Seeing Red (Martial Arts Club) (Akuma/Tomomi)

The fact that this person had some form of battle instincts was obvious from the fact that they naturally progressed from Tomomi's counter to try to continue their attack. However, perhaps a bit too aggressive once more, as despite the difference in speed where Akuma's age and physical ability were greater than Tomomi's in some degree, there was something one track minded about his approach that made it easier for Tomomi to respond in kind. Indeed, the strike that Akuma likely intended to be a force of pressure simply meant that now, Tomomi had a grasp of his opponents fighting style. Impressive, but not likely to win.

As the strike came for his left shoulder, Tomomi merely moved his left arm, rising it from his chest in a counter clockwise - clockwise from Akuma's direction - manner. Because of the direction his arm moved, it held more force behind it than if he had tried to simply block the strike, while also not directly blocking, but redirecting the attack to harmlessly go to the side. There, Tomomi once more utilised his weight upon his heel, rotating another 90 degrees to face the direction he had deflected the attack while moving his own right hand to strike his palm towards Akuma's left forearm.

The strike made contact-- a strong acceptant blow to the enemy's points. The first blow was setting off a fuse in Akuma as he took a quick step back, breaking distance. That snap in his mind made his body run faster, but also got him to act and less hesitant. If this was a real battle, that first strike would have been a real injury.

This time, he moved his feet more as he thrust forward to the right, and shift his footing. A zig-zag moment to throw off his approach as he aimed for his right shoulder this time-- but a fake out to strike to the left, and this time he would make his mark.

The impact would be a bit harder than the last one, as he was now moving as if he was in a real fight, his movements of his legs and body far more in depth than just 'boxing' but in full on fight. He just tried to not do any 'dirty' tricks, like trips or kicks, as that would break the rules. But the temptation was there...

... there were no rules on the streets or dealing with other gangsters.

After the attack had connected, Tomomi had initially intended on backing off to further his own defensive, however as he moved to do so, his sparring partner continued directly on the assault. From the movement style, Tomomi assumed this person was more used to boxing than palm based sparring, and so attempted to further back pedal, now allowing his feet to properly raise from the ground in order to get enough speed, forgoing the balance that came from keeping his feet planted.

As the strike came for his right shoulder, Tomomi twisted his body, anticipating another straight forward strike, before realising too little too late that the strike was aimed as a feint, receiving a glancing blow to his left shoulder as once more Tomomi backpedalled, moving so as to avoid being backed into a wall by, once more, rotating his feet.

Smiling to himself, Tomomi spoke, eyes completely focused on Akuma. "So um... T-that's one all so far... Whoever gets two more blows first wins."

At that, Tomomi decided this time, he would take the offensive, now swaying his body left and right, but not like a boxer. Instead, it was more akin to what one would expect of a Hawaiian dancer, swaying in a melodic manner, his feet sweeping across the ground, as he made a slow but awkward advance towards Akuma. Then, when within 4ft of Akuma, his stance and posture changed once more, right hand raising to strike at Akuma's right hand. Should Akuma back away from the strike, Tomomi would swivel on his heel as he had done to follow through and put pressure on his foe. Should Akuma try to strike Tomomi's right forearm or shoulder while the act was occurring, the boy would instead suddenly withdraw his hand, and as he did so, move his left to intercept the incoming attack to prepare for either a break in their current situation, or a counter attack. Regardless, Tomomi kept his body open, and fluid, ready to move in response to how Akuma would respond.

Akuma was starting to enjoy himself, his mind starting to fire up with the need to crank it up a notch. The idea of a spar was quickly becoming a fleeting moment in the heat of the moment. They both had landed solid hits and the first to get three would win-- but that didn't matter to him anymore as he quickly stepped back to make some space.

He could soon read his enemy's movements, able to tell what to do next. He soon realized as Tomomi made a step forward, attempting to close the gap once more, Akuma closed the gap first-- another fake out to react to interrupt the enemy's sense of distance and attack. The next attack to come, no doubt aiming to his limbs-- but this time, he did a block, pushing the blow away from the intended area with his left arm.

This was it-- in that brief moment of adreneline-pumping movement, his head seemed to go blank as a memory flashed before his eyes. A thug-- one of his own father's goons would try to attack him in the interest to hurt him. No spar, no reason, but violence. A thug picking on a criminal's kid for one reason or another.

His eyes widened and the open hand became a fist. The step forward and block only made an opening and he struck again for the chest-- this time the hand instinctively becoming a fist as he drove it home.

No doubt, the reaction to follow would be surprised, but on both as that simple moment, Akuma would realize what he had done... and the guilt that slapped him in the face to go into a fist when they agreed light touches for blows.

As Tomomi went for his move, Akuma went for one of his own. In this instance, Tomomi had initially intended on exchanging a blow, and perhaps putting it down to a 'final hit' scenario, where both could be satisfied at the result being a close one. However, it seemed that the rules of the engagement had temporarily been forgotten on Akuma, who quickly furthered in boxing style, striking Tomomi square in the chest with a fist - and one that didn't hold back.

Now, there were some important things to note about Tomomi, when compared to Akuma. Firstly, the physical difference. Akuma was older, taller, more muscled, and weighed more. Tomomi, meanwhile was shorter, and naturally more frail in form and health, having minor health problems of his own that meant direct hits such as this were less than preferable. Further, Tomomi was... Naïve. In a situation like this, the idea that the spar would go further than a spar would not have crossed his mind simply due to his belief in others. So, he was truly unprepared as the blow connected.

Stumbling backwards, Tomomi stepped backwards a couple of paces, trying for a moment to regain his balance and recover from the sucker punch, before eventually falling over backwards and landing on the mat with a loud bang, break falling with his forearms in order to avoid any injury to himself. There, for a silent moment, Tomomi looked up at Akuma, partially bewildered for a moment, before letting out a light breath, and pulling himself up to his feet.

"I... Um... I'm afraid I will have to disqualify you from that, and will um... E-end the spar there. You're welcome to return for the club itself, however. Um... As for how you did, your form was okay, however your restraint and technique was far too aggressive... Um... I look forward to seeing you at the club if you do decide to come..."

At this, Tomomi sighed, now dusting off and straightening his gii back out, glancing to Akuma to watch him leave, shoulders tense as he tried his best to uphold a leaderly aura - one that didn't exist - in order to ensure he appeared to have enough authority in this matter.

By the time the blow hit, AKuma knew exactly what he had done and stopped-- his body rigid by his own realization that his mind had gone blank and instinct had taken over as if he was in a real fight for life or death. The fact he stumbled back, made Akuma feel bad as his face became sullen and dejected in self-loathing. As he saw his opponent on the ground, Akuma lowered his arms and hung his head a little low in an apologetic bow. "I-I'm sorry... That wasn't intentional. I just... " he stopped, not about to go into details what he thought of or the memory that flashed before him. As he said, for him fighting wasn't just sport. It was a survival trait, especially considering how torn the world had gone after the Eternal Divine.

After he explained himself, either rattled by his own hesitation or also from the fact Akuma knocked him flat on his back, he still felt bad things unwound this way. At least he didn't kick him out. "I really am sorry. It was not my intention to really hurt you, or to break the rules." he explained, but went no further.

Once again, the tension of not being wanted there fell upon him as he tried to endure it. Perhaps coming to this club was a mistake? To come to a high school club, even though he was clearly of this school's system. Perhaps he should of never had come. Period. He just bit his lip, trying to not get all pesimistic and beat himself up any more than he had. "I'll be back for the club. Thanks again for the spar..." he said and turned to leave.

In truth, AKuma couldn't tell if this kid was either that submissive as a person, or if he really did hurt his feelings. Regardless, Akuma had to do better if he wanted to be around others. Real people, again...

As Akuma turned to leave, Tomomi caught note of the dejected tone. So, it was an accident. In that case... Calling after him, Tomomi added quickly. "Hey, um, don't beat yourself up over it. Anyone can end up getting carried away."

That said, Tomomi returned to waiting around, sitting down for a moment to catch his breath and calm his anxiety disorder down before it got too much. Less than an hour until the club began. Time to get ready.

[Exit]

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