The Ronin Who Won the Forfeit

In the year 2077, there was a man of much honor, but with no master, wandering the streets of Night City. This man's name was Goro Takemura, former bodyguard to the now-deceased CEO of the Arasaka Corporation, Saburo Arasaka. Once a distinguished man, now he was nothing more than another street rat, seeking for a way to survive in the dirty gutters of the city. He failed to save Saburo, as he was told to step out of the room moments before Saburo's own son committed patricide and killed his father in a fit of rage. Then he was left for dead, hunted by assassins sent by Yorinobu to tie up any loose ends.

During his escape from Yorinobu's hitmen, he was with V at the time, who had unfortunately been in the middle of a heist in Yorinobu's penthouse when the family feud went down. Fate had brought them together, and now they walked the streets of Night City trying to find a way to bring order back to the city. Goro wanted to restore honor and the rightful heir to the Arasaka empire, Yorinobu's sister, and V wanted to finish off Yorinobu Arasaka so that he would no longer have to look over his shoulder.

V and Goro had been collecting equipment and firepower for their upcoming fight against Arasaka, but funds came and went like the weather thanks to the exorbitant prices of the underground. They grabbed every odd job on the market, the rewards funneling straight into their war chest. One day they came across a square with a crowd of people circled around two fighters, cheering them on as they traded blows.

V walked up the crowd and boasted, "I've got a thousand credits for anyone who can beat my fighter right here!"

A couple men from the crowd laughed and said, "We'll see about that. Have him step out here and show us what he's worth."

V sent Goro into the ring, seeing this as an easy opportunity for them to make some dough. As Goro squared up with his competition, V yelled at him and said, "Get in there! Fight him, you useless corporat!"

Goro saw this comment as an affront to his honor, and when the bout started, he only dodged his opponent's blows, making no effort to fight back.

"This fight blows!" yelled the crowd. "Give us the money and go home for wasting our time." They dispersed, leaving V and Goro standing alone in the square.

"Why didn't you beat him, Goro? You're a trained special forces operator. You had that in the bag."

"Why did you yell at me, V? I'm not some paid mercenary for you to boss around. I'm an honorable man with morals. My skills are not to be thrown around at your whim."

V paused, realizing his mistake. "I didn't mean to offend you, Goro. I just got caught up in the energy of the crowd. I'm sorry for treating you like that. I won't do it again."

"I understand, V, and I accept your apology. We do need the money, so tomorrow we shall return, and I will teach those rascals what a real fight feels like."

The next morning, V and Goro came back to the square, the crowd fresh and waiting for the new day's fights. Spotting V, they laughed, yelling, "Come back to show us more dodges?"

"I will pay the winner not one, but two thousand credits if they defeat my friend here."

The crowd parted as yesterday's champion walked out, ready to fight Goro once more. "Well then, let's see what he's really made of!"

Goro stepped into the ring squaring up with his opponent once more. He took one deep breath in and out. In a flash of movement, his opponent hit the ground, with Goro's hands already having returned to his side as he bowed. The crowd went wild, paying V with their winnings, cheering Goro on for his lethal prowess. The two left that day, one step closer to completing their mission.

Author's note: The original tale I based this story off of was The Ox Who Won the Forfeit. The story was about a man who insulted his ox when he bet on his strength, and the ox chose not to use his strength because of the insults by his owner. When the owner realized what he had done wrong, he apologized, and the ox went ahead and won the owner his money back. The competition in the original story was about pulling a ton of carts at once, but this wouldn't make sense when writing Goro in as he is a human and not a farm animal. In Cyberpunk, I had V insult Goro's honor, and so Goro didn't fight until after V had realized his mistake and apologized. The competition here was a simple street brawl to see who was the strongest fighter on the block. I added a small backstory on why V and Goro were hanging together, and why they needed the money from the competition, so it would make more sense why an honorable man would participate in a petty brawl. If you've paid attention to my previous stories, there are small hints in the beginning that tie together the universe across this class and the mythology and folklore portfolio.

Bibliography: Jataka Tales, by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web source.