirmation. His lead foot resumes its quiet pendulum, shoulders loose, gloves swaying with the same unassuming cadence as before. The same invitation, nothing new, at least on the surface.

Ramos hesitates. Just a fraction. But that’s enough.

Ryoma slides in on the Soviet beat. The first left drifts out, lazy, falling short by design, keeping his opponent guessing.

Ramos fires a hook this time, unwilling to be caught by the same trick too many times.

But Ryoma simply slips back into neutral, lets the hook carve through empty air. From there he doesn’t need to step deeper. Ramos has already closed the gap for him.

The second jab snaps out, sharp and straight, immediately chased by the right.

Ramos tilts his head with the jab, but it still grazes his temple. The straight right thuds into his guard.

Dsh! Dug.

Ryoma doesn’t pull away, because Ramos is fully defensive now.

The two-beat flicker folds seamlessly into motion. The first touch lands square on the guard, dead center. Without retreating, the left hand veers sideways.

Smack!

The slap cracks clean against Ramos’s cheek.

And next, the reverse Detroit Piston fires instantly.

Dug.

The jab drives into Ramos’s gloves, absorbed, but it pins them there, freezing the guard in place.

Ryoma shifts his rear foot a few inches, weight transfers, and fires body hook on both sides.

Thud! Thud!

Then a cross straight through the middle just to confirm the guard is still sealed, before Ryoma slides out of range.

Eight punches, one continuous rhythm, only three were stopped, five landed clean.

“That wasn’t a flurry…” one commentator says. “That was a phrase.”

“And Ramos just missed the downbeat,” says the other one.

Ryoma’s pendulum is shrinking now, posture relaxing, as if nothing of consequence just happened.

A ripple moves through the crowd. Not cheers exactly, but recognition, the sound people make when they realize they’ve just seen something they weren’t expecting.

Someone whistles. Someone else shouts his name, asking for more.

Ryoma hears it, but he lets it pass.

His pendulum disappears entirely. He begins to sidestep instead, casual, almost dismissive, never in a straight line, never offering Ramos a rhythm to lock onto.

Small movements take over: a twitch of the shoulder, a half-feint of the elbow, gloves still swaying just enough to promise danger without delivering it.

Ramos stares, uncertain. And Ryoma tilts his head, teasing again.

“You hear that? That’s how you make some noise.”

This time, Ramos is provoked. The easygoing look drains from his face, replaced by something sharper; urgency, stripped of patience.

With Ryoma no longer swaying in that pendulum step, Ramos steps in hard, fast and rigid. His posture stays compact as he intends to unleash the tight barrage of spears.

There’s no restraint now. Ryoma sees it all; Ramos’ shoulder tightening, and the short held breath just before the release, the exact instant he commits to the first spear.

<< There’s your cue. >>

Ryoma adjusts immediately.

His stance angles into the Philly Shell, weight settling as he begins to roll.

Punches glance off his lead shoulder. He slips what he can, ducks beneath others, parries the shots aimed for his chest and midsection.

Dug. Dug. Dug. Thud!

“Ramos is letting them go now!”

Dug. Dug. Thud! Dug.

“Takeda’s rolling with it… look at that shoulder!”

“Nothing clean! Nothing clean!”

Well, thirteen punches thrown. Eight make contact, and two actually land clean.

Ramos finally breaks off, stepping back like a swimmer surfacing for air, lungs burning as he resets his breathing.

Ryoma stays in the shell, unmoving, waiting. His eyes sharp, still absorbing data. And that look alone gives Ramos pause.

Sure, Ryoma hasn’t found the gap in the barrage for a counter yet. But this time he read it cleaner, trimmed the damage, stripped the exchange of its reward.

Ramos feels that change too. And he doesn’t like it.

The hesitation creeps in, stretching just long enough for doubt to take hold, before the bell cuts through the moment.

Ding.

The commentators exhale, voices returning as if they’d been holding their breath.

“Takeda took that round… no question.”

“He controlled the exchange, absorbed the storm, and made Ramos pay for every second of it.”

***

The arena erupts. Cheers roll in first, followed by whistles, scattered applause, a rising noise that swells into something sustained.

It’s the sound of tension released, of a crowd realizing they’ve just witnessed a real exchange, not noise but meaning.

Ryoma glances at Ramos and lets a small smile slip. “That’s more like it,” he says lightly. Then he turns away. “That’s exactly what the crowd wants.”

Ramos squints after him, jaw tight. The irritation is clearer this time, less surprise, more annoyance.

And just like the previous break, Virgil Santos’s voice cuts through the din, sharp and absolute.

“Ramos! Get back here!”

Ramos exhales hard through his nose, shakes his head once, and turns toward his corner.

Both fighters reach their stools at opposite ends of the ring. The fight is level now. Ramos took the first round. Ryoma claimed the second. But the satisfaction doesn’t seem equal.

Ryoma drops onto the stool. Sera is already there, towel in hand, a knowing smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, the kind that says I saw it too.

“So that was the idea, huh,” Sera says calmly. “Blending the two-beat flicker into a Soviet rhythm.”

He drapes the towel over Ryoma’s shoulders, voice low, almost conversational.

“And you used the system exactly how it’s meant to be used, not chasing punches, but absorbing his rhythm and folding it into your own tempo.”

Ryoma smiles, breathing easy, eyes half-lidded as the noise of the arena settles around them.

“If I can’t compete with his speed or reach,” he says lazily, “then I pull him into my pace and my space.”

Hiroshi chuckles under his breath. “That’s the Chameleon for you. He didn’t steal tricks this time. He steal Ramos’ tempo.”

***

Meanwhile, the red corner is anything but quiet.

There’s no real damage to show for it. No cuts, no swelling worth icing, just a faint bruise blooming along Ramos’ right cheek, more insult than injury.

His breath is steady. Hands solid. Legs responsive. Physically, he’s fine.

Mentally, he’s wound tight.

Ramos sits forward on the stool, elbows on his knees, shoulders tense. The easygoing looseness from the opening round is gone, replaced by something sharp and restless.

He rolls his neck once, flexes his fingers, not because they hurt, but because he can’t stop moving.

Virgil Santos is already in front of him. “What did I tell you?” Virgil snaps. “Just box him.”

Ramos clenches his jaw. His irritation only spikes higher.

“I said stay in your rhythm,” Virgil continues, voice rising over the noise. “And you let him drag you straight into his.”

Ramos shakes his head. “He wasn’t…”

“For three minutes,” Virgil cuts in, “you only actually fought for fifteen seconds. Maybe less.”

He points toward the ring. “The rest of the round? You were waiting. Reacting. Letting him decide when something happens.”

Ramos looks up now, irritation flashing across his face; because the words land.

Virgil leans in closer, lowering his voice without losing its edge. “You don’t win this by chasing moments, you get me? You win it by owning time. You saw it yourself. Once you stick to your rhythm, there’s nothing he could do.”

The bell countdown clicks on. The referee steps to the center, waving both corners out.

Virgil doesn’t move right away. He holds Ramos’s gaze for one last beat, making sure the words land.

“Now get back out there,” he says firmly. “And box your fight.”

He grips the ropes, voice low but absolute.

“Forget that pendulum nonsense. The more you try to read his rhythm, the more you lose your own.”