The arena crowd cheered as the young boxer in the ring landed another punch to his aging opponent. The young man stepped back as sweat started rolling down his face, dampening his short, blonde hair and the blonde soul patch on his chin. He was starting to feel a little fatigued from all of this fighting. After all, he had literally just won the championship when this old geezer jumped into the ring and challenged him.
Even through all of this, Kid USA was winning the fight, much to the old man's surprise. This old man was Kid USA's mentor until about five minutes ago. Kid USA thought that the old man, known only as 'Old Master' decided to train him because he felt the need to. Never in his wildest dreams would Kid USA have thought that Old Master only trained him to learn all of his moves, and then challenge him for the championship after winning the title bout.
The mere thought of Old Master's scheme fueled the fatigued Kid USA even further. Kid USA landed blow after blow as the audience roared in approval. Old Master managed to sneak a few hits in during the first couple of minutes, but Kid USA dominated the battle and eventually won the fight by KO.
Kid USA breathed heavily as he stood over the unconscious and beaten body of Old Master. Photographers in the audience took several pictures of the victory as the audience erupted in cheers.
Normally, Kid USA would have enjoyed all of this attention, but right now, the only thing going through his head was how he had been betrayed.
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Kid USA sat on a bench in his locker room, fingering the envelope containing his pay. He just couldn't bring himself to open the envelope, mainly because his thoughts were still elsewhere.
"Why did that old man do that?" Kid USA asked himself quietly. "I completely trusted him and then I find out he was just using me."
Suddenly, Kid USA heard a knock at his door. Looking over his shoulder, he saw a female, redhead boxer with a teal baseball cap walking in.
"You need to talk, bro?" The redhead asked.
"What's there to talk about, Ally?" Kid USA countered. "My mentor, the only man I've really trusted, used me because he wanted to become champ himself."
"Come on, cheer up." Ally Gator said as she sat down beside her older brother. "I didn't move away from my home in the swamp to live with someone so depressed."
"Well, YOU haven't been betrayed before." Kid USA sighed. "Heck, I've been betrayed TWICE! Janet dumped me a long time ago and I was completely heartbroken!"
"Don't worry about that, bro." Ally assured with a smirk. "When I started my search for you after leaving the swamp, I ran into Janet and gave her a taste of her own medicine." Kid USA gave a chuckle and Ally saw this. "There you are! That's the brother I know! Come on, cheer up! That old man was a moron, anyway."
"Yeah. I guess you're right, but I still can't help but feel used." Kid USA said.
"I'm sure you can get over it quickly, big brother." Ally assured. "You're not one to let anything keep you down. What about the time Royal Pain called you a disgrace to boxing?"
Kid USA's shoulders slumped. He was extremely close to forgetting about that incident.
"You were down in the dumps for a while, but we eventually got back at him." Ally provided. "Or what about that time Bronto tried to frame you so that he would win his fight with you by default? You were actually banned from the ring until El Luchador managed to expose Bronto as a crook and clear your name."
"Yeah. I'm still surprised at how quickly the public forgot that incident." Kid USA shrugged.
"What can I say? You have the ability to win any crowd over." Ally smirked. "The fans love you. And hey, you're the champ now! You popularity is going to increase tenfold, now!"
"Yeah. I guess." Kid USA noted.
"This isn't a time to be depressed. This is a time to celebrate!" Ally urged as she got to her feet. "Come on. You get changed and we'll go to Mickey's bar to celebrate. He's offered us a free meal because he made a lot of money betting on you in that fight."
"Sounds like a plan, Ally." Kid USA nodded with a smile as he stood up as well. "I'll be right there."
"I'll wait for you in the arena lobby." Ally said. She was about to turn to leave when her brother pulled her in for a huge hug.
After releasing his sister, Kid USA smiled. "Thanks, sis. You really know how to make me feel better." He said. "I really don't know how I survived while you were living in that shack on the swamp."
"Don't sweat it, bro." Ally smirked.
With that, Ally turned and left the locker room, closing the door behind her. Kid USA turned and started changing into his everyday clothes, whistling a cheery tune, back to his normal self again.
Suddenly, Kid USA heard the door open again. He smirked and turned. "You forget something, Ally?" He asked.
Kid USA froze when he saw that it wasn't Ally at the doorway, but a petite, dark-haired, Japanese woman in a red gi. Kid USA raised an eyebrow at the newcomer. "Uh…Can I help you, ma'am?" He asked.
The woman smirked. "You do not recognize me, American?" She quizzed.
The American boxer's eyes widened. He recognized the voice. "Maiagaru?" He asked. He received a nod. "Sorry about that. I just didn't recognize you without the face paint."
Maiagaru was a serious fighter and martial artist and one of the toughest boxers on the circuit. Even the people that beat her in bouts sported serious injuries for the following several days. Tiny, the tall Canadian and strongest boxer on the circuit, even broke his wrist delivering a hard body blow to Maiagaru's torso.
Kid USA's eyes widened in realization. "Are you upset that I beat Old Master?' He asked.
For a long while, Maiagaru was the pupil of Old Master, saying that she only joined the dojo to further her training. However, Old Master had very 'old-fashioned' views on women fighters and wouldn't have willingly trained Maiagaru had she not paid up front.
Maiagaru gave a smirk. "Actually, I am disappointed that I was not the one to beat him." She replied. "I was going to leave the dojo soon, anyway."
"So what brings you here, then?" Kid USA asked.
"Consider it congratulations for winning the tournament." Maiagaru replied. "I have to admit that your skills have increased since Old Master started training you."
"Hey, coming from you, I know you're not joking." Kid USA chuckled. He paused. "Look Maiagaru, I hope that you're not angry with me because of the fact that I took time away from your training."
"You did not take time away." Maiagaru replied. "While you were training with Old Master, I managed to train myself."
"Is that what you always do when you're off by yourself?"
"All of the time." Maiagaru nodded. "I must become the strongest fighter I can."
"Come on. You don't do anything for fun?"
"That word is not in my dictionary." Maiagaru shook her head. "I must keep training."
"Maiagaru, you're the strongest gal on the circuit." Kid USA replied. "Heck, you can beat most of the guys here single-handedly! You can't train yourself much further."
"Training is my life." Maiagaru gave a carefree shrug.
"Look, if you keep training yourself all of the time, you're gonna kill yourself!" Kid USA pointed out.
Maiagaru lifted an eyebrow. "What do you care about me?" She asked skeptically.
"More than you might think." Kid USA said. "We may not have gotten along very well in Old Master's dojo, but I was always worried that you'd hurt yourself with all of that training you had been doing."
This genuinely surprised the young Japanese woman. She never thought Kid USA worried about her so much. She had honestly just thought he was thinking of his own skills whenever he acted worried.
"It appears I have underestimated you, Kid USA." Maiagaru noted. "I never would have thought that you cared."
"What can I say? I'm just full of surprises." Kid USA replied with a smirk and shrug. This caused Maiagaru to give a light chuckle. Kid USA saw this and his eyes widened. "Did…Did I just get you to laugh?"
Maiagaru's eyes widened in realization. She hadn't laughed like that for a long time, mainly because of the rigorous training she had given herself and the fact that she took it extremely seriously. The only times she ever laughed were the ones she gave when she won a battle and started mocking her fallen opponents.
"Guess I really AM full of surprises." Kid USA noted.
"I suppose you are." Maiagaru replied, smirking.
"Well, now that you're done with Old Master's dojo, what's next for you?" Kid USA asked.
"This circuit gives me the most challenging opponents I have ever faced." Maiagaru replied. "I think I shall stick around here for a while before I decide to open my own dojo."
"Good to hear." Kid USA nodded. "I just don't think things around here would be the same without you."
"Do not kid with me, Kid." Maiagaru warned.
"Who's kidding?"
"You can not be serious." The Japanese added. "I am probably the most serious fighter here. I do not join in on anything 'fun', and spend all of my time training. No one knows anything about me."
"I know things about you?" Kid USA replied with a smirk.
"Oh? Like what?"
"Staying at the dojo helps me learn stuff about you." Kid USA replied as he started counting his fingers. "Your favourite food is Lemon Chicken with rice and Teriyaki Meatballs. You enjoy the scent of lilacs because they help calm your nerves. You secretly enjoy listening to techno and dance music when you think no one's listening. Heck, you even wear that face paint for the sole reason of hiding that mole on your cheek."
Maiagaru's eyes widened more as Kid USA listed off the things he knew about her. "How…How did you know about my face paint? I have never told anyone that and simply told them I painted my face for battles because it made me look more fierce." She asked.
"I saw you putting the face paint on one day and heard you talking to yourself." Kid USA replied with a shrug. "I personally don't see why you need to put the face paint on at all. I really think you look a lot more attractive without that stuff."
For the first time in as long as she could remember, Maiagaru blushed. She was not used to such compliments and it was more surprising coming from Kid USA. When she was a kid, Maiagaru was always picked on because of her looks. Now she was getting compliments about her looks.
"Is something wrong?" Kid USA asked.
"I…I have never received such a compliment before." Maiagaru admitted. "When I was little, I was picked on all of the time because of my looks. I started taking my aggression out on a punching bag. That is how I got into boxing in the first place."
"Well, just think of what all those kids would say about you, now." Kid USA noted. "I can't understand how they could make fun of your looks, though. You've got great eyes, great hair and a great body. I think you look beautiful!"
Maiagaru couldn't take all of the compliments and broke down sobbing, which was something extremely out of character for her.
"Are you okay, Maiagaru?" Kid USA asked worriedly as he approached her. "Did I upset you?"
"Why are you being so nice to me?!" Maiagaru asked as she tried to wipe tears away. "Why are you giving me all of those compliments?!"
"You deserve them, that's why!" Kid USA insisted. "Look, you may be a no-nonsense, training obsessed girl, but I still think that you're the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen when you're not wearing that face paint."
Maiagaru looked up at Kid USA with a tear-stained face. "No one has ever said such nice things about me." She admitted. "I do not know if you are being serious, but your words mean more to me than you might think."
"Don't worry, Maiagaru. I'm dead serious." Kid USA assured. "I would never joke about something like that."
Maiagaru found herself staring up into Kid USA's eyes for a few seconds before planting her lips on his. Kid USA' eyes widened, but found himself returning the kiss. After a little bit, the two pulled away from each other.
"Did…Did we just-"
"Yeah. I think we did." Kid USA nodded. "Does that mean that we're-"
"I guess we are." Maiagaru finished.
The two stared at each other for a few more seconds before kissing again. This kiss lasted longer than the last one before the two pulled away from each other.
"So what now?" Maiagaru asked with a smile.
"Well, Ally and I are going to Mickey's bar for a celebratory meal." Kid USA replied. "You wanna tag along?"
Maiagaru's stomach growled slightly. "Well, I guess I AM a little hungry." She admitted.
"Then let's go." Kid USA said. "Mickey's offered us a free meal, but I can pay for yours if he doesn't offer you one."
"I would appreciate that."
"Ally's waiting for me in the lobby. Let's go meet up with her."
With that, the two boxers left the locker room and started their trek down the hallway to the lobby. Kid USA wrapped an arm around Maiagaru's shoulders as he walked.
Even though his mentor had betrayed him, Kid USA realized that this was now one of the best days of his life.
END
Author's note: I won't be surprised if you don't recognize these characters or the game. It was extremely overlooked, but I really think that it's worth picking up now. You can probably get it on the Gamecube or PS2 for around ten bucks, now. Black & Bruised REALLY needs a sequel…