Focus

By: Riley

Summary – He just had to remember to focus. If he didn't, the thoughts he didn't allow himself to focus on would take him over.

The light breeze whistled through Rocky's ears as he threw a series of punches and kicks to the air in front of him. Each move he would have finished he paired with another punch or kick, so the series never ended. He continued to slice through the air, letting out short bursts of air and "hiyas" and "kiyas" when the time allowed.

Sweat droplets rolled down the side of his face which was set in concentration, stone cold to whoever came across him. If anyone had peered into the Douglass's backyard, they would have seen a teenage boy practicing his martial arts. They wouldn't have any idea of the thoughts he was trying to keep at bay, hoping the mediation would have done the trick.

As soon as he had stepped through the door after school that day his father had immediately been on Colt about some fight he had gotten into. Rocky and Tum-Tum had stood aside and watched as their father continued to berate Colt, wondering when he would grow up and realize that fighting didn't solve everything. And then those dreaded words came out of Sam's mouth, "why can't you be more like Rocky?"

Rocky cringed at the same time Colt did, though for an entirely different reason. Then, which was normal to the middle brother, his face flushed and he flew into a full blown rage, accompanied with colorful words and stomping up the stairs. Rocky could hear his younger brother muttering his name over and over as he went and then that nasty thought came back into his head.

"Why do you have to be such a showoff?"

He heard it many times from his free spirited brother, if not from the girl next door. Did they know that it was acting on his insecurities more and more each time it was uttered? Not only was it not true, but it reminded him why, more often than not, he disliked being the oldest. He had so much more responsibility than the other two that they didn't understand; he was the one that was made to be an example in all aspects of his life. And while he tried to duck under the radar it was his brothers that got mad at him as if it was his personal vendetta to be the best at everything.

Did they not understand the pressure he was constantly put under? It wasn't fair.

Rocky threw another punch and kick combination that ended up with him falling onto his butt. With a loud cry, he brought his hands up to run them over his face, shaking his head. That's what happened when he didn't focus…when he let his guard down and allowed those thoughts to come in at the worst times. That's why he mediated, that's why he was so calm, cool, and collected. He didn't allow the thoughts that created self-doubt to over take him unless it was in the right time and place as it was human nature.

But sometimes it took him over more than he wanted.

Rocky flipped back to his feet and brought his hands together, palms pressed firmly. As he extended his arms, he let out a slow breath, sucking it back in as he brought the hands to his chest. The thoughts went away, his mind was clear once again.

He was completely focused and would be until he let his guard down again.

THE END

A/N: After having watched the final scene of the international version of 3 ninjas again, I thought about how Rocky is perceived as being the 'perfect' older brother as well as being calm, cool, and collected. It made me wonder what his innermost thoughts would be about that, especially as he's called a showoff a lot. It's something I'm going to go into more in my upcoming full length 3 ninjas story (called Crossroads) as well as the fact that he does seem to have a hair-trigger temper as well as Colt but had it more under control.

Cheers,

-Riles