Chapter 43: Legosi's Training Regimen, Day One! Sundays With Alex, Tao, and Kibi!
Legosi walked through the courtyard, feeling a little apprehensive about what he was about to do. Ever since he had returned to campus from living with his grandfather Gosha, all of his friends had seemed like they were excluding him from their conversations, quickly changing subjects whenever he got close to them. From the little bits and pieces of conversation that he had heard, they were afraid about what might happen if he got attacked again.
Then, out of nowhere, Alex asked Legosi to head to the Cherryton Academy's gym Sunday morning. Legosi had accepted his request and that brought him back to the present, where he was making his way to the gym. In all his years of attending Cherryton, the gray wolf had never actually gone to the school gym. He hesitated for a moment before walking inside.
As Legosi went inside the gymnasium, he saw that a miniature boxing ring had been set up in the middle of the room, with spotlights shining down on it. Off to the side, there was a weight-lifting set and there was also a bench. To his surprise, Tao and Kibi were sitting on the bench drinking bottles of water and holding paws. The two of them yelped in surprise to see Legosi. "Legosi!? What are you doing here?!" Tao gasped.
"Me? Alex asked me to come here, he said something about training me." Legosi answered.
Tao's eyes widened as he processed this information. "No way! That wolf asked me and Kibi to do the same thing!" Tao exclaimed.
Kibi stroked his chin fur thoughtfully. "What would Alex hope to accomplish by inviting all three of us to this gymnasium at the same time?" Kibi thought out loud.
"To shoot down two targets with one arrow." Alex's voice rang out.
The white wolf hopped into the boxing ring, and assumed a fighting stance. "Alex, hey! What did you bring us here for?" Tao asked.
"I brought all of you here because you need training." Alex stated.
"Training?" The three of them wondered.
Alex pointed his paw at the gray wolf. "Legosi! You need to be trained on how to fight back. You were beaten within an inch of your life, and you almost died. I feel somewhat responsible for that, and I want to help prevent that sort of thing from happening to you again. We're going to fight, just like we did on the Adler stage, but this time, we won't have the luxury of fighting with fake wooden swords. No! We shall brawl like the ancients did, with our fists!" Alex roared with a grin on his face.
Then the white wolf turned to face Tao, pointing at him. "Tao! You need to be trained on how to properly control your strength. You lost control of it, and the situation that transpired because of that could have gone much worse. Kibi could have bled out, or had to get his arm replaced with a cyborg one and then he would have gone all Terminator on you. I'm going to teach you some exercise routines that will help you learn to properly control that predatorial power of yours." Alex sternly said, a slight tone of scolding in his voice as he spoke to Tao.
Finally, the wolf whirled around and looked at Kibi. His expression softened as he stared into the anteater's eyes. "Kibi. You're a selfless animal, and I can tell you care very deeply about your panther. After what he did to you, you had every right to press charges and make his life a whole lot worse. But you proved better than that, by wishing to make amends with him and helping him get over his trauma. Now, you need to improve that arm of yours. Limb reattachments take a lot of rehabilitation and exercise to fully overcome. I'll be helping you with fitness, but you'll be mostly working with Tao." Alex told the herbivore.
Kibi's eyes lit up and Alex pointed him over to the bench press. "Spot for him, Tao. I have to teach Legosi." Alex ordered.
The black panther nodded and walked over to work with his friend. Alex and Legosi walked into the ring, and the white wolf took up a fighting stance. Legosi hesitated before getting into a fighting stance of his own. Alex shook his head in response and broke his pose. "No, no! If you want to be able to fight well, Legosi, you have to maintain proper posture and positioning." Alex scolded.
The gray wolf stopped and stood up straighter at the mention of the word 'posture'. "Proper posture? Positioning? Fighting is a lot more complex than it seems." Legosi murmured out loud thoughtfully.
"All right. One of the most crucial, core elements of being able to fight well is to always maintain an air of confidence and calm." Alex began.
"You mean like Louis?" Legosi butted in.
Alex looked at him for a moment and then he smiled, nodding his head and clapping his paws together. "Yes! Just like Louis. That deer always put on a mask of confidence and composure. You must exude that sort of energy. It will throw your opponents off guard, causing them to slip up." Alex exclaimed.
"Okay, so how do I get into proper form?" Legosi then asked.
Alex grinned. "All right. Fold your ears, keep them close to your head. You don't want to get one of them crushed in the middle of a brawl, your hearing ability is vital to your perceptive abilities." Alex instructed.
Legosi's ears flapped downward and Alex nodded in approval. "Then, keep your gait loping. Longer strides will help you outmaneuver your opponent." Alex continued.
Legosi stood up straight and started bounding around the ring, and Alex gave him a thumbs up. Alex was very thankful for the fact that Legosi was a quick learner. If he wasn't, then Alex wouldn't be so willing to train him.
"Excellent. That's enough work on your form. Now, let's move onto some basic fighting principles." Alex announced.
Legosi's head bobbed up and down eagerly, excited to learn the valuable wisdom that the Zootopian hero had to impart. "First. Always keep your eyes on the enemy. I know for a fact that you are quite perceptive, Legosi. When that fox threatened you when you broke up the fight between him and that coyote? I could see the gears in your head turning, analyzing that vulpine. You were trying to figure out a way to throw the fight." Alex started.
Legosi blushed and chuckled. "Heh, yeah. Sometimes my brain just starts firing like that." The hybrid admitted.
"It is a most valuable skill to have. It will allow you to determine a foe's weak spots. Strike where they are most vulnerable! Once you have done that, then continue the onslaught! Maintain the offensive, and do not let up on them!" Alex continued.
"Then let's go. I think I'm ready to fight!" Legosi determinedly said.
Alex chuckled at the gray wolf's enthusiasm. "Ah, ah! You aren't fighting ME, Legosi. Instead…" Alex told his protege, before clapping his paws together.
"TAO! Get your rear in the ring!" Alex called out. The panther got in the boxing ring and held his fists outwards. "Alright. You two are going to fight. Whoever can get the most punches in on their opponent within thirty seconds gets to make the loser do whatever they want for the next half hour. GO!" Alex instructed.
Legosi and Tao went at it, with the gray wolf assuming the new position that Alex had taught him and managed to get several swift strikes on Tao. The panther, however, was no slouch. He also managed to get a fair amount of blows in on Legosi, though the gray wolf could more easily take the feline's attacks. Alex observed them go at it, counting all of their punches that each got in on the other.
When time was up, Alex whistled to signify that they could stop. Both carnivores panted, a little worn out from the brawl they had just been in. "So who won?" Tao asked in between breaths.
"Legosi, you won! You landed fifteen more punches than Tao. Nice dodging, my friend. Now, what would you like to force Tao to do?" Alex replied.
Legosi started sweating, he wasn't the kind of guy to punish others. "U-uh, maybe… oh I know! You can do some more exercises with Kibi!" Legosi then suggested. Tao sighed in relief, you could almost feel the tension in his body dissolve. "You're a really good friend Legosi." Tao told the canine, before doing some weight lifting.
Legosi goes to visit his grandfather, and is surprised to find the famous heroine Judy Hopps at his household talking with Gosha! Gosha tells Legosi and Judy an inspirational tale from his youth!
Chapter 44: Legosi's Training Regimen, Day Two! Mondays With Grandpa Gosha And Judy Hopps!