Senpais and Kouhais

Kamogawa sipped his sake. The victory party for the kid was unusually somber. Even Takamura didn't liven it up. The match with Sendou had ended with the kid being booed, so it didn't feel like a victory. No matter what Ippo did, that crowd wouldn't have cheered for him, but the animosity that he received instead... It was only because Sendou turned around and re-entered the ring that things didn't get uglier. The announcer had promised a knock out, and he had been technically correct. If the fans wanted someone to be angry with, they should complain to the boxing committee. A 2 knock down T.K.O. was a bad rule in the amateurs. Carrying it over into the pro ring was taking "safety" too far. In his day, after the war had ended, there wasn't a rule like that. If you could stand back up, the fight continued. Getting back up was what showed your fighting spirit. A samurai would always rise again. Winning while your opponent still had fight left in him...it did leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Kamogawa swallowed his 3rd cup, and Yagi refilled it for him. The brat had taken Sendou's best shot and gotten back up! He even scored a knockdown in that same round! It also wasn't like Sendou's downs were cheep or because of a slip or something. Ippo had thrown a punch while dodging. It had his full strength behind it and must've caught Sendou off-guard like a counter. After the stood back up, Sendou had weathered that blow multiple times! It was just because he was a home-town favorite that the crowd took his loss so hard. No matter what Kamagawa thought, it was the kid's state of mind that worried him. He'd won, but it felt more like a loss. A boxer's first loss was the hardest. Could the brat take it in stride?

Two months had passed since his fight with Sendou and Ippo was in a good mood. Today was graduation. After the ceremony Umezawa-kun had come up to him with a camera. This time Ippo wasn't surprised by the requests for pictures with him. The delinquents still made him nervous, but he struck a pose with them. The resulting photo did look better. Several other class-mates of his also wanted group photos with him. Ippo got into the swing of things quicker this time. He would never get used to being popular, but that also meant the times when he was it felt special. After all the pictures were taken he walked home with Umezawa and his two side-kicks.

The three of them talked and laughed. They were fun guys, and Ippo could hardly remember the days when they picked on him in school. At the bridge the group had to split up as their houses were in a different direction.

"Good luck Ippo! We'll cheer for you at your next match also!"

"Thank you!" Ippo yelled back at his two friends. It was then him and Umezawa alone.

"A Pro Boxer..." Umezawa sounded wistful. "It's hard work, but I'm still envious. Starting now, whether we like it or not, we have to get a job. We don't have any dreams or goals. To be able to do what you love like you..."

"You have a dream. Don't you Umezawa-kun?"

"Huh? Well, yeah, but that's all it is. In reality I'm going to try and find a job at an office. Get a respectable hair-cut, and become a salary-man. *sigh*"

"What would you rather do?"

"Don't laugh." Umezawa held up a fist threateningly. Ippo raised both hands and smiled nervously. "If you tell anyone I'll beat you up. Got it?"

"I promise I won't!" Umezawa seemed satisfied with his answer and nodded.

"I want to draw manga."

"That's great!"

"Nah, it's a lot of work. Most people don't make it, and I don't really have any experience with a subject. Without first-hand knowledge you have to write a sci-fi or a fantasy, and those have a lot of competition."

"W-Well...I have an idea..."

"You do?"

"Y-Yeah... I need to spend more time training now that I'm a ranked boxer, but if I leave my mom to run the business by herself then I'm sure she'll collapse one day!"

"WHAT?! She's sick?"

"N-No..It's just a feeling I have... S-So if you want to work for my family's fishing business I'm sure I could get you a job!"

"Well.."

"It's hard work, but I'm sure you can learn a lot about both fishing and boxing doing it!" Ippo couldn't place the expression on his friend's face.

"Ippo..." Umezawa's voice sounded like it cracked for a second. "Let me think about it ok?"

"Sure! If you did it, you'd really be helping me out!"

"Y-Yeah...Well I gotta go!" The two of them had come to the intersection where their routes split. They'd been talking there for a little while, so Ippo nodded. Umezawa waved goodbye, and Ippo smiled and waved back.

Ippo walked home lost in thought. Up ahead he saw a figure through the light snow that was falling. He was wearing a suit and tie, and they bellowed in the wind. Miyata-kun looked so cool. It was like the cold didn't touch him. Under his arm he had his high-school diploma. Then he opened his eyes. Ippo was caught off-guard by the intensity in his stare.

"I graduated today also. I came by to see you as soon as it was over."

"M-Miyata-kun..."

"I'm going away from Japan for a while. I just wanted to say good-bye."

"Oh...I see...W-When will you come back?"

"When the gap between us has been filled. Right now you're the Rookie Champion, and I'm just another hopeful that lost. I'm going to go around Korea and Thailand. When I'm strong enough I'll challenge you again." Miyata had turned and started walking away through the snow.

"G-Goodbye! I'll be sure to get stronger so I can face you!" Miyata took one hand out of his pocket and held it up. A fist. Ippo waved goodbye, but Miyata kept walking and didn't look back.

The graduation ceremony ended and Kumi walked out of the school with her friends. As she passed through the gate she saw a familiar form.

"Ryou-nii-san! You came! I thought you said you'd have to work!"

"..." Her elder brother just nodded. Kumi's friends never spent much time around him, but she'd told them all about him.

"Uhm..." Beside her brother Ippo-san was shrinking in on himself. Her boyfriend looked like he wanted to run away...Ryou did have that effect on people. She'd have to have a talk with her brother later. She was glad Ippo had come though.

"Ippo-san! I'm glad you're here!" While it was true that the two of them hadn't even held hands yet, they had been on several dates so far. Ippo just seemed to want to move slowly. Kumi didn't mind. The fact that Ryou liked him so much, and that Ippo liked her brother enough to put up with his anti-social behavior was a gift from heaven. Finding a boy that liked both her and her brother? Kumi wondered what the odds were.

"Oh! That's the professional boxer you're dating?"

"Wow, I guess it wasn't that old guy with the pompadour after all."

"I know! Let's get a picture with the two boxers!"

"That'd be awesome!" Her friends were so excitable. Kumi imagined Ippo with a pompadour. She couldn't suppress the giggle that came with that particular mental image. After several pictures involving both Ippo and Ryou a crowd had formed. It seemed that there were a number of boxing fans among the students and both of her male acquaintances were pressured into posing for additional pictures. When things wound down, Kumi waved goodbye to her friends and started walking home with Ippo at her side and Ryou towering behind them. She'd placed her graduation scroll in her bag and clasped it in front of her with both hands. Kumi looked up at the sky as they started walking, it was a beautiful winter day with a few snowflakes to give ambiance, but not enough to make it too cold.

"You managed to come Ippo-san! I'm so happy!" Having Ippo as her boyfriend really did make her happy.

"Y-Yeah. My graduation was yesterday, so I have the day off."

"I'm glad you and big brother are getting along so well!" Kumi wondered what the two of them had been talking about while they waited. Probably boxing she decided.

"Y-Yeah."

"..." Ryou continued to say nothing and glowered in the back. It was strange. When she walked down the street with her brother, the crowd seemed to just part to make room for her. An advantage of being tall she suspected. Kumi was completely oblivious to the dark aura that seemed to hang around him.

"S-So...What are you going to do now?" Ippo was stealing glances at Ryou behind them. Her boyfriend probably didn't want her brother to feel left out of the conversation. It was a good thing that Ippo looked so cute when he was nervous, since he'd had the same body language on all of their dates that he did right now.

"My internship with the hospital is almost over. I'm hoping to start work there full-time. Though that will leave Ryou-nii-san alone at work again."

"You'll make a great nurse Kumi-san!" There were times when Ippo spoke with 100% conviction. It really impressed her. When Ippo talked like that, Kumi felt that whatever he said would definitely happen.

"*giggle* If Ippo-san says it with such force it must be true!" That elected a blush from her second favorite person in the world. At the same time, the space around them in the crowd grew larger for some reason.

Sendou stood in front of the Kamogawa Gym. It had taken a lot of work over the last few months, but today was the day. His fight with Makunochi had been spectacular, but it'd ended so anti-climatically. Sure, the 2nd round had pissed him off, but Makunochi's power was real. Every time he landed a blow Sendou had felt the damage radiate throughout his body. Turtling hadn't been manly, but getting up from a full-power smash was...argh! The only way to clear the air was to have another fight. With that in mind he threw open the door.

"MAKUNOCHI!" Boxers throughout the gym looked over at him, but Sendou had already spied his target. Ippo was in the corner working the heavy bag.

"S-Sendou? What are you doing here?"

"I came ta give ya this!" Sendou slapped the envelope against Makunochi's chest. "Well? Hurry up and read 't."

"Uhm...'Letter of Challenge'?"

"'s right. Let's hava rematch. You don't have 'ny fight lined up right? Well I just 'came an 8-rounder, so we'll hava 3 knockdown T.K.O. So's we can hava proper finish!"

"That's sounds great! I wasn't satisfied with our last fight either." He knew it! Also, 'last'? What did he mean by that? Whatever, it wasn't important. There was no way that someone like Makunochi'd be happy with such a weak ending.

"Gah ha ha ha! I knew I could count" *thwap* "OW!"

"What's going on here? What are you doing in my gym?" Coach Kamogawa had come up behind them.

"'s look like old man?" That cane had hurt! "We're gonna have a rematch!"

"You moron!"

"What?" He and Ippo had spoken at the same time.

"Even if I'd allow such a thing, it's completely impossible right now. Did you even talk to your manager before coming down here...to what? Deliver a challenge letter by hand?"

"Well...Not so much..." And what was wrong with delivering a challenge by hand? That's how you did things!

"The kid's the Rookie King. That's means he's ranked 10th in the country. Get it? He's a 10-rounder already? You two can't have a match until you have enough fights to move up."

"What? Is that true?"

"Of course it is! If you'd bother to ask or even call you wouldn't have come all this way for nothing!"

"U-Uhm..." What was with Makunochi being so timid? "What about the Class-A tournament?"

"How do you know about that?" Kamogawa looked sideways at Ippo. "Never mind. If you've heard of it then you must know the requirements. Only those 8 or more matches can enter. I suppose you're thinking about it?" Makunochi just nodded.

"Well I don't know, so why doncha tell me about it?" Things were starting to make Sendou angry again.

"W-Well..The Class-A tournament is for the top rankers. The winner get's a title shot. S-So if we both enter then we'd meet there."

"That's a great idea. The finals 'n another tournament! 's appropriate for our rematch, doncha think?" 8 matches? He'd already done that! Normally he'd only fight in the Kansai area so the kids could attend his matches, but this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. There was no time to waste. Sendou dashed out of the Gym, he had to get back to Osaka! He had to train some more!

First it had been a diet for weeks. Staying so low under his body's natural weight always put Takamura on edge. The crowd of pathetic want to be's that were in the gym today didn't help. When they started 'oooh'ing and 'aaaah'ing over every little punch, it became too much. If they wanted to be boxers so badly, he'd show them. As expected, none of them survived the road work. Oh there was one that made it, but the prospect of sparring afterwards drove him off. There was also Ippo's little replacement for Miyata. If he hadn't seen his kouhai on a date with his own eyes...perhaps he had a wide range of targets? Regardless, the fresh meat needed a name. Since the most prominent thing about him was that he'd vomited, it'd have to include 'gero'. 'Gero' + 'Yamada Naomichi' = 'Geromichi'! Now that was a good name!

"Hey Ippo, where's Geromich?"

"He's still in the shower, a-and isn't that name a little rude. I-I mean he does more than that." Perfect! Ippo had gotten it without any explanation! Truly a masterwork!

"No sports history. A welter-class with that height?" Kimura had joined the conversation about their newest member.

"He's not going to keep boxing, so it doesn't matter." There was a commotion coming from the locker area. Aoki came out holding something in his hands that Geromichi was desperately trying to grab.

"What's going on?" "What's wrong?"

"Trying to get it back so desperately..." Aoki had a nice grin on his face. "Do you have a girl's picture inside."

"ALLRIGHT!" Takamura grabbed Geromichi to put an end to his frantic attempts at getting his wallet back. Ippo had moved towards Aoki, so Takamura put him in a head-lock too. "Let's see what's inside."

"Takamura! Cut it out!" "Noooo!" His two captives protested.

"*heh*heh*heh* HERE IT GOES!" With a dramatic flourish, Aoki reveled the insides of the wallet. Sure enough there was a picture there...of Ippo.

"Oh, so Geromichi is an Ippo-fan eh? Guess you'll look after him then."

"Ok!" Ippo's response had come awfully quick. Did he actually want Geromichi as a kouhai? Had he seen something again? No...there was no way Geromichi was relevant in any way. Ippo must really have been lonely without Miyata.

Hiroko looked at Umezawa, her son's friend was starting to get the hang of things. He had come at Ippo's request a few weeks ago. Her son had been working himself ragged between his boxing and helping her out with the fishing boat, so it wasn't that surprising when he'd suggested hiring some help. Honestly, she'd been having a hard time keeping up with the demands of the job. Even though Ippo was out of school, he still spent a large amount of the day training for boxing. He was a professional boxer, so it shouldn't have been unexpected how much of her son's time it consumed. It was like he was working two jobs, since he'd continued to help her with nearly every aspect of their company.

Ippo also spoke so highly of Umezawa. Hiroko knew he'd been one of the boys that had bullied her son in the past. Ippo never said anything, but when he came home with scrapes or bruises Hiroko knew what had happened. If only Kazuo-kun had been alive to talk to Ippo about being a man... Her late husband would've been proud with how Ippo had turned out though. He truly was a strong man of the sea. Umezawa was now a true friend of his regardless of what they'd been in the past. Her son had matured so much so quickly.

All of Kamogawa Gym's best boxers were having matches on the same day, except for Ippo. Aoki, Kimura, and Takamura were all fighting today, but Ippo hadn't gotten an opponent yet. He wasn't too concerned. In the original timeline that he came from, his fist wasn't healed enough to fight with at this point. Gaining the requirements for the Class-A tournament only required one more fight. If history repeated itself, then Date Eiji's kouhai - Okita Keigo - would challenge him. That however was a result of his spar with Date, which came about from a meeting tonight. Ippo hoped that he'd impressed the older boxer enough so that he got the spar, or he'd have to hope for another match to materialize before July.

Yamada was waiting for him outside the stadium. Once again 'Geromichi' had shown up early. Ippo had thought about trying to prevent Yamada from getting that nickname, but once the younger kid had vomited in front of Takamura... Time and space may bend, but Takamura wouldn't. Ippo had tried to coach Yamada about being so shy, but his new-found kouhai had still annoyed Aoki when the two of them went backstage to wish him good luck.

"Oh, Ippo-kun!"

"Fuji-san!" The boxing reporter had just exited a stairwell.

"Kamagawa Gym sure has a lot on it's plate today eh?"

"I'm sure everyone will win."

"If you say so Ippo-kun. This really is convenient. I wanted to introduce the two of you."

"I don't need an introduction." A familiar voice echoed from behind Fuji-san. "I'm surprised you're not fighting tonight Ippo-kun."

"Ippo-kun, this is.."

"I-I know...Well I should know, I mean he's the one standing at the top of my weight class: Date Eiji-san."

"I see. So you've been doing your research."

"W-Well m-maybe a l-little." Ippo had started sweating. The champion's aura was just so overwhelming. He walked forward and held out his right hand. Ippo hesitantly took it and looked at the floor while the two of them shook. "N-Nice to meet you."

"Gah ha ha ha! You don't have to be so up-tight man!" Date smiled a huge grin and slapped Ippo on the back.

"Uoooooooh! It's the old man!" Takamura walked up to the conversation.

"Look here. I'm 28, I'm not an old man." Date had an annoyed expression on his face.

"Hmmph. Coming to brag to my kouhai."

"That's not what I was doing man. He was just so formal. Like we were about to have a match." Date had slapped his arm around Ippo's back and turned to face Takamura. "He's a cute one."

"What are you doing backstage?"

"Well, that Kimura from your gym is fighting one of ours. I'm a guest speaker."

"You? A commentator? How brazen."

"Hey, it's not something I like myself. More importantly, your opponent, he's supposed to be strong." Ippo nodded. Date was right. Takamura's opponent was tougher than most.

"Well, I was nervous for a bit. Don't tell anyone." Takamura didn't sound nervous.

"Yeah right, would someone nervous be wandering the halls?" Date punched at Takamura with a huge smile on his face. Ippo's senpai caught it and then grinned back.

"I was nervous about how to make the fight entertaining." Ippo prayed that Takamura was just joking about that. A fight that was 'entertaining' by his standards wasn't a good thing.

"Champion, it's almost time." Fuji-san spoke up.

"Oh you're right." Date looked at his watch. "If you screw up, I'll make a really embarrassing comment!"

"Awww, you're commenting my fight too?" Takamura glanced down at Ippo. "Hey. Old man. You said this guy was cute a moment ago, but he's got a punch that's not cute." Ippo was now under Takamura's arm. It felt nice having his senpai stand up for him. "If you underestimate him then you'll wind up with the rug pulled out from your feet!"

"Heh...Very true. The Rookie King means he's rank 10. If Makunochi keeps climbing the ladder then we might meet. But even though I'm still young, 28 is older than most boxers last. The featherweight class is filled with so many dangerous people. *sigh* I wish I could wait for all of you to climb up...I know! Before I go for the title, I wanna have a spar with someone good. Why don't you come by my gym and we can play?"

"Y-Yes..." Ippo had wanted to accept his challenge with more enthusiasm, but he still found himself overwhelmed.

"Heh, he's as confident as ever. That old man won't give up his title easily. He's strong, Ippo!" Ippo knew that Takamura's evaluation was accurate. Date was an amazing boxer.

"ALRIGHT!" From behind them came a shout.

"Kimura-san!"

"I'm Kamogawa Gym's lead off batter! Let's go!"

"Good luck!" Ippo grabbed Yamada. "C'mon Yamada-kun. We need to get seats!"

Takamura sighed. He didn't mind accompanying his little kouhai on this trip to Date's gym for the spar, but why was Geromichi coming with them? The new-comer was annoyingly shy. More-so than Ippo ever was. He'd promised Ippo that he'd be his corner man. As requested, he'd made sure that he didn't have a date that night. Takamura wouldn't have admitted to double-booking lest Kamogawa find out, but once Ippo had brought it up he realized he had. Somehow Ippo had known, but it wasn't related to him or to boxing so Takamura's theory on Ippo's ESP seemed to be wrong. So what could it be, and why did Ippo have knowledge about HIS love life? It didn't concern him...unless... If Takamura had to choose between a date and watching the old man humiliate Ippo...well he could watch Ippo be humiliated whenever he wanted... So his date did have an impact on both Ippo and boxing. The difference between him and Geromichi as a corner man would be pretty massive, so that had to be it. Without him, Ippo would probably get knocked down ten times in one round.

They'd been at the gym for 10 minutes by the time Date got back from his run. Ippo had warmed up by then and looked remarkably calm.

"Ippo. Look at the old man's punches." Date was doing some light shadow boxing on his way to the back of the gym. He still had to get ready for the spar. "See how they spin."

"Yeah."

"That's a corkscrew blow. By spinning his arms, he increases his punch's power."

"Ok!"

"He's pretty strong to begin with, so make sure you block those."

"Ok!"

"Now, charge at the beginning. He'll be doing the same, but you need to gain momentum quickly. If you fall into his pace, you won't be able to get out of it at your level."

"Ok!"

Shortly thereafter the first round of the spar began. Ippo charged like he'd been instructed to, but Date came out with equal fervor. The two exchanged punches in the middle of the ring, but the old man was too fast for the brat. Ippo did remarkably well in avoiding being hit, but his punches didn't manage to connect in return. What blows Date did land were either glancing or blocked, but Takamura wasn't fooled. The champion was testing the waters. It was the old man's style - charge in head-first and observe while attacking. The first round was over, but the next two would be the hardest.

"Good job, it looks like your able to avoid most of his blows."

"Y-Yeah, somehow."

"This next round will be more difficult. He's sure to try something. Keep your punches compact to avoid a counter, and don't let him corner you!"

"OK!"

Ippo had a lot of energy, but the old man attacked first. He alternated between over-hand blows and jabs at the top of Ippo's head, with body shots. It was a classic strategy that Ippo hadn't experienced yet. By attacking high and low, he wanted to get into a guessing game with his opponent. If Ippo blocked incorrectly, then Date would win, but if he chose right, the old man would just attack again. What made it truly dangerous was that the champion's punches were so well-polished. They had virtually no tells on their wind-up, so judging what was coming in time to block successfully was probably impossible for Ippo. It really was rigged from the start.

Ippo didn't drop his peek-a-boo style though. Even while taking hits to the face, he just ducked down deeper behind his gloves. Date knew what punches to throw to get around his kouhai's default stance, but Ippo persisted. At the end of the 2nd round, Date hadn't thrown any corkscrews. Ippo had landed a few blows, but they'd been glancing. Still, thanks to the head-gear that he was wearing, the punches he'd taken hadn't depleted much of his stamina.

"The only way you're going to hit him is to charge into his space. Take the fight to ultra-short range. You won't be able to dodge, but neither will he."

"*zeh*zeh* Ok! *zeh*" Ippo was breathing heavily, but he still had fight left in him.

The third round wound up almost identical to the second. Despite Ippo's best attempts, Date kept the fight at mid-range. Ippo's step-in was quick, and his ring-sense was pretty developed, but Date was still above him in both aspects. The old man had persisted with his high/low strategy. Takamura wondered if there was something else behind it, but since Ippo didn't take the bate and try blocking high or low - nothing happened. His kouhai took hits, and kept on advancing. If the spar had been longer, Takamura didn't know which would've happened first: Ippo catching Date, or Date cracking open Ippo's guard. Despite his lack of offensive success, Ippo had managed to go 3 rounds with the champion without taking a single down. That's was pretty impressive on it's own - even if it was with headgear.

Senpai was so amazing. He'd stood against the best boxer in the country and held his own! Yamada couldn't imagine what it must be like for Ippo. His pre-fight words were something that someone like him might have said. If he had to describe them, he would've been forced to say they lacked confidence. In the ring it was another story. Also, Senpai was still so polite. The other boxers at the gym were like Yamada had imagined. Bullies. Not really mean-spirited, but bullies none the less. It didn't surprise him. The way he was must seem like a huge sign saying: 'Please beat me up and humiliate me!' Ippo was strong, but polite and humble. The older one, Takamura, had parted ways with them at the station so he and Senpai had started walking home. On the way they picked up hamburgers and stopped at the road-side to eat.

Ippo was gazing up at the sky. He must have been thinking about his spar. Senpai was so relaxed now...

"Senpai! You're amazing!"

"Not really." Ippo had turned and smiled at him. "I've just been lucky enough to have been given this chance." Senpai was so understanding... Yamada had something he wanted to get off his chest, and now seemed like the best time.

"S-Senpai...I...I...get beat up a lot. I don't make a good impression, and my family moves a lot. So, I'm always 'that weird, new kid'. When I saw Senpai's match on T.V. I was really impressed. The other fighter said such arrogant things, but Senpai's comments were just like a regular persons. Everyone was against you, but you won. You were so strong...I thought that if I...could just...be strong like you...that everything would be better... But now I've seen Aoki-san's and everyone else's matches...and your spar today...and I don't think I can do it. Senpai's strong, so you wouldn't know this feeling: running around, hiding, trying to avoid bullies..."

"Have you ever been called a worm?"

"Huh?"

"Told you smell like worms? That it's disgusting to have you around? Picked on and set apart from the moment you entered elementary school? That lasted eleven years."

"Eleven Years!" From elementary school... that was such a long time! Did Senpai know someone like him? Was that why he was being so kind? "Such a pathetic life, is there really such a person?" Ippo's expression dropped...Was it Senpai? "B-But..." From elementary school for eleven years would be... "Until sophomore year? Did something happen then?"

"He found something he liked, and it became his life. He was so consumed by it that nothing else was that important. It seemed to last forever. Then he was given a gift. The ability to do what he now dreamed of doing. Thanks to that, you could say he became strong."

"D-Did he stop getting picked on? What was it?"

"Yeah, it was all thanks to boxing." Ippo smiled. "Still, it seems like such a long time ago."

"Senpai? Makunochi with the Dynamite Punch was called a worm?"

"Yeah. We're not really that different. All it takes is effort."

"SENPAI!" Yamada was overcome. His Senpai was even more amazing than he thought.

Okita had come to the Nakadai Gym because he admired Date. The champion was his idol, but he'd always been trying to catch up. Then Makunochi came along. He was a year behind Okita. They'd both won the Rookie King Tournament in the respective debuts, but everyone was so much more excited about Makunochi's victory. Even Date-san. All this time he'd been chasing after his senpai, and now out of no-where Makunochi appeared. Date-san requested him as a sparring opponent for his preparation to challenge the world. It was annoying. He'd made it to 5th place in the rankings, but Makunochi somehow was more popular than him. There was no way he could accept being weaker. He had the best senpai in the best gym. He'd studied Date-san's fighting style. He could even use the cork-screw blow! His opponent dropping out of their next fight was the perfect opprotunity, and Makunochi had accepted! Tonight was the night he'd show Date-san how far he'd come!

"Tonight we have a match between the recent Rookie King Tournament winner and last years!"

"In the Red corner, weighing 125 and 3/4 pounds, 11 fights, 11 wins, 6 knockouts! Nakadai Gym's Okita Keigo!"

"In the Blue corner, weighing 125 pounds, 7 fights, 7 wins, 7 knockouts! Kamogawa Gym's Makunochi Ippo!"

"Both of them are un-defeated, but that will end tonight! Who will be victorious? Will it be Okita: the technical boxer who can in-fight? Or will Makunochi, the hard-puncher with the Dynamite Fists prevail? We're about to find out!"

*ding*ding*ding*

The bell rang and Okita left his corner. He'd rush Makunochi and gain the rhythm with the first clean hit! Ippo had also charged the instant the bell rung. The two boxers met in the middle of the ring. Okita's jab was blocked, but he swayed to the side of the one thrown by Makunochi. The two boxers each threw a flurry of blows at the other one, but there were no clean hits. Makunochi's punches weren't fast enough to hit him, but the challenger's head swaying and peek-a-boo stance were frustratingly hard to get around. Makunochi pressed in closer and threw a short punch to the body. At this range Okita couldn't avoid it completely, so he lowered his guard to block. Even through his gloves he could feel the power of the punch. It stung his hands and knocked his breath away. Another followed. This one lifted him off the ground, and the hook that came next sent him staggering backwards. Even through his blocks he'd still taken damage from those 3 punches.

Makunochi charged in, trying to press his advantage. Okita was ready though. One strong punch could stop him cold. Makunochi hadn't gotten to see this in his fight with his senpai. He wouldn't know the power of the cork-screw blow. Okita's timing was perfect. His rotation was spot on. The punch connected cleanly against Makunochi's forehead. He hadn't even tried to block! Somehow the punch felt weak though. His fist was at an odd angle. The rotation of the cork-screw blow hadn't finished. His arm wasn't fully extended. Makunochi hadn't blocked, instead he'd leaned forward as he dashed in. It had thrown off the timing of his punch. The power was reduced both by the incorrect hitting point, and the way it had stopped the cork-screw's spin. All these thoughts raced through Okita's mind. At the same time he saw Makunochi swinging a large right hook at him. The punch hadn't slowed Ippo down. Okita couldn't block that kind of power, but he was out of position to dodge.

*THUNK!*

Okita's hearing failed him. The roar of the crowd had been replaced by a buzzing sound. He didn't know what was going on when his face felt two quick impacts. They were quickly followed by an incredible agony in his stomach. The liver blow from Makunochi drove all the air from his diaphragm. His body wanted to vomit, but there was no food in his stomach. At the same time he desperately needed air, but his lungs wouldn't work. In front of him, Makunochi was bringing down his right fist...

*...*

*eee*

*eee* Okita couldn't make out what he was hearing. Had that punch ruptured his ear drum?

*eee* He turned his head. As soon as he raised his left ear off the mat, the low rumble grew louder and he could make out sounds over the buzzing in his right ear.

"6!" He'd been knocked down already. They didn't exaggerate Makunochi's 'Dynamite Punch'.

"7!" "OKITA!" From the side it sounded like his senpai's voice.

"8!" Okita had to get up. He had to show his idol how far he'd come!

"9!" His body wouldn't listen to him. He could feel the mat underneath his arms and legs as he tried to tell them to raise himself back up, but all they did was spasm.

"10!" The referee was waving his hands. He then motioned to the side. Okita knew that he'd lost. Trying to catch up to Date's shadow had been too much for him.

K.O. Time 1st Round: 21 seconds

Macunochi Ippo Victory

National Feather Weight Ranking: 5th

8-0-0 8 K.O.s