Ch.1
"What do you mean that we can't go to the beach this year?!" Takamura shouted at Coach Kamogawa in a rage. Coach hit him repeatedly with his cane.
"All you do is goof off and neglect your training! Carnival of champions is coming up and you need to be in top condition!" Coach yelled back. The shouted continued back and forth between the two men as Aoki and Kimura stood off to the side, looking very disappointed.
"I get him, but why can't we go?" Aoki whispered to his friend. "We don't have to worry about anything. We don't have matches coming up."
"If we get to go to the beach, what do you think Takamura would do to us when we got back?" Kimura replied. The two shuddered at their visions of Takamura's fury. Suddenly, Coach turned around and started whacking them with his cane.
"Why are you complaining? The kid doesn't have a problem with this!" Coach pointed at Ippo, who was over at the sandbags practicing his jabs. Takamura, Aoki, and Kimura ran over to Ippo, Takamura putting him in a headlock.
"So, you're fine with this?" Takamura asked angrily, Aoki and Kimura nodding along. Ippo looked down nervously at his hands.
"I-I, ummmmmm," He started but was cut off by Takamura.
"See!" He shouted at Coach. "Of course he doesn't want to go to the forest! He wants to go to the beach like the rest of us!" Coach frowned, thinking of something to say back when an idea popped into his head.
"Well, it's not like that was my idea. I was speaking to Miyata's father the other day and he mentioned how Miyata was planning on taking his training camp in the forest this year and I thought it might be a nice idea if you boys went along with him." Ippo's eye's suddenly lit up.
"I guess training in the forest wouldn't be that bad." He said with an awkward laugh.
"Good." Coach nodded and started forcing the four out of the gym. "See you in a week. Everything you need is already packed." He said before shutting the door behind him. The four turned around to see a minivan loaded to the brim with training equipment, provisions, one pop tent, and one Miyata riding shotgun.
"Just get in." He said when noticing the others expressions of horror and, in Takamura's case, pure rage.
…
"Just gimme the map." Takamura growled at Aoki. "We've made three wrong turns already." He tried to grab it away, but Aoki pulled the map out of reach.
"It's not my fault Kimura can't follow instructions!" Aoki said back.
"Hey!" Kimura shouted in defence.
"He at least needs someone who can read a damn map." Aoki muttered under his breath. To his dismay, though, Takamura was closer than he though.
"I'll show you who can read!" He shouted and reached again for the map, this time grabbing it.
"Let go!" Aoki yelled.
"No, you let go!"
"You're ripping it!"
"No, you're ripping it!"
"Guys, stop fighting!" Ippo said, trying to quell his comrades. "You're shaking the van." Takamura spun around.
"Nobody asked you!" He bellowed, leaning in to punch Ippo when a deafening ripping sound echoed through the car.
"You ripped it!" Aoki exclaimed. Takamura stared at the half piece of the map in his hand.
"Well, it's not like we needed it anyway." He said non-chalantly, crumpling up his piece and throwing it out the window. The car went silent before Aoki started shouting.
"Why the hell did you do that!? We could have still used that!"
"If I say we don't need it, then we don't need it!" Aoki and Takamura grabbed each other's shirt collars.
"It'll be okay!" Ippo said, trying to remedy the situation. "Miyata-kun you know that way, don't you." All eyes turned to Miyata as he slowly sunk back into his seat.
"I barely got a chance to look at the map before Aoki took it." He said.
"But, you still got to see it." Ippo said, voice full of hope. Miyata put his head in his hands.
"I just remember that it's Morikawa Lodge." He sighed.
"Moriakawa Lodge!" Ippo and Aoki both shout.
'That's where Kumi-san said she was going for that hospital worker retreat. Maybe I can say hello.' Ippo thought to himself with a smile.
'That's where Tomiko said she was!" Aoki thought and grinned deviously.
"What's wrong with your faces?" Takamura asked.
"Nothing!" Ippo and Aoki said at the same time.
"Doesn't seem like nothing." Takamura glared.
"Oh look! Isn't that the turn?" Aoki stated loudly, pointing to a sign in front of the forest with directions to the Morikawa Lodge.
"Yeah, we'd better hurry." Ippo added. "It's starting to get dark."