Raphael begins training under Bisky's tutelage with the intent to help the three boys grow together.
The morning was young, the gentle breeze of the Badlands cradling the boys' cold bodies. That was about to change when Bisky shifted her weight on the edge of the cliff, smiling gleefully "Like I told you yesterday, when I call for a change, Killua and Gon will switch. We keep going until one of you is exhausted, or passes out. Fair?"
The three gave a nod. They agreed given that one person will be forced to fight two people without a break.
"Now remember, as you swap, try to understand why I told you to swap. You need to learn to do it on instinct. Through this method, I'm expecting Raphael to pick up on your teamwork. Begin!"
Killua distanced himself, resorting to prowling around the edges of the ring.
Raphael on the other hand brought up his guard when Gon charged towards him, blocking the first attack. He'd need to conserve his energy so he'll resort to blocks and dodges, with minor counters when he can.
The two shifted across the floor, Gon struggling to get in a hit. His friend was completely fixated on his defences, knocking aside his attacks. He saw Raphael as a challenge, someone to surpass.
Gon had aimed for the teen's side, Raphael's arm colliding with the side of Gon's fist. When the other brought up his foot, ready to kick the teen's chest, Bisky called out mid-swing "Change."
Given Gon's momentum, it'll be hard for the boy to just abruptly stop his attack. He guesses he could step away but he could accidentally back up into Killua's attack. Or worse… avoid Killua's attack and instead set up Gon to kick Killua in the face. Raphael grabbed the boy's foot, pushing him away.
The next thing he felt was Killua's knuckle digging into the side. He winced; he hadn't expected the boy to straight up, sock him in the ribs.
"Killua, don't-"
"Don't hold back if he messes up…" Bisky warned the two. Given that this is supposed to be training for Raphael, she doesn't want either of them to go easy on him, just because one of them failed to stop themselves mid-trajectory. Instead of pushing Gon away, the teen should've leaned into Gon's attack, stopping him from being able to wind up his kick.
Unlike Raphael, Gon hasn't been trained in Ryu, let alone learned to focus Gyo on other spots. So, he won't be able to get the full momentum needed to do damage if he's in the boy's personal space. Once the boy's attack had been mitigated, he could have defended himself from Killua's attack.
Raphael had time to set this all up without needing to be punched in the ribs.
"It's a mistake he needs to learn from." The older teacher offered as a point to the teen's peril. If they went too easy on him, none of them would learn anything in these next few days. But she also understood the opposite, if they were too tough on him, they wouldn't be allowed to learn anything.
Raphael swung his hand around. He was planning to knock Killua back, but the boy dodged the attack. He avoided Killua's next lunge, forced to dodge rather than block or defend. If he's not careful, Killua can change his trajectory.
He's already done it multiple times.
Clashing fists, the two exchanged blows.
"~"
Gon watched the teen intently. Even if he makes mistakes, and misses an opportunity to defend himself or dodge, he recovers from most attacks. He's skilled in that regard, so he doesn't understand why Raphael struggles to fight the two of them simultaneously.
Bisky says it was how he was trained, but as he's fighting them solo, he tends to have minimal issues.
The two collided, Killua's block holding Raphael in position.
"Change."
Gon hesitated for a moment.
"CHANGE."
Gon ran towards Raphael. Having seen his friend coming towards them, Killua removed his guard to back away.
Gon thought he'd be like his friend, able to break through his defences and land an easy strike, but Raphael dodged him, kicking him off to the side.
"Change."
Raphael was forced to change, eyes moving back to where he last saw Killua. Instead, he was punched in his back. He winced, rolling forward. Killua almost landed another hit but his kick landed on the floor instead. The teen barely managed to dodge the attack.
Gon moved back as he watched the fight progress, Raphael swinging his legs around in an attempt, to trip Killua. But the boy flipped over the other's leg moving in to take out the teen while he was down.
"Change."
Killua stopped mid-attack, distancing himself as Gon was forced to charge forward.
Raphael shifted, turning his attention to him. He barely managed to block the first hit, the arm taking the brunt of his punch. The impact caused the other to slide across the floor. Raphael waved his arm several times, shaking it as though it would minimise his damage. But Gon noticed a subtle change. Even though his arm trembled slightly, he was still moving all his limbs like he hadn't suffered any serious injuries.
Gon charged once more, clashing with the teen.
"~"
Bisky smiled. Ryu… while he's not perfect and still gets caught off-guard, suffering from those missed opportunities to block or dodge, he does have good control over which body part he's reinforcing. He just has a long way to go before he perfects anything. But Gon and Killua's joint attacks will continue to help push him to the next level…
There were limitations with how much control the boy could exert but with each failure, he was progressing. By day three Bisky surmises that Raphael will be better.
"Change…" She calls out again, watching the teen fumble against Killua initially. If she had to guess why Raphael does better against Gon than he does with the other, it's because the boy always aims for his blind spots. Maybe she should present a little incentive, a reason for Raphael to push beyond his growing comfortability with the other "Gon, may I suggest you be more like your friend…"
"But-"
"How he attacks will be more beneficial to Raphael, than if you were to stick to your method."
"Don't give them any more-" Raphael slammed his foot against Killua's guard, knocking the boy back "ideas."
"This is all to help you…" Bisky reaffirmed, seeing the cogs turn in the young teen's mind. He was considering the idea.
"Fine…" Raphael lunged towards Killua, trying to hit the boy backwards again.
"Change."
Raphael stopped, twisting his body to face the last spot he saw Gon. Instead, he got hit in the ribs "Aargh." Again… He winced, redirecting his body in the direction of the attack. He blocked the next attack as the fight ensued.
"~"
Raphael fell backwards onto the floor, panting heavily. For almost eight hours straight he fought the two. Had there not been a break here and there mainly to eat something, she'd probably keep them going for the whole day.
"You did good for the first day." Bisky checked the time, "A total fight time of seven hours and twenty-two minutes. Let's try to push that to twelve hours tomorrow."
"Twelve!?" The teen was mortified, "You can't be serious…"
"I am. We lose a couple of hours of rest, but this is all for your progression." When the boy frowned when she refused to back down from the change, she merely smiled at the complaint of suffering in his response. She was doing all of this for his benefit, it's just the constant temporary barrages of losses were compounding with his failure to improve "Did everyone pick up on the moments when I expected you to change?"
Gon awkwardly scratched at his chin, "I think so…"
Bisky frowned. This wasn't good if he was the odd one out. Especially if Raphael and Killua were the only ones who knew when the switch happened "Did you get it Killua?"
Killua gave a thumbs up, "Yeah, more or less."
"Then explain it to Gon while I talk with Raphael."
"Great, now I'm going to get drilled." Raphael got up, jogging towards the woman. He dreaded to think of how she planned on telling him off for his mistakes. That was until she whispered something he hadn't expected "You already know advanced Nen techniques, don't you?"
"I do…"
"Good! Here's a little incentive. Your control needs some improvement, so might I suggest you keep your Nen awareness up. Gon and Killua know the basics so always be aware of how much you're outputting. Especially with Killua."
"What do you mean…?"
"You hurt him on more than one occasion. It's hard to tell from a glance, but it's all in his movements. When he was blocking with his right arm over his left, during the fifth hour, he switched arms."
"Right…" The teen looked over, noticing the boy's arm was trembling a bit. But the graceful smile and the eagerness in his expression stated otherwise. He'd need to be a little more careful when blocking and countering.
"Otherwise, from here on out you need to be aware of when and where the boys are coming from. They're going to make mistakes, where they tag team you from time to time, mainly by accident. Use those moments to refine your techniques and learn to multitask. That's all I'm going to offer you. If you need other tips, I'll tell you when you need to hear them. For now, rest up. You're going to need all your energy for tomorrow."
"Alright and…" Raphael paused. He eventually let out a deep sigh, "Thanks for the insight."
"You're welcome." She looked over the boy's shoulder, "You boys ready for tomorrow?"
"Yup!"
"Good, rest up. You have a long day tomorrow."
"~"
Raphael closed his eyes, hating the idea of resting against the rocky walls of the wasteland. He misses resting in comfortable beds and a pillow that would prop up his head. He dreads getting used to the feeling like Gon and Killua had.
A quiet 'psst' caused him to open his eyes, Gon having already taken a seat beside him. He does have to work on his Nen awareness if the boy can take a seat beside him without him noticing, "Yeah?"
"You're okay, right?"
"Define okay…" He rubbed at his sore ribs "Getting repeatedly punched in the ribs, fine? Or able to take the losses and not feel like shit? I am technically getting outdone by two people who were just less than ten days ago, weaker than me…"
"So, not okay…"
"I am fine… I should be fine. Can you guys just for the moment, not take potshots at my ribs every two seconds."
"Maybe you shouldn't leave your ribs open for potshots." Killua interrupted the two, "Just like how some of us want to rest."
"I'm sorry princess, I'll let you sleep."
"PRINCESS?!"
"Yes, you delicate little petal."
"I'm not the one complaining about getting hit in the ribs."
"You're right…" The teen sighed, "I just don't understand how this method is meant to help me, you know. But like a toddler who got lured in with candy, I've gotten… well lured in by the idea of improving. I want to improve… I want to get stronger… but at the same time, me ribs. My poor defenceless ribs."
Killua found himself chuckling "Alright, we won't tag team those ribs. But you need to rest so that we also have a chance to get stronger. We still have three days left until we were, supposed to be training with Binolt."
"Of course, I'll try to assist where I can… as your personal punching bag."
Gon shook his head at the obvious joke. He didn't consider his friend as a punching bag "I still think you're very strong. Even though you count them as losses, I don't count mine as wins…" The boy clenched his fingers together, "I know I'm knocking you down, that you're getting hurt when I hit you… but you shake off the damage like it doesn't hurt. It's like… It's like when Killua chopped Zushi. He hit him hard enough to knock him out of the ring and destroy a wall in the process, but he got up like it was nothing."
"That was before we knew what Nen was…" Killua added context to the topic since Raphael wasn't there to witness the situation.
"So, you were physically stronger before you learnt Nen, huh?" This was a revelation he wasn't expecting. He did the same… sort of, but he highly doubts before he learned Nen, he would've been able to smack someone across the floor like a ping-pong ball. Maybe Gon and Killua were just built differently, or their training method was different to his "I'll try to remember that… the next time you punch me in the ribs."
"~"
It was a little difficult at the start given how many times they tag-teamed Raphael by accident, but they found their way of notifying each other when to switch. It was subtle enough for Raphael not to pick up on, at least at the start.
No hand gestures were needed, just trust in each other to retreat right when the other is within hitting distance of Raphael.
The day progressed, simple and technical attacks mixing, the three melding as one to combat each other. Some of them were getting agitated at the small improvements, and how simple changes made their combat experience improve.
Killua was hitting Raphael back harder than the other was doing with him, but even when he did so, he felt the brunt. The first day his arms were trembling from the heavy blows, the roughness making it harder to return those heavy blows.
But now that the burden of pain has been reduced, even though he was hitting the teen back harder, his defences remained at the same pace as yesterday. Both he and Gon managed to surprise him less, as time flew by. There were still a decent number of moments they managed to knock him down, but the times between them were getting fewer and further…
Bisky must have given him some good advice.
He ran into the fray, Gon dropping out right as his fist collided with Raphael's elbow, the arm brought back to defend his ribs right on time. He let out an irritated click, his foot aiming for the same spot again.
Raphael defended the spot again using a different part of his arm. But before he could finally look at him, Killua delivered a swift kick to his back, knocking him down. The teen got up smiling in glee. Even though it was counted as a loss, he was starting to gain some ground.
Killua closed the distance, Raphael bringing up his elbow to hit him back. The two collided, the boy's elbow raised to defend against the attack.
With a twist of his joint, Raphael's fist was being aimed to hit him in his blind spot.
He moved his hand at the last second, blocking the impact. What he hadn't expected was a second layer to the attack, a blast that acted as a shove, rather than with the intent to harm. Killua grits his teeth, using the momentum to distance themselves from each other. Gon went in to shorten the time of rest Raphael was given. He panted heavily, frustrated from having been caught off guard.
But Killua was determined to not let it happen again.
Grabbing onto the floor he stopped himself from sliding back further, instead opting to close the distance unlike earlier, he planned to catch the teen off-guard. Clashing once more with the teen, Gon was forced to back away when Raphael was knocked aside.
"~"
The teen came to a complete stop, his arms taking most of the brunt of Killua's attack. It hurt, but the good kind. He felt nothing but a thrill coursing through his veins. Even with his previous losses, now he wanted to lose because, with each loss, he felt himself improve.
It was a weakness in his guard the others exploited, which he now wanted to refine. Rather than feeling frustrated, Raphael smiled in response.
He was glad he got pulled into being this endless punching bag…
He was glad he met these two…
He was happy that they surpassed him…
He didn't know exactly when his frustrations twisted into pure happiness, but he was glad it happened. He raced towards Killua, sweeping his foot across the space between them. He was prepared to knock Killua back, but for all intents and purposes, Killua could surprise him. Hell, even Gon could surprise him too. He was just giddy from what could happen next.
Killua offered a smile back before reducing the distance between them, already readying his next move.
In a heavy clash of impacts, Raphael felt Gon join the fray.
He was happy to entertain the other boy.
"~"
Bisky watched the improvements as they happened, a small smile escaping her otherwise motionless body. She was glad the boy was taking her advice to heart, slowly learning to master En without being strictly told to do so. He still had a while to go, but those improvements were happening at an accelerated pace.
With each failure, he was getting closer to his destination.
She looked at the time. The boys had almost reached the twelfth-hour mark, but out of the three of them, Killua was a little more exhausted than the rest. It wasn't that he had less endurance than the others, it was due to his own fault.
When he should've switched, he kept going like he had something to prove.
Gon was letting his friend keep going when he should've taken over.
She'll let them do their own thing for the moment, but if it worsens tomorrow, she won't let it stand. Bisky didn't expect them to have equal times to the second, but she didn't want one person to spend close to an hour trying to take someone down on their own.
But that kind of tenacity made her proud to be the boys' trainer. If he was willing to go that far, it means they're willing to push themselves further. She could use that to her advantage when the right time comes.
"Alright time's up boys!"
The three came to a screeching halt, whining from having their fun being robbed from them.
"Tomorrow, I want fourteen hours so time to rest up."
A/N: Leave a review, it helps inspire me.
