Knuckle Down

Chapter 10

Cast looked off into the distance. Tomorrow was the first day of real training he would get. He reflected on what he had gone through, what he was going through, and where he was going. He thought back to his friend… Then drifted away. Thinking about it was too painful, It would be best if he forgot about it entirely until it was time to rejoin them. He couldn't focus on what he was trying to do if he that weighing on the back on his mind. So with a heavy heart, and steely resolve, Cast put Conte and John out of his mind, and headed to bed.

……………………………………..

The morning broke over the old house slowly, the sun crept through the glass until it hit Cast's eyelids, and gently poked at them until he could no longer avoid it's glare.

Cast moved around in bed a bit, before slowly getting up and headed to clean himself up.

After he was done washing he tip-toed out of the house (Peppy was still sleeping) and went down to the edge of the lake, passing through the city of Corneria, where the first vestiges of fur kind were rousing out of there slumber.

When he got to the lake, Yun was already there waiting for him. Beside the lake there was a large tree, and Yun had somehow managed to hang the bag that he had filled with sand onto one of the trees thicker branches. He was standing beside it with a large grin on his face.

"Alright then. This is the first day of the real training, the hard stuff. Are you sure your ready to undergo what I'm about to put you through?" Yun asked. Cast simply nodded his head.

"Okay. Then let's get started. The first thing you need to do, is hit this bag." He announced. Cast walked up to it, and gave it a straight, rather awkward punch.

"Pitiful. It looks like we have a long way to go….." Cast looked downtrodden.

"Anyway, lets get to some basics. Form is important. All the best boxers box the same way, it's just who can box the same way better that wins matches. The first thing we'll start with is a jab." So for long hours, Cast and Yun went over there basic fighting moves and motions.

Before long Cast was feeling the burn as his muscles seemed to scream in protest, and sweat had his fur matted thickly. He still pushed on, not giving in to the pain his body was bombarding him with. Truth was, Cast was covering his mental pain with his physical anguish. He pushed his body to the limit so exhaustion would take over his mind, cloud it to reality.

And this was how Cast worked for the next few months. He tirelessly toiled, bringing his body to the peak of physical perfection. Every week or so a new training device would be added to his regimen, demanding more and more out of him. It seemed that it was almost cruel, but the results WERE showing. His not-all-that out of shape body was slowly transforming into a lithe machine. His motions had become a form of poetry almost, he was no longer gawky or gangly, he moved with a grace that could only come from pride and physical aptitude.

Yun admired his handiwork from afar, watching as Cast became a fighter, a true fighter. However there was always more work to be done, more things to do before he could enter the world of professional boxing. Yun thought of this as they worked. There were indeed more than just physical challenges to overcome.

One day after a hard day of training, Yun called Cast over to his spot near the lake, where he usually sat while he oversaw Cast.

"You've progressed greatly during these month's, and I've decided to put your training into action. I advise you to watch your back." Yun said very little, but the threat was immediately clear. Cast rolled over to the side and watched as a orange blur hurtled past him.

Cast stood up and immediately put up his guard. He was shocked at how he had done it almost on reflex. He watched as the orange blur skidded to a halt.

Fox was standing there grinning at him. He was wearing something over his head, a protector, and he was also wearing some padding around his paw's and his various joints.

"Yeah, Yun here asked me to come and help out with your training. You got lucky with that shot a while ago, but now I wont give you the chance to pull something like that off again. So. Let's be done with these formalities, it'll be interesting to see where this will go." Cast grinned.

"I've been eager." Was all he said.

Fox rushed at him, using an unorthodox style. It was a style based upon the scrapping of childhood, the dominance of the teenage years, the fight of survival. Would it stand up against a art trained honed through hundreds of years?

It appeared so, the assault was so fast and near vicious that Cast could only recoil. He backed, blocking Fox's fists with his own, and trying to move out of any fluid trips or swipes that Fox would seamlessly integrate into his movements. It as almost like dancing the way Fox moved, only if he hit him, it would HURT. Cast realized that this was no way to fight, and tried to launch a few feeble counter attacks. Fox moved out of the way easily and planted his fist straight into Cast's face. Cast backed up. The hit wasn't hard, it was just to show what he –could- have done. Cast realized that he couldn't play around anymore, and launched himself into a brutal assault on Fox's person. The volley was so swift that Fox was almost knocked off balance trying to parry/dodge/move with all of the attacks. Yet Cast still couldn't land a square hit on Fox.

Yun watched this with a detached view, evaluating Cast's progress. He noted that the young fur had skill and training, he just didn't know what to do with it yet. He may have to spend another month on sparring exercises. Blast! The sign up's for the next league season were only two weeks away! He didn't want to wait a whole year to have get him in the league!

Then something miraculous happened. It clearly seemed that Fox had the upper hand, when all of a sudden Cast actually stepped inside Fox's guard. That in itself was a near impossible feat to do against a normal boxer and could only be done by someone with a large amount of experience under his belt, but to do it against someone with such an unorthodox technique! Yun hadn't even picked up Fox's foot placement. This was astounding, he was performing instinctively a feat that a majority of the world's best boxers couldn't perform with even the largest amount of training!

Cast then launched a fast gut punch into the off-balanced Fox's stomach, and watched as Fox curled over.

Yun walked over, as Cast stood panting. He motioned for Cast to move aside and whispered something in Fox's ears.

Cast watched, wondering if he had done something wrong. Yun then took the gloves off of Fox's hands and tossed them to Cast. Cast looked down at the worn ratty gloves, then realized that they were Yun's old boxing gloves. In that instance, Yun had passed his legacy to Cast, and a dynasty had been born.