Rookie King Tournament - Part 5

Kumi was working her last day at the Yamanaka bakery. Mrs. Yamanaka had been very understanding about her wanting to go work at her brother's company. Her boss would be taking over her hours until she hired a replacement. Kumi would miss the bakery though. It was nice to come to work and be greeted by the smell of freshly baked bread. She would also miss the customers...well, really she'd miss Ippo-san. The two of them had known each other for nearly half a year now. It was the longest that she had been friends with a boy. Ryou tended to scare off all the guys that talked to her - Kumi had started suspecting he was doing it on purpose. Having someone to share a pleasant conversation in passing like Ippo-san was enjoyable. It had been painful to watch him and her brother fight, but at the end of the match the crowd had actually cheered for Ryou-nii-san. Her brother had also seemed happy after the match, or at least satisfied. Kumi had run into his boss and co-workers that night. They had definitely been impressed with Ryou-nii-san's performance in the ring, so when the boss offered her a job, she readily accepted. Being around during the day to help out her brother would be nice. Even if all she could offer him was a smile, at least she could try and bridge the gap between him and his co-workers. Honestly, it wouldn't hurt him to be a little more flexible would it?!

The bell rung as the door opened. "Welcome!" Kumi greeted the customer by reflex. "Oh! Ippo-san!" Ippo looked bashful as always. His face was covered in bandages...souvenirs from her brother. Ippo probably didn't want to talk to her any more. Ryou-nii-san and him had such a bloody match. It was upsetting to think about, and if Kumi was honest with herself avoiding Ippo was another reason she was leaving the bakery. Having him upset with her would be too much.

"Uhm...Hello Kumi-san. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine."

"S-So did you watch the match?" Ippo had glanced down and was twiddling his fingers.

"Y-Yeah I did." Kumi diverted her gaze also. For several seconds the two of them stood in silence. Kumi could feel heat radiating from her face.

"..."

"I'm sorry!" She and Ippo both blurted out the same thing simultaneously. Eh? What did Ippo have to be sorry for?

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Again they spoke at the same time. Kumi knew that she was definitely blushing now.

"..."

"Kumi-san?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry that I wound up fighting your brother. I hope he's doing ok." When Kumi looked up, she saw Ippo bowing to her. The boxer's face was beet-red.

"N-Not at all! I'm sorry that Ryou-nii-san hurt Ippo-san so badly...I mean...not that badly, you did win...but it must have been painful..."

"N-No! I mean it was a great fight, but all things considered I came out of it pretty well. I didn't break my hands! I only have a bruise on my left." Were having your hands broken a common boxing injury? How horrible! No, wait, she told herself that she wouldn't obsess over details like that. She couldn't stop her older brother from fighting, so researching the injuries that he MIGHT wind up getting was needlessly aggravating.

"Oh I see. That's good...Uhm...Ippo-san?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"I'm not going to be working here after today...so I guess we won't be talking again..."

"Actually...t-t-that's something I w-wanted to talk to Kumi-san about..."

"What is?" Ippo's face had returned to a normal color, but it was now quickly turning red again.

"W-W-Would K-Kumi-san l-l-like to..."

"..." Kumi smiled pleasantly. She wasn't sure what Ippo was trying to ask her, but doing anything with him would be fun.

"PLEASE GO ON A DATE WITH ME!" Ippo nearly shouted the request. A date? With Ippo? That sounded wonderful.

"A date with Ippo-san sounds wonderful!" Kumi had never been on a date before. Ryou-nii-san was just so anti-social that any boy that walked her home avoided her afterwards, but her brother and Ippo already knew each other. Ryou-nii-san had even nailed a picture of Ippo to the wall for motivation. Sure, the nail went through picture-Ippo's head, but she could tell that her brother would get along well with him.

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"T-Then how about I meet you after morning classes on Saturday and we go to the shopping district?"

"Sure! That sounds like fun!"

"Great! I'll see you then!" Ippo smiled and waved goodbye to her as he exited the store. Kumi had a feeling he'd forgotten something... Then the door swung open again.

"Welcome!" Kumi greeted the new customer with enthusiasm. She was a good mood after her talk with Ippo and their pending date.

"Uhm..." Ippo had come back in.

"Yes?"

"Well...uhm...could you tell me where your school is?"

Kamogawa scowled at the video. The winner of the West Rookie tournament was strong. Unfortunately he hadn't had a single fight last more than one round. There just wasn't anyone in the tournament that challenged him enough, so getting a clear image of his boxing style was troublesome. What was obvious was that he and the kid were pretty evenly matched. Both of them had a dynamite punch that could plow through a block and score a knockout. This Sendou Takeshi person had a worse defense, but while his offensive style lacked polish there was something feral about it. His fighting instincts were top-notch. If an opponent was vulnerable he struck without hesitation.

Judging by his comments after matches, Sendou focused entirely on offense. No doubt when Ippo squared off in the ring in two months time with him, the Naniwa Tiger would have more punches in his arsenal. Kamogawa had decided to focus on improving Ippo's defense. The kid already had a good feel for the ring. He maintained distance and rolled with punches like he'd been boxing professionally for years. With Ippo's left fist damaged, doing regular sparing wasn't possible, but they could still increase his ability to withstand blows.

One of the most important areas to develop was the neck. The stronger and thicker your neck was the more you were able to take head shots. Boxers had developed several techniques to improve the neck's strength over the years, and Kamogawa was going to have Ippo use every one of them. For strengthening the body, there was nothing better than the medicine ball. It stimulated a punch's power nicely, and experiencing punches first hand was really the only way to get better at taking them.

The kid had also wanted to do some weight training focusing on his shoulders. Kamogawa had been wary, the brat was already too strong for his own good - further increasing his monster strength would only cause him to damage his hands. The Mashiba fight had made that fact abundantly clear. The bone-bruise on Ippo's left hand would take an entire month to heal. The reason for increasing his shoulder muscles was surprisingly thought out. Just like a boxer's legs absorbed the damage from taking punches, developing one's shoulders would protect them from their own power. Ippo had said he'd learned it from one of his family's customers who had a previous national judo champion as his doctor.

Between all of the exercises Ippo would be doing and his road work - which now included leg weights all the time - there wouldn't be much time left in his regime. The slip bag was doing its work well, and Ippo's weight-shifting was providing an ability to dodge that was astounding, but it wasn't enough. Being able to take hits was good. Against someone like Sendou, taking damage was inevitable. Ippo needed to be able to avoid those punches though. Even with a damaged fist, Kamogawa would be able to have the kid do some slow sparring.

By boxing at half speed, it was easier to notice where punches were coming from. In terms of increasing defensive ability, sparring at a slower pace outstripped regular sparring by quite a ways. It would also let someone like Aoki or Kimura show off their full ability. Normally when they sparred with Ippo the fear of his punches, and the damage that they caused even with 16 oz. gloves hampered his older opponents. If Ippo's punches didn't intimidate his senpais into fighting more defensively, then they'd be able to attack Ippo at their true skill level. Judging from the tapes, Sendou wouldn't be intimidated by another boxer no matter who it was, so Ippo wouldn't have the defensive cushion he was accustomed to.

For the last week Ippo had been...giddy, and Takamura wanted to know why. His Kouhai was training with increased vigor, but when he was cooling off he went around with a stupid look on his face. Even the gentle berating he'd done hadn't had any effect. This morning he'd come in to the Gym and done his workout early. Supposedly he didn't have to go to school even though it was a half-day Saturday because his class was focusing on studying for entrance exams. Somehow Ippo had seemed even more chipper than usual. Something was up.

The mahjong fiasco had given Takamura some more insight into whatever power Ippo possessed. He'd been quizzing Ippo about other un-known boxers, but the younger boy hadn't known anything. Clearly whatever ability that Ippo had to gain insight into the future only worked for actions that Ippo himself would take. If Takamura had been interested he bet he could've discovered all the boxers that Ippo would fight going solely by how much his kouhai knew about them. Unfortunately this meant that his mahjong plans were shot unless he wanted to spend the years it would take to actually teach Ippo the game.

If Ippo was this happy then something good was going to happen to him today. So far all the knowledge Ippo had displayed had been about boxing, so perhaps that was another limitation. If that was true then just what could it be? When Ippo came out of the dressing room wearing a button down shirt with his hair combed (not that it didn't soon revert to it's spiky default style), Takamura made his decision. He was going to find out just what was going on with Ippo today. Depending on what it was, he might just have to crush it just so Ippo would stop being so annoying.

Fortunately Ippo didn't seem very aware of his surrounding. Takamura's height made him stand out, but he'd successfully trailed Ippo from the gym to the station to a small suburb area. There was nothing here except for schools and houses, so Ippo must be visiting someone. Instead he'd made his way to a school and stood next to the gates with his back against the wall. He was meeting someone from this school? Who did Ippo even know that wasn't from his school or the gym. Miyata? Takamura couldn't think of anyone else, but Ippo's rival had already graduated, lived several miles away, and had gone to another school.

Peering from around the corner of the school wall, Takamura watched Ippo. It was kinda nostalgic to be at a high school, not that Takamura had spent much time in class when he'd been Ippo's age. For half an hour the pair of them waited. Ippo seemed to be humming to himself, while Takamura was becoming more and more agitated. What was going on? This was ridiculous. Just as he was deciding between going and beating Ippo or just leaving, the school bell rang. Teenagers began to pour through the gates. Takamura leaned back against the wall and tried to look like he belonged there. It wasn't until he heard a familiar name that he started listening to a group of girls that were slowly making their way past.

"...with Mashiba."

"I heard she's going out with someone who beat up Ryou!"

"What?! Have you seen her brother? It take some kind of super-delinquent to do that!"

"Oh my..! Asakura! Look over there!" The three girls were glancing his direction. "That has to be him!"

"How old do you think he is?"

"I don't know..30?" What? Those little...

"Ewwww... What a pervert! And look at his hair! Epp!" With a glance Takamura caused the three girls to scurry off. Mashiba? Brother? What was going on?

Once the initial crowd had dispersed some, Takamura glanced back around the corner. Ippo was still standing there. A few more minutes passed, then young girl wearing a hair band came running up to him.

"I'm sorry, were you waiting long?"

"No, I just got here." What was with this cliche greeting?

The two of them went walking down the street chatting happily. Takamura followed them as they went back to the station, and took a train to a shopping district. He was on a date! That little... No wonder he was so happy this past week. Takamura was about to crash their little party when Ippo started looking around worriedly. Did he sense something was about to happen? Ippo quickly led the girl into an ice cream shop. Takamura was about follow when he saw a familiar face. Mashiba! The lanky boxer emerged from another alleyway and took up residence at the corner of the cafe. From there he could peek through the window and follow the two of them when they emerged. That was the spot where Takamura was going to have spied on them from.

Wait...Mashiba...brother...beat up... The story that Fuji had told them came back to Takamura. Mashiba had a little sister, and Ippo was on a date with her! This was priceless. He'd have to tell Aoki and Kimura as soon as possible, but first he had to watch the rest of the date. Juicy details would make the story. Plus, with Mashiba hovering around Ippo might need some backup. For a boxer, his kouhai was completely worthless in a street fight. Thus, Ippo and Kumi continued their date with Mashiba following them, and Takamura following him.

"Hello!" Ippo shouted a greeting as he entered the gym. Yesterday had been his date with Kumi and it had gone great. Ippo had still had the feeling that someone was watching them, and a few times he thought he saw Kumi's brother out of the corner of his eyes. It was probably just left over nerves from when he'd gone on his previous first date with her. The haunted house had been scary, so imagining Ryou was quite fitting. Kumi was right through, there was no way her brother had been at the fair grounds. It was even more impossible that he was at the shopping center yesterday, after-all he didn't even know about the date.

"..." Takamura, Aoki, and Kimura were huddled in a group not far away. They didn't make any move to respond to him. Perhaps they weren't feeling too well?

"Uhm..."

"Just as you said."

"He's all energetic." Ippo had a bad feeling.

"A younger girl, and cute too."

"No wonder he's been in such a good mood."

"W-What are you talking about?"

"Ippo, old buddy, old pal, you wouldn't keep secrets from your friends would you." Takamura had an enormous grin on his face. "What'd you rush out of here so quickly yesterday for?"

"I-I went to a shopping center."

"A shopping center you say." Takamura punctuated his statement with an elbow to the gut that was just a bit too hard. "You have such a smile on your face. Did something good happen?"

"W-Well..."

"C'mon tell us!" Takamura had put him in a head-lock and was grinding his knuckles into Ippo's hair, all the while smiling like a maniac.

"Uhm..."

"We're your friends right? If something good happened we'd want to know. How can we celebrate if you don't tell us?"

"I...had a date."

"Ohhhhh?" Takamura drew out the syllable. "That's great! With anyone we know?"

"N-No."

"Really, not with anyone we might have heard of before? Like a sister to one of your opponents?" What? How could Takamura know that? Was he psychic?

"A-Actually... It was with M-Mashiba's sister." With that statement the expressions of his three senpais darkened.

"So he admits it."

"Fraternizing with the enemy."

"Or perhaps you went looking for her after Fuji told us about her."

"Won her from her brother?"

"I didn't know Ippo was the kind of guy to take a girl by force."

"N-NO! I-It's not like that! We knew each other before."

"Oh reeeeeally?!" By now Ippo had been backed into a corner. With Takamura flanked by Aoki and Kimura bearing down on him he suddenly felt very small.

"So he's been seeing a girl while fighting her brother."

"The tragedy!"

"And behind Miyata-kun's back!"

"Who were you rooting for in that match? Eh? Your friend or your girlfriend's brother?"

"Waaaa!" Ippo's preservation sense, honed by years avoiding Umezawa, was screaming at him. He dashed to the side, and was chased around the gym. His senpais followed him, throwing gloves, bags, and medicine balls.

"What's going on here!" Kamogawa-sensei had walked through the door.

"C-Coach! Help me!" Ippo rushed to his side.

"All of you quit goofing around. If you have that much energy save it for sparring! Speaking of which, Ippo get in the ring with Aoki!"

"Yes sir!" After Ippo and Aoki were suited up and in the basement ring, Ippo looked at the coach. "Slow sparring again?" He and Aoki had been sparing at half speed this last week. It really did make noticing the way the older boxer's punches flowed easier.

"Nope, it's time to see if what you learned is paying off! Aoki! Go all out! Ippo! Don't attack!"

"What?"

"Gotcha! You ready Ippo?" Aoki had a evil gleam in his eyes. It was mirrored in Takamura and Kimura who were watching from the sidelines.

The actual spar itself didn't go as badly as he'd feared. Aoki's attacks flew non-stop, and were as un-predictable as ever. Ippo managed to withstand the assault though. A right, a left, another left. He somehow expected the punches that Aoki chose to throw. The slow sparring had helped Ippo see the relationship between his position and Aoki's and which punches seemed to be used. For a full round he swayed and shifted, dodged and blocked. After the first round was over, Aoki hadn't managed to connect with a single clean shot. Ippo was relieved. His sense of the ring seemed sharper. Sendou had a far better attack repertoire. And his opponent for the next match also wouldn't do him the favor of sparring at half speed so he could get a read on his current speed and punching habits.

"That's not going to be good enough."

"What?" Ippo looked over at Takamura.

"Your next opponent's really strong right? Let your senpai with similar punches help you out." Takamura had put on some 16 oz. gloves and entered the ring.

"You might be right. If Ippo can avoid your attacks his defensive training will be complete." The coach was agreeing to this?! It was going to be a long time until the match with Sendou.

To his credit, Ippo did manage to avoid being knocked out by Takamura for almost an entire minute. It was a personal best.

"Listen to this wild crowd! The most talented of the East and the West will face off next! It's a battle of the Aces! Tonight's main event is starting!"

"First to enter is Sendou, he walks to the ring with both arms raised. The crowd cheers for their home-town favorite!"

"Coming in next is Makunochi. He's continuing to shadow box as he enters! Both fighters are ready for this match!"

"The East/West Featherweight Rookie King Championship match! Both fighters were voted most talented! Both have 6 fights and 6 K.O.s! It's a hard-punching dream, the most anticipated matchup that's sure to end with a knockout!"

Takamura watched from the stands. The chants of 'Sendou' rang through the stadium.

"This Sendou call's insane."

"This is a bad atmosphere for Ippo." It was hard to hear Kimura and Aoki even though they were sitting right next to him. Ippo wouldn't be phased by just some chanting. Only trash boxers worried about that kind of stuff. His kouhai was made out of the same material as he was. Winning the Rookie King tournament was just the next step for him.

"The 7th match, feather class, All-Japan Rookie King Finals is about to begin!"

"In the Red corner, weighing 125 and a half pounds, from Kamogawa Gym, MA-KU-NO-CHI Ippooooo!" Even with such a hostile crowd, Ippo was greeting them properly. Bowing like that to the entire audience was only something that he could pull off and not make it look forced. The look on his face after he finished showed that Ippo was ready for the match.

"In the Blue corner, also at 125 and a half pounds, home-town's Kentoukai Gym's Seeeeen-douuuu TA-KE-SHIIII!" The response from the crowd was so loud Takamura felt it more than heard it.

"The clash of power is about to begin! This fight could be decided with one punch, so don't look away!" Geez, the announcer sure was milking this. Takamura didn't remember such fan-fair for his Rookie King final match. Of course it had been completely one-sided, so it was probably hard to get worked up over it.

"Second's Out!"

*ding*ding*ding*

Ippo dashed towards the center of the ring as soon as the gong sounded. His right hook hit Sendou cleanly, but the home-town favorite threw one of his own. The two boxer's blows connected at the same time. In terms of speed they were evenly matched. It had been Takamura's idea to dash out at the gong, but Sendou's instincts were no joke. Ippo reeled from the blow, but came back with a left jab. Sendou blocked and returned a jab of his own. The two traded jabs that were more like straights, but Ippo was being pushed back. Sendou always pressed forward even while taking a hit. Less than 30 seconds into the match, Ippo's back was to the ropes.

A left jab, a right body-blow, a left hook. Sendou unleashed a flurry of bone-shattering hits, but Ippo blocked them all. With a right hook Ippo surged forward. It was blocked, but the force drove Sendou back. The two boxers exchanged hits, but it was Sendou who got the next unblocked shot with a left body-blow. Ippo's legs stopped, and the following straights were only barely avoided. A left hook reversed the momentum. Back and forth, each boxer turned around the opponent's momentum with a powerful blow from nowhere.

*ding*ding*ding*

The first round was over.

"Ippo's doing pretty good don't you think?" Aoki was smiling.

"I think he won that round 10-9, but I have a bad feeling."

"Huh?"

"It feels like Sendou hasn't gotten serious yet, like he still hasn't shown us his Sunday punch." It was true that if things kept on going like they did in the first round Ippo would win, but both boxers were capable of ending the match with one hit.

*ding*ding*ding*

The second round began. Ippo had dropped his peek-a-boo stance for one similar to Sendou's. As the two fighters approached each other, Sendou lowered his left arm. An upper-cut? No, a hook? No, it was something in the middle... A 3/4's upper-cut: a Smash! If Sendou could throw something like that, it'd be dangerous for Ippo. Smashes were hard to block. If you never encountered one before, it'd be practically impossible. Sendou began his motion, but rather than block Ippo threw a punch of his own. With his lowered right fist, he threw a straight at Sendou's head. A 3/4's straight. A punch like that was a perfect counter to the smash. It went in a straight line rather than a curved path, so it'd hit first.

*BAMPH!*

Sendou's blow had connected before Ippo's. Since Ippo had been in the middle of throwing his own punch, Sendou had hit with the weight of a counter! Ippo fell.

"1!"

"What was that?"

"2!"

"Sendou threw a smash and Ippo tried to counter it." Takamura resigned himself to explaining what had happened to his friends.

"3!"

"A counter?"

"4!"

"Yeah, and it was the perfect punch to do so with. If Ippo had practiced counters before, or even used that punch before now he probably would've pulled it off."

"5!"

"How'd he know Sendou was going to throw a smash? I mean he's never used that punch before."

"6!"

"I wonder..." How did Ippo have the perfect counter lined up? If he'd been successful, then Sendou would be on the mat instead of him. Was this another hint at Ippo's power?

"7!"

Ippo was holding the ropes, trying to pull himself up.

"8!"

He was almost there. Takamura didn't know if he'd make it in time.

"9!"

Ippo got back on his feet, but he didn't look good. The punch had clearly gotten to him. Also, it was early in the round. Getting saved by the bell wasn't an option even though he'd managed to stand. Sendou attacked, but Ippo dashed forward. He was going for a clinch. No...he was reducing the distance between the two of them. Pressed against Sendou, neither boxer could throw long or mid-range punches - including the smash. Ippo wasn't attacking through, instead he'd balled up and was pressing in against Sendou's chest. Sendou punched and Ippo blocked. The power that Sendou had before, the power to blow away a block wasn't working. Even with the one-sided exchange, Sendou was the first to retreat. A back-step would've brought him into mid-range again, but the second he moved Ippo dashed forward - maintaining the ultra-short range.

"What's Ippo doing?" Kimura asked.

"He's being desperate. At such close range, Sendou can't throw a smash. Neither fighter can put their weight into their punches, so Ippo's full-defense strategy has an advantage there."

"The crowd's pretty restless, they expected a hitting match. Ippo's not attacking at all."

"I don't think it can be helped, he's probably in no shape to throw a punch."

Sendou did another back-step, but as soon as he moved Ippo threw a right upper-cut. A long right from his crouching position. Ippo had began the motion just as Sendou moved. A hush fell over the crowd. Sendou was on his back. The referee motioned Ippo to a neutral corner, and Ippo staggered away.

"Heh" Takamura smirked. "That was a pretty good punch. The crowd won't like it."

"Yeah, having their home-town hero beat like that...Ippo might not survive the night."

"No need to worry about that, the fight's not over." Sendou had gotten back up at the 7 count. The two boxers approached each other, both obviously damaged at this point.

*ding*ding*ding*

Ippo was exhausted. Somehow he'd survived the round. The punch that he'd been counting on to beet Sendou, the punch that'd countered the smash the first time, his ace in the hole had backfired on him. He'd taken the full power of Sendou's smash. It was only because he'd been afraid. Afraid of Sendou's power that'd he'd expected to get punched. If Fuji-san was right then that would've reduced the damage he'd taken, but Ippo had only just barely been able to stand. His head was spinning. Crouching low and leaning against Sendou was the only way he'd been able to maintain his balance. He'd used that same tactic to seal the smash before, so Sendou's sudden back step had been expected. The upper-cut was pure desperation, but it had worked.

Kamogawa-sensei was talking to him, but Ippo couldn't make out what he was saying. The ringing in his ears hadn't stopped yet, but strangely he felt pretty good for having taken Sendou's punches for close to a full 2 minutes. The damage that normally came from the Naniwa Tiger's blows wasn't there. Being so close and so low had robbed Sendou of the ability to put his full power behind his punches. That strategy wouldn't work again. There was no way that Sendou would allow him to get in that same position. The coach was saying something. Ippo didn't understand the words, but the message was clear. He nodded. He was ready for the next round.

The referee was motioning, the bell must have rung. Standing up took effort. As he approached the center of the ring, Sendou charged.

Jabs, hooks and straights were thrown, but Ippo swayed and ducked around them. Sendou's onslaught was relentless. Ippo couldn't find an opening. His training had been defensive, and he now fell back on it. Sendou was getting into his rhythm, but so was Ippo. He could tell when the punches would be thrown, and the best way to avoid them. Sendou leaned forward and then came up with a lunging smash. Ippo shifted his weight deeply to the right, the same deep sway that Ozuma had used against him. The smash went wide. Sendou was open. Ippo threw a liver-blow followed by a right over-hand. Both blows hit cleanly, but didn't slow Sendou down.

The pattern repeated itself. Ippo knew what kind of punches Sendou would throw. He'd seen them all before. He'd felt their power and reach. He was able to dodge them and then counter attack. The deep shifting was working! Sendou threw another lunging smash, and Ippo threw a liver blow as his shifted to the right to avoid his opponent's attack. The force of the punch nearly knocked Ippo down. His arm was numb. Sendou was doubled over - kneeling on the ground.

"Down! Go to a neutral corner!"

"1!"

"2!"

"3!"

"4!"

"5!" Sendou hadn't moved at all, but his eyes opened. Ippo could feel his glare from across the ring. Sendou stood up as the referee continued to count, and then pushed him aside and advanced on Ippo.

Sendou charged. His punches were still live. Another lunging smash was dodged, but suddenly Sendou was throwing a right straight. The smash had been a feint. All of Ippo's weight was to the side, he couldn't avoid the blow. Ippo could only return the attack. The two boxers traded punches. Sendou and Ippo alternated their hits. Neither was dodging at this point, and their blocks couldn't reduce all of the power of each-other's blows. Ippo's vision swam as he blocked a left hook. The damaged he'd suffered was too much. Sendou would knock him out through his guard if this continued. He had to avoid the punches entirely. If he could attack while dodging, like he'd envisioned doing during his first match of the tournament... Ippo shifted left to avoid a hook, then right to dodge a straight. Each time he landed a body-blow of his own. After the second one, Sendou was bent over again. Ippo reversed his rotation and brought a right-overhand down on Sendou's jaw. Sendou fell, but so did Ippo. The punch had thrown him off-balance. The two boxers lay side-by-side.

"1!" The referee was counting. Was it for him or Sendou? Ippo didn't know, but he had to get up.

"2!" His legs felt like jelly.

"3!"

"4!" Ippo grabbed the ropes. Next to him Sendou did the same.

"5!" Ippo slipped. Sendou was already on his feet.

"6!"

"7!" Ippo stood again. Holding onto the ropes he tried to force himself up. How did Sendou do it? He always got back up.

"8!" Ippo let go of the ropes. He wobbled, but stayed standing.

"Can you continue?" Ippo nodded and raised his fists.

The referee motioned to the side and the bell rung signaling the end of the fight.

"What?" Ippo didn't know what was going on. Sendou spun around and stalked back to his corner.

"The winner by TKO! Makunochi Ippo!"

Ippo was confused. Hadn't the ref been counting for him? A T.K.O.? Sendou had fallen twice! It was still a rookie match, so there was a 2 knock-down limit. Ippo looked over at his opponent. Sendou was moving as if he wasn't damaged at all. Ippo could barely stand. Winning like this didn't feel right. He'd wanted to fight with Sendou with everything he had, but he'd scored two knockdown while being more heavily injured.

"No, this isn't right... Sendou can still fight."

*thwack* Kamogawa had hit him in the back of the head.

"Don't praise your opponent so much. A win is a win. You can always have a re-match."

Ippo nodded. A rematch against Sendou would be exhilarating.

K.O. Time 3rd Round: 2 minutes, 52 seconds

Japan Rookie King Tournament Victor

Macunochi Ippo Victory

7-0-0 7 K.O.s