A/N:
Inspired in part by the song "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons, and a Teen Wolf boxing!AU fan art.
Sasuke Uchiha was a ticking time bomb. His aggression toward what life took away from him amounted enough to where his teacher, Kakashi, placed him into a new program—one he made specifically for the teenager.
Boxing. The gym in which Kakashi brought the boy was equipped just for it. Donned with heavy bag gloves, Sasuke was directed to release his anger on the heavy bag.
Every day, he found himself practicing. It released a tension his knuckles were not allowed to release before. The routine became so natural he could name every equipment for the sport and he could name every player that walked into his gym.
So when an older man walked through the doors with what appeared to be his daughter, he gave one sole glance and nothing more. The man looked like he had money and the girl looked nothing important. They were visitors, Sasuke concluded, and nothing more.
He returned his focus to the task at hand and continued his day like any other. After the sun went down, he finished. Kakashi left him as usual, allowing him to do as he pleased thereafter.
Females didn't normally use the gym. So when he heard female grunting and a male's domineering instructions, he turned to perceive the subjects, not knowing what to expect. Indeed, he found his eyes on the girl he saw earlier and her father standing tall beside her. Her father, with his hands together behind his back, coached her with such severity that Kakashi's strict methods appeared tame by contrast. He felt a familiarity in the way the man spoke and the scowl seemingly permanent on his face.
As for the girl, he didn't expect her to be capable of hitting anything. It's even more amazing that she had anything to do with his sport. The mousy-looking girl is a boxer. Who would've thought?
Armed with hand wraps instead of a proper glove, she was hitting the heavy bag with a combined method of pushing back with the flat of her palms then finishing with a closed fist. It was a method so unusual, Sasuke watched her perform it more than once. After studying her posture, and attacks from initial to final, he concluded it couldn't possibly be advantageous. She wouldn't be able to use flat palms in an actual competition because you're wearing gloves that don't allow for the technique. He left the gym without thinking twice.
When the next day arrived, it appeared the father of the girl had asked the manager of the gym a question—who was the most skilled in the present crowd? Unsurprised, Sasuke Uchiha heard his name.
"You'll be sparring with someone new today." Kakashi, after being informed of the man's desire, told him, "Your opponent is Hinata Hyuuga." He gestured to the girl, who stood in line with him and her father.
Bashful, she mumbled something along the lines of "Nice to meet you."
"He is your opponent. You look him in the eye," her father said, causing the girl to immediately fix her mistake.
She was so noticeably uncomfortable. Sasuke didn't feel the need to add any more intimidation than she was receiving already. He acknowledged her with a proper glance and ended it there.
"You don't have a problem hitting a girl, do you, boy?"
"No."
The man, whose name he learned was Hiashi, asked him his performance scores, clearly sizing him up. To Sasuke, it was plain to see that he himself was a level above Hiashi's daughter, who didn't seem to know what she was supposed to do with herself. Despite this belief, he couldn't read Hiashi's expression. Did the man really think his daughter stood a chance?
After they geared up, they were placed in the ring. Kakashi was the referee. After the sound of the whistle, the match began.
Who won? Isn't it obvious? By round three, Sasuke was certain of victory. Every so often he glanced at Hiashi, who had kept his arms crossed and an irritating scowl on his face the entire time. Although difficult to read, Sasuke could swear he saw disappointment reflected in his eyes in regards to his poor-performing daughter. That disappointment was victory enough for the prideful Sasuke.
Time was running out when Sasuke suddenly heard Hiashi bellow, "Hinata."
It wasn't the flat of her palms but the butt of her palms that managed to catch Sasuke off guard. If it weren't for the fact that he had seen her technique yesterday, he would've been overpowered. But Sasuke managed to deflect her finishing blow, effectively winning the match.
Upon its end, he expected Hinata to fall in defeat, slump her shoulders, maybe even cry. But she did none of that. Instead, she bowed, thanked him for the match, and turned to her father, who handed her her water bottle and said nothing.
This strange girl with short hair and no charisma didn't necessarily make the match easy for him. She was strong in defense, but offense is necessary to conquer.
The next few days made it clear something had happened. Hiashi no longer showed up whenever his daughter came to practice. A woman replaced him as Hinata's coach.
Like Kakashi, her coach left her at the end of the day, at the same time every day too. And after she would leave, Hinata would practice that unusual technique by herself.
Sasuke wouldn't have paid attention to any of this had he not kept wondering how the girl could go from mousy to aggressive the moment she began practicing. The problem was that he didn't see it in the ring. He only saw it when she was attacking an inanimate object. There was a fire in her eyes, power in her punches. He could see himself sparring with the side of her she only showed to the heavy bag.
One night, and for the first time, he spoke without thinking.
"I want a rematch," he told her as he approached her.
She turned to face him. "W—What?" As she lowered her fists, the flame in her eyes dimmed. She was mousy again.
"You heard me."
"But… you won."
"Don't you want to redeem yourself?"
"Right now?"
"In front of your father."
"My—" She lowered her eyes and appeared disheartened. "I'm afraid that's impossible."
"Why?" By her change in expression, he could've sworn he was about to hear the death of her father.
Rather, she said, "He's given up."
"On you?"
Her eyes glanced back at him, but she didn't answer.
Her hopelessness was all too familiar. Except, he never allowed himself to give up. "Your techniques in practice aren't effective. If you want to win a match, you have to control your energy, not just let it out." He found himself reiterating what Kakashi had told him in his beginner days.
"What do you mean?"
"Show me your best chain of attack."
And that was how Sasuke began coaching Hinata after hours. The first week was by choice. After that, it became habit.
Having himself mastered what he was teaching her, Sasuke saw gradual improvement within the weeks, which he took credit for.
During breaks, he found himself naturally falling into conversation with her.
"Why did you start practicing here?"
"There is a female gym closer to my home, but… the girls aren't very nice there." Her hands fidgeted with the water bottle in her lap.
Annoyed of her bad habit at first, he had grown used to it and expected it, for it was what made her Hinata. "Think you can go back now?" He found himself reluctant to hear the answer.
She didn't voice one, nor did she reveal an answer by expression. Although he considered her easy to read, she managed to remain pensive, which told him nothing except that his question must've been more complex than he meant.
Finally, after a moment of silence, she replied, "There is a competition coming up. A tournament." He didn't say anything, so she continued. "It's a national event for female boxers. I've been entered into it. I think… I think I can win."
"When is it?"
"In about three weeks." Meeting his eyes, she said, "Can you help me?"
He wanted to retort with "What have I been doing thus far?" but bit it back. Instead, he replied, "Let's go."
With news of her impending tournament in mind, Sasuke trained her more rigorously. He was never overbearing, but he did ask a lot from her, though it wasn't without its reward. When her competition was only a couple days away, Sasuke and Hinata sparred. He saw significant improvement in her technique, her strength, and her confidence.
When her knockout tournament began, Sasuke was in the audience. Her official coach, Kurenai, was her only support within the match grounds.
Match after match, Sasuke watched Hinata use skills he taught her, skills she possessed but simply needed encouragement to master. She won again and again, just as she said she could.
At the semifinal round of the knockout tournament however, after she won against her opponent, it was clear something was wrong.
She tried to hide the pain amidst the joy of winning but it was to no avail. Sasuke could see right through her. With her in his sights, he managed to scrape past the guards and climb into the ring.
Upon seeing him, Hinata fell from Kurenai's embrace to her knees. To the shock of her coach, she let tears fall, tears which were not of joy.
Kurenai was about to bend down to console her when Sasuke interrupted by bending down first. He picked Hinata up into his arms, and as he did so, Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck and hid her face in his chest.
Gesturing for Kurenai to follow, he left the ring and then the arena, leaving the judges, the crowd, and staff members to look on them and wonder—What happened? Is she okay? Is she crying? Is she hurt? Who is he? How did he get up there? Her coach followed in as much confusion and concern as the rest.
Unable to enter the locker room, Sasuke waited outside. Once there was no one else inside except Hinata and her coach, the latter came out and addressed him.
She asked for nothing, no explanation. All she said was, "She'll see you now." Holding the door open for him, she allowed him entry. She didn't follow him inside.
Hinata was sitting on the bench, her shoulders slumped and head turned away from him.
"What happened?" he asked as he approached her.
With a shaky voice, she said, "My hand is hurt."
"How bad?"
"I… I d—don't know if I can con—tinue."
He watched as she wiped her eyes. Seeing her avoiding his attention, he came up in front of her and knelt down.
Although she tried, her head couldn't turn any further than it was. Now, he could see the sorrow in her eyes, the pink of her cheeks, the tremble of her lips. He found he didn't want to leave until he changed her expression.
"You don't think or you don't know?"
She failed an attempt to shrug her shoulders.
"Let me see it." He looked down to her hand, which covered the wounded area. Although he's touched her before—though they were arguably more taps than touches—he didn't expect himself to feel her hand and realize how delicate they appeared compared to his, though he knew just how strong they really were.
After removing her hand to see the wounded other, he saw to her embarrassment her fingers were purple and swollen. He gently tipped her fingers, and with each soft press, glanced at her to notice her grimacing.
"It's up to you if you want to continue," he said after letting her go. "No one else."
She looked at him for the first time since he entered the locker room. Wiping her eyes, she said, "I—I don't know what to do."
"You have to make a choice."
"Would… Would you continue?"
"I'd never hurt myself to ask that question."
His reply was such little comfort she lowered her head and looked as if she were about to release newfound sorrow.
Before she could release her tears that he could not stand seeing, he added, "I'd never lose."
This returned her attention to him.
"I'd make sure I'd win." He held her gaze before he stood up.
"Are you going to fight?"
"I—I don't—"
"Are you going to fight?" He had done this before during practice when she needed motivation. To further encourage her, he held out his hand.
She took it. "I want to fight," she mumbled as she stood up.
"What?"
Taking a deep breath in then out, she replied with more strength, "I want to fight."
He nodded. "It's gonna hurt, but you've been hurt before."
She lowered her eyes and smiled, albeit bashfully.
One more match and she could win the tournament. One more match and Hinata could rest.
So came the fateful day. Everyone took his or her place. The final match began.
The fire in her eyes and the confidence in her air kept all eyes on her, and how could it not? Her transformation was something to behold since the moment she stepped into the ring; for Sasuke, since the moment he met her.
The move that her father taught her was her finishing blow. The match ended. And time froze.
Suddenly the judges announced Hinata the winner. Awestruck, she saw the crowd cheer and her coach congratulate and embrace her. Only after it all did it hit her.
She won.
Pure joy illuminated her features. Her eyes searched the crowd for Sasuke, whom she desired to thank. But before she could locate him, her family approached her and congratulated her.
When she was finally able to head to the locker room, she found Sasuke leaning against the wall next to her door. His hands crossed over his chest, she caught his eye the moment she recognized him. Immediately, her happiness returned to her tenfold as she ran over to him.
"I won," she said.
"I know," he replied with a softness that shocked himself. He had never seen her so elated, with a smile so bright and eyes giving him her complete attention. It made his chest tighten, so he looked away. "How's your hand?"
When she didn't reply, he was forced to look at her again. She met his eyes a moment later with a sheepish grin, though joy still lit her features.
He gestured for her to give him her hands, which were still gloves. Starting with the good hand, he took off her glove and dropped it. With the other, he was more careful. Although Hinata didn't voice it, he knew she had to be withholding the pain.
Despite the gentleness with which he was holding her and tugging on the glove, the pain was so much so that she couldn't help flinching away before he could take it off her hand. He would have to distract her.
"Hinata," he said, "Look at me." When she did so, he kissed her.
Whether or not he did so because he simply wanted to, for his sake more than hers, the two of them couldn't question because the moment he caught her off guard, he pulled the glove off her hand.
She pulled out of the kiss by voicing for a moment the shock of immense pain. She held her arm just below here he was holding her wrist.
"Come on," he said as if nothing happened. "You need ice."
Before they made another move, the sound of someone calling her name made them turn their heads.
It was Hiashi.
"Father," she said.
Watching as Hinata approached her father, Sasuke leaned against the wall again and crossed his arms. Hiashi, who clearly remembered him, gave him a curt nod. Sasuke replied in the same manner. He considered waiting as he watched father and daughter communicate, but after seeing Hiashi place a hand on her head, and catching her smile in turn, he decided he didn't need to stay.
Hinata had developed. She won an achievement, and she was recognized for it. That was enough for him to leave with.
FIN
A/N:
This was very impromptu, so the scenes may not be perfect. And my research on boxing was not extensive, so those who know the sport better than I do, I'm sorry if there were more accurate terms I could've used. Feel free to correct me on anything so that I may fix any mistakes.
Still, I hope you enjoyed, at the very least, the idea of it. Let me know any questions, comments, concerns!