Clockwork Repair.
/
Von Kaiser entered the empty changing room, slamming the door closed. Typically, he would relax on the bench or tend to his wounds. Instead, he began to pace back and forth in the room in a rhythmic pattern. Walking in such a fashion tended to keep him feeling steady, calm and grounded.
But only sometimes.
He had just finished up a match with 'Little Mac', an upcoming fighter who was trained by the famous Doc Louis. Despite having such a coach, Von Kaiser still expected an easy match against him. His belief was swiftly punched out of him during the first round and it only took another to bring him down. He was in his late thirties and yet he was pummeled so badly by a seventeen year old. A practical child compared to him and most boxers.
The act of the fight brought back haunting memories, the kind that made his heart race, made him breathe too fast and too shallow. No matter how hard he focused on anything else, his mind kept returning to his match with Little Mac, then back to the horrifying day. Remembering those little children who beat him senseless, laughing about it with high-pitched cackles and snorts, how weak and useless he was, it made his once machine like steps imprecise and sloppy.
His pace was hurried, his path no longer a perfect line from one wall to the other. He would trip over his own feet, dizziness taking over and nearly making him fall over. It didn't help he couldn't get his breathing back to normal, making his chest ache terribly. He placed his hand on his chest to provide pressure, a slight comfort to the pain. As the minutes tick-tocked by, his body began to shake, beginning with his arms. At the feeling of his hand trembling on his own chest, his stressed brain began to turn it's gears again.
Instead of working on calming him down, it turned to insult him.
'Weak, weak, weak, that's all I'll be at this rate! I'll never be the boxer I dreamed to be! I'm nothing but a weak failure, a stain of disappointment on my family's name, to everyone who knows me!' The very thought of it made tears form and roll down his cheeks, stinging the whole way down.
'I'm weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak,' the word repeated like a old record. He let it do so, believing he deserved every little bit. He was so absorbed in his negative thoughts, his self-hate, it seemed almost nothing could free him from it.
When the door suddenly opened, followed by the footsteps of someone walking in; Von Kaiser all but froze. When he stopped his pacing, he realized how tired his legs were, no longer numbed by his emotional turmoil. Von Kaiser felt them shook before they gave out and he fell to his knees. He kept his gaze on the ground, one hand still on his chest but using the other to keep himself from falling completely on the floor. He cursed how loud his inhales were.
Footsteps reached where he was at and he forced himself to look up. Unfortunately, Little Mac stood there, eyes wide.
'Are you okay?' Little Mac quickly signed. Von Kaiser was fluent in American Sign Language, despite verbally speaking the language poorly. Unable to form words or sign them, he just shook his head. Little Mac kneeled down and lightly grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at him. He let go to sign again.
'Panic attack?'
Von Kaiser took in another gasp before nodding.
'I'm here for you, I'm here for you. You're not dying. It's going to be okay!' Von Kaiser shook his head.
'No, no, I swear! It'll be okay. I promise you.' There's a pause before Little Mac signs again.
'Alright, on the count of three; we'll take in a breath. Then hold it until I say so, okay? It'll work.' Von Kaiser didn't have the energy to fight, so he nodded.
'One, two, three...' they inhaled together, Von Kaiser holding it in carefully despite how much his body wanted to keep hyperventilating. Little Mac made the sign for 'out' and they exhaled together.
'Good job! Let's do it again!'
Five minutes later, Von Kaiser found himself breathing normally, his heart not pounding as hard. He moved to get up, which Little Mac got up quickly to help him stand and walk over to a nearby bench. He plopped down, feeling horribly exhausted.
They sat together in silence before Von Kaiser turned to sign, Little Mac watching carefully.
'Why... did you come here...? Why did you stay?'
'Well...' he began, his foot bouncing. 'I was just worried. You seemed really panicked during the whole match. At first, I thought it was just nerves but it just got worse and worse. I couldn't bare to just leave you behind unless I made sure you were okay. Once I saw you having a panic attack, there was no way I could walk away. I get them a lot to, so I understand how bad they are.'
Von Kaiser licked his lips, patting Little Mac on the shoulder.
"T..T-Thank you." he managed to say outloud. Little Mac smiled and signed 'you're welcome.'
Von Kaiser then stood back up, his balance returned. He turned to face Little Mac, hands behind his back, his usual demeanor back as normal.
"Aber erwarte nicht, dass Barmherzigkeit für unsere nächste Match! Ich werde eine perfekte Bekämpfung der Maschine von dieser Zeit, und Sie werden von der ersten Runde!" With that, Von Kaiser turned on his heel and marched away, Little Mac laughing silently as he trailed after him.