"Ippo, I'm going to go and buy some groceries, I'll be right back." Hiroko slipped on her shoes and stood up. It was one of the rare times that Ippo was home relaxing so she had almost left without saying anything. But with the recent activity around the neighborhood, she knew that it would be a bad idea if she left without telling her son.

"Wait no!" Hiroko cringed as she heard the sound of something falling inside the house and the soft thudding of feet. Ippo came running around the corner, nearly slipping on the floor with his socks. Hiroko silently laughed at the way Ippo looked as he regained his balance," I'll come with you, Wanpo, stay here."

Hiroko smiled fondly at her son as he petted Wanpo and he slipped on his shoes before joining her at the doorway. Silently, she opened the door and waited for Ippo before closing the door behind them. The sun was starting to go down, so they would have to make their trip quick. But they made small talk on the way to the shopping district.

"So how is it going at the gym?"

"Good, coach is just getting me ready for my upcoming match."

"Ah ok, this will be your 5th defense match, right?"

"Yeah."

"Hm," Hiroko stared at Ippo as they walked, the intensity of her stare making Ippo a little bit nervous as he leaned away from her.

"what?"

"Mm, nothing, I just don't see you as the Japanese champion, I still see you as the little boy who needed help tying his shoes." Ippo blushed as he groaned at that. Throughout his years of fighting, his mother has not seen a single match of his, always saying that she doesn't want to see Ippo get hurt. Which was understandable, but sometimes he just wished that his mother would go and see one of his matches so she could understand how much he has grown as a boxer and as a person.

Maybe then she would stop treating him like a small child.

"Mooom, that was almost 20 years ago." Hiroko smiled as she started to gently poke her son in the sides, knowing full well that she was poking his carefully hidden ticklish spots.

"So? I think I'm allowed to poke fun at you after raising you." Ippo cringed away as his mom kept on poking him but let her do it, giving her a smile in return. Upon seeing his smile, she returned it.

Since they had just arrived at the store, she stopped teasing him and entered the store with him. They were only shopping for the two of them, and Ippo was on weight control, so it didn't take long to grab everything that they needed for food and other household supplies.

Soon, they were on their way back home, Ippo playing the role of a loving son and not letting his mom carry anything back. He was rather used to carrying around the heavy stuff since he carried the ice chests for their fishing boat. But this time, his mother wanted to share the burden and carry one of the bags.

"Pass me a bag."

"Huh? Oh, I got it mom, I can carry it."

"I know, but still pass me a bag." Ippo was going to protest giving his mother one of the bags since he had taken something of a silent oath to let his mom rest as much as she can off the fishing boat. But when he saw the look she was giving him, he shut up and gave her bag, much to her joy.

"Good," she smiled as she shifted the bag to her other hand, "Now I can do this." She happily grabbed onto her sons' hand and started to swing their hands back and forth.

"Mom!" Ippo blushed as he tried to pull away," I'm too old for this!"

"Hush now Ippo, just indulge your old mother." Ippo tried to pull away one more time, but when his mom tightened her grip, he just sighed in defeat and wrapped his fingers around her palm. Even though he was the strongest featherweight in the country, he wasn't just about to try and go against his mother.

"you're not even that old mom." She hummed in agreement. And looked up at the sky, admiring the orange and yellow rays as they reflected off of the cloud and the buildings. But as much as she would have liked to stay out there, the two of them needed to hurry up and get home.

"I know, we should hurry up, its starting to get dark." Ippo grunted in agreement as he looked over his shoulder. The street was dark and empty behind them and put him on edge.

There had been an increase of murders in their neighborhood, especially once the sun went down. Although Ippo was confident in his abilities to outrun the criminal or at the very least, defend himself, it didn't mean that he wanted his mother to be put at risk. He even started to get home before dark and wouldn't leave home until his mom got onto the boat and left for her morning session. It was fortunate that Wanpo was a rather large dog, he was big enough to deter the average person, and since Wanpo always ran with Ippo during his training, he was fast enough to scare people off.

He tugged on his mothers' hand, silently telling her to pick up the pace.

Hiroko responded and started to walk faster. They both stopped talking as the remaining rays of the sun disappeared at the wrong time. They just had to be walking in the secluded part of their neighborhood where there were no such things as street lights. Without a second thought, Ippo tightened his grip and pulled his mom closer to him.

They both tensed up when they saw the silhouette of a tall person stepping out onto the street ahead of them. Ippo silently switched places with his mom, making sure to walk slightly ahead of her so if anything, happen, he could easily get between his mother and the attacker.

As Ippo got closer, the more Ippo realized that something was wrong. Instead of moving, the silhouette was just standing there.

They came to a stop when the figure's head suddenly bent to the side, the change in position letting the dim moonlight reveal some features to the face.

Ippo's heart came to a stop when he realized that it was a deranged man with a wide smile spread across his face. He took a single step forward.

"Mom mom, we need to run." Ippo whispered his words as the two of them took a step back.

"I can't! I'll completely tear my ligament. "The man seemed to hear and took another step forward, Ippo dropped his bag and started to push his mother back the way they came from. Ippo chewed on his lip nervously, ever since his mom took that nasty fall on the boat a few years ago, she couldn't run like she used to.

"I know! Just go as fast as you can," the man took another step, and another, and another. Before long, he was in a full-on sprint.

"RUN!" if his mother was younger, he would have shoved her the other way, but the last thing he needed was his mother falling from his push. Ippo ran right behind his mom, looking back occasionally to keep an eye on the older man.

The man was a giant, he had to be foreign with his height so his strides were absolutely monstrous. Ippo was already a short man, even for the featherweight division, and his mother was even shorter, which was already a major disadvantage. The only thing Ippo had going for him was that the man was thin and lanky, the chances that a well-placed punch could take him down were high.

The hair on the back of his neck rose when he heard the man laughing right behind him, and with how close it sounded, the man was practically on top of them.

Grabbing his mother, he flung the two of them to the side, he let out a small yelp when he felt something cutting open the skin on his arm, but his mother's terrified gasp overshadowed it.

The only thing he could do was push his mother against the wall and try to shield his mother as much as he could.

"P-please," Ippo stayed silent as his mother's shaky voice came out from behind him. He was completely focused on the man that was grinning down at them, that manic glint of his eye only increasing as time went on," We- we don't want any trouble." They didn't even get a response.

They got a crazed giggle as their answer.

Hiroko could barely breathe, between the way Ippo was pushing her against the wall and the overwhelming fear she was feeling, it was like all of the air left her lungs.

She couldn't help but gasp when Ippo blocked the man's fist, barely being able to keep it from hitting her. Her heart lept into her throat when she heard Ippo hiss in pain.

"Ippo!?" she didn't get a verbal response from him. The only thing she got in return was her son curling in on himself and raising his fists like she saw him do so many times.

"S-sir, please leave us alone." Her son's voice was trembling, but there was still an odd sense of determination in the underlying tones of his voice. Hiroko could feel her son tensing up, as well as the small trembles that were going through his body. When the man threw another punch that left her son hissing in pain from blocking it, Hiroko finally realized just how strong her son was.

It was like it was in slow motion, even the moonlight was dim, she could still hear and see her son's lightning-fast fist striking the man's side. She could have sworn she heard the man's ribs break, with the way the man reacted, it truly seemed like Ippo managed to break his ribs in one punch.

When the man curled in on himself in pain, Ippo surprised her again by throwing an uppercut at the man.

She was horrified by the way the man fell backward and started screaming in pain as he pitifully held onto his jaw with both of his hands. She had half a mind to bend down and check on the man. But with the way Ippo suddenly picked her up and started running towards the shopping district, the only thing she could do was hold onto Ippo.

Her mind was going a million miles an hour. Was that the murderer? Just how hard did Ippo hit him for the man to react like that? Was Ippo ok? Wh- "

"Mom!" she came back to her senses when she realized that Ippo was staring into her eyes, shaking his shoulders as he did so. Their environment had changed too, instead of being held against Ippo's chest as he ran down the dark alley, she was sitting in the store they had just visited, Ippo was right in front of her as he kneeled in front of her.

"…Ippo?"

"Oh, thank god!" her son's head dropped down in sudden relief as he tightened the grip on her shoulders, "I thought something happened to you," he looked back up and started to check her over," Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Hiroko blinked in surprise and shook her head to try and bring herself out of her daze when something else caught her eye.

"Ippo! Your arms!" Ippo looked down at his arms in surprise, as if he didn't realize that he was hurt in the first place.

There were two long cuts on his arm, the both of them being shallow enough where they weren't bleeding profusely. But still deep enough where he would have to get stitches and have a nasty scar left behind. Along with the large cuts, were smaller, more superficial cuts

"Oh, I'm fine! Are you ok?!" Hiroko would have just stared at Ippo in amazement if she wasn't so worried.

"What!? You're not fine! We have to go to the hospital!"

"I'm fine! I'm more worried about you!" Hiroko didn't even bother trying to argue with him.

She gave him a sharp slap that shut him up. Even the people who were watching cringed at the force she used.

"I'm fine Ippo! Now stop being so stubborn and go to the hospital!" Ippo stared at his mother in surprise but still sighed in relief.

"Ok," his head drooped down as he held his cheek, his entire body relaxing along with him," ok, I'll go mom. Man," he let out a heavy sigh as he looked up at her with a smile.

"My arms really hurt." His response annoyed her.

"Ippo I love you but you are such an idiot."

"What do you mean Ippo's match was postponed?!" without a second thought, Coach smacked Itagaki with his cane to make him calm down and to get him to back up. Itagaki held onto his head in pain as he rubbed it.

"Calm down, Ippo and his mother were attacked by that serial killer," That certainly got everyone's attention. It didn't take long before Coach was being crowded by the pro boxers and was being asked a thousand questions.

"They were what?!"

"Are they ok?"

"What?!"

Coach just stood there silently as the men got their concerns out, but as the questions went on, the more he realized that they would keep on going with their questions if he didn't stop.

"SHUT UP!" Coach waved his cane around threateningly, making some of them cringe away in response. As soon as the boxers quieted down, he let out a sigh and put down the cane.

"Ippo will be fine, from what his mother told me, he got hurt while protecting her, but its not life threatening." They all sighed in relief.

"That's a relief. And what about the serial killer?" Itagaki's question made them all perk up," Did they catch him?" he got a snort in return.

"Yes, the police found him where Ippo and his mother left him with three broken ribs and a shattered jaw." They all cringed in response.

"Yeesh, Ippo must have been pissed."

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to go against someone like him." Ippo was scary when he was truly mad, especially since he's such a quiet and timid boy that was hard to anger. Coach sighed in annoyance.

"Oh, quiet down brats, Ippo has always had power, just this time, he was defending his mother with his bare fists. Anyway, Ippo is in the hospital, I'm going to go and visit him."

He wasn't surprised when the others scrambled to go with him.

Hiroko just sat back and watched as her son was crowded by his friends, the four of them poking fun at him as she and the coach watched.

"Its such a relief that Ippo is okay, I was worried that he would be scarred from the attack, but seems to be fine." Coach chuckled at that.

"Your son is a lot tougher than you think ma'am, he'll be fine." She hummed in response, the two of them falling silent as the others made a ruckus. Her thoughts drifted back to the way Ippo hit the man and the way the man screamed in response.

"You're thinking about what Ippo did, aren't you?"

"Oh," she looked at the coach in surprise," um, yes, I am." She looked back at her smiling son.

"I still see Ippo as the little boy that I raised, it was a shock to see him use so much force."

"Your son has always been that strong ma'am, just this time, there was more at stake than the champion belt." Hiroko hummed in agreement.

She didn't realize how strong Ippo was since she never saw any of his matches. She hated the thought of paying to go and see her son get injured. She would much rather stay at home and wait for him. She hated it when he walks in with a bruised and swollen face but she just couldn't bring herself to ask Ippo to stop boxing.

But now that she was watching the way he talked to his friends, and the way he smiled and laughed with them, she reluctantly had to admit that Ippo joining boxing was one of the best things that happened to him.

She didn't like the way he came home hurt, but it was his boxing that saved them that day. And that was his boxing that allowed him to grow as a man. As much as she hated it, she supported Ippo's passion.

That's all she could do at this point.