thebastion | Day 240 - [Boxing Intensifies]

Entry tags:

Day 240 - [Boxing Intensifies]

Who: Ippo and you!
Open: Open
When: Day 240
Where: The Bastion - The New Kamogawa Boxing Gym!
What: [Muffled Boxing in the background]
Format: Will match
Warnings: None that I can think of

[It was finally done. Ippo couldn't help but let a small tear slide down his left cheek as he stared up at the spitting image of the Kamogawa Gym; for all the shards he'd spent, every last one had felt completely worth it. The feel of the wall as he placed his hand against it, the smell that washed over him as he opened that familiar door, the sound of his feet squeaking against the floor as he entered...it was all exactly the same as he remembered it and in that moment, he couldn't have felt any more at home. Sure he was still on a tentatively floating rock in the sky, and sure nothing was ever going to bring back his world or all his friends from the calamity, but this was definitely as close to all that as he could get, and in that he was content.

He smiled with a sense of nostalgia as he climbed up into the sparring ring with a pair of gloves and closed his eyes; if he focused hard enough, he could almost hear the sounds of the gym come to life. The laughter, often muffled by the sound of leather meeting leather and jumping ropes slapping the floor in synced rhythm; the sound of constant movement and the coach's barking orders that somehow cut through the din like a sharpened knife. As he slipped the gloves on and strapped them up with his teeth, one might notice the most peaceful expression crossing his face in the 5 months he'd been here.]

"I'm home...!"

[Welcome, one and all to the Kamogawa Boxing Gym version 2.0! Not that it's really any different than the 1.0, but that's neither here nor there. Where is here are a multitude of things you can work out with! Heavy bags, speed bags, double-end bags, clothing bags! More bags than you can shake a boxing glove at! We've got lifting weights and jumping ropes! Or jumping weights and lifting ropes if you're into that sort of thing, no judgements! There's even a regulation sized sparring ring for all your training and dispute settling needs, complete with gloves and headgear for those tough to settle arguments like putting the seat down! So, to everyone who has any desire to get stronger, or is even just curious about the new building that's suddenly popped up, feel free to come on by!]

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[He just grinned and took the hit, pushing past it to try to get in a jab while Ippo's guard was lowered. You couldn't let pain stop you on in a fight as long as it wasn't too bad.]

[The fact that Ryu hadn't even flinched with a direct shot to the face was impressive; it took all his training just to bring his arm around to sock the incoming glove, punching it hard to the side and using the force to push himself back and away.

He'd only seen Takamura use a crisscross during his spar with Sendo, but it worked just fine here. The exchange was enough to throw him a little off kilter, so he would hang back for a few seconds to read what Ryu was going to do next.]

[He just bounced for a moment, keeping his guard up like Ippo was doing. He'd learned a bunch of skills in battle by just watching and taking the hits, so it was his turn to go on the defense.]

[It seemed Ryu was just as content to keep his distance here as he was. Well, in that case, it was time to go do what he did best; with a quick push of his foot, he covered the distance between the two of them in less than a second as he pulled his shoulder back and lashed out another jab towards Ryu's face.]

[He went up to cover his face with one hand, keeping the other low. He wasn't sure what Ippo was doing, but he new he needed to protect both at the same time.]

[... Though splitting his guard might not have been the best idea.]

[The low guard was a good idea, it kept him from going his liver blow, but it wasn't enough in this case. The jab he'd thrown never came as he feinted down into a full crouch, putting all of his momentum and weight into his legs as he shot up, holding his fist up as he aimed to slam a Gazelle Punch straight into Ryu's jaw.]

[Ryu staggered backwards and shook his head, trying to clear it. That... actually really hurt enough to stun him for a few moments.]

Woah...

[Ippo saw his moment, with Ryu stumbled backwards it was his chance for his sunday punch. He lowered himself and began to sway back and forth, his body tracing the sign of infinity as he built up as much centrifugal force as he could. Once he felt that familiar click, he shot upwards with a devastating right hook that was aimed directly for Ryu's face; if that hit, it would be followed up with left hook, the strikes repeating until he ran out of stamina or Ryu hit the mat.]

[The punch flung Ryu back, and he stamped his anger down. This was just in fun. Still, he felt power struggling to be released, and he tried to block and counter one of Ippo's punches with a Snap to jaw. The ghostly image of snapping jaws appeared and if it hit Ippo would feel that Ryu's follow-up punch would hurt somewhat more.]

[The punch caught Ippo rightly off guard; it wasn't everyday someone could snap so easily out of his punches and the snapping jaws blew the boxer back a few feet with his shirt hanging open with a few tear marks in it. Even in the ring, it didn't look like he was much a match one on one for the half-dragon; Ryu barely looked worse for the wear despite how hard he'd been going at him...

Not that he was going to to back down, but he'd have to get his guard back first, which might take a few seconds considering the shock he was getting over.]

[Seeing his chance, Ryu kept going, trying to put more speed than power into his blows. He didn't really want to hurt Ippo, but he also didn't want to give up so easily. Sure, he'd blown one of his power uses for the day, but that was fine. This was a new way of using it, and training was worth the cost.]

[The first shot hit Ippo square, moving him back hard and filling his vision with stars. The second rocked him to the side, bouncing him off the ropes, the third...missed, whiffing and hitting nothing but air. With another clever feint, Ippo had dropped down out of sight, his eyes now lit up a glowing green as his fighting spirit burned hot inside him.

He clenched his fist and swung hard in an upwards arc, the force he'd gotten from bouncing off those ropes, his fist aiming right for Ryu's liver with violent force.

[Liver? What's a liver? Whatever it was, it hurt. He staggered, but didn't let go. He tried to aim his punches for Ippo's shoulder and chest. He wasn't going to last much longer but he was staying on his feet all right. He just didn't want to hit Ippo anywhere that might snap if he applied too much force.]

[Ippo did something unexpected. Instead of trying to dodge or block, he actually pushed his face directly into Ryu's glove; the hit shook him, but it definitely blunted the force of his shot and kept his friend's hand rooted in place as he cranked back and blasted off another harsh shot towards Ryu's right temple. He wasn't going to get anywhere if he wasn't willing to go 100 percent with his actions; he didn't know if he could win, but he was going to go down trying.]

[He didn't feel his body move so much as see his fist shoot out to try and punch Ippo just below the throat. Even as Ippo's punch made him nearly stumble, he repositioned himself and started a flurry of attacks - upppercut, stomach jab, uppercut, stomach jab. Seeing his body react like that made him want to stop, but he couldn't. That power inside of him was almost ready to spill out at the sight of a worthy challenger.]

[Ryu crossed his arms in front of his face.]

S... we need to stop before... something happens.

[For every shot he took, Ippo returned with one of his own, turning things into a brutal slugfest with both of them pounding on each other until Ryu pulled back and asked to stop, bringing Ippo's hook to a stop mid flight.]

Are...you alright...?

[He said, clearly out of breath as he tried to orient his vision. Somehow, even with the headgear on, Ryu had managed to swell his left eye clean shut and he was a little dizzy, but beyond that he seemed fine enough for someone who'd just been beaten on by a half dragon god.]

I'm more worried about you.

[He was a little bit out of breath, but other than that he was okay, at least physically.]

... If I let myself get... too carried away... I'm always afraid I'll hurt someone too badly. I've done it before. I've been trying to control the Kaiser Dragon form but... the anger is always there.

[He shook his head again and smiled a little.]

Though you were doing a really good job of wearing me down! I've been hurt by monsters before, but usually most mortals can't really hurt me in a fight. ... I mean I'm mortal right now, but still...

Mortal?

[Ippo let his back rest against one of the ring posts as he tried to get his breath back. He knew that Ryu was one part dragon, but he'd never really considered him to be not a mortal before. Maybe there was some part of his story he wasn't aware of yet.]

... You know I can transform. But that's because... I'm a dragon. An Endless. A god, basically. I'm mortal because I'm incomplete. The other half of me is still... somewhere, and I don't think that even if the world was destroyed he'd be killed so easily.

[A slow, rolling realization dawned on him. He'd just punched a dragon in the face. A dragon god. The fact that he was still standing was equal parts encouraging and terrifying, it was definitely enough to give him some pause.]

I see...and if we'd kept going, you would have transformed?

... I would have tried not to, but... I can't control one of my forms. I've been working on it but the first time I transformed I...

[His voice went quieter. He didn't like thinking about that fight.]

They'd captured people, tortured them for information. Kicked them while they were down, especially the children... I lost control and transformed into the Kaiser Dragon, and I killed that captain and his summoned spirit without even really trying. I killed the whole squad of soldiers just by swinging my claw.

[He shook his head, trying to pull himself from the memory.]

Anyway, I don't think it would have been that bad... but I can hurt people easily if I don't watch myself.

I'm...kinda happy...all I got off with...was some bruises...

[Yeah Ryu, he trusts you but he'd rather not be gored by a magical death claw.]

Next time...we'll keep things light...sound fair?

[He grinned and nodded.]

I think it might be because I'm not used to fighting like this outside of my hybrid form. The more comfortable I get the more I can control my reactions. If that makes sense?

So slow and steady, right?

[He'd finally gotten some of his breath back and pushed himself away from the corner, though to be fair, he was a little curious as to something.]

You know...maybe we can work on something here. You said your most comfortable with swords, right?

Yeah. I don't know why - I've never gotten training with them - but I just kind of... know.

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