Friend vs Friend, Bully vs Victim

Narrated by John

I'd taken a nap in the afternoon, and woke up refreshed. Another fight today. I was ready for it.

As I walked out, Alex came to my side, and said,"You didn't tell me about 'the bind'? How'd you do that?"

I said,"I didn't tell you, because I was still developing it. And as for how you do it, it's simple. You use your energy to surround your opponent with it, and lock them up with it, so that they can't move. It's like a tight outer covering, which doesn't allow them to move around."

"Wow! I'm gonna learn it soon."

"Improve your energy control first."

We both laughed, and made out way out.

Mr. Benji, Gordon, and Anne were already waiting for us in the ring. Gordon looked down at the ring, hands in his pockets, and Anne looked at the Green Sea, hands behind her back.

We made our way to the ring, and Mr. Benji said,"Now that all are here, we'll have another match. John and Anne, versus Alex and Gordon. Same rules, and to win, you need to eliminate both members of the opposite team."

Alex smiled and nodded, and Gordon cracked his knuckles. Both of them had a love for fighting in them, and their eyes reflected excitement.

"A sparring match," he told Anne,"I can freely injure you. About time I got my revenge!"

Anne looked down and said nothing, but clenched her fists.

Alex looked at me and said,"Once again, we're testing each other. Let's not hold back."

"Sure," I said.

Mr. Benji looked at us,"Ready?"

I nodded. He turned to the other side, and Alex nodded.

Mr. Benji exited the ring,"Begin!"

Alex started off the offense with alternating rights and lefts to me. I dodged and deflected, but the speed of his punches had improved. It was becoming hard to dodge them, and soon, I could only block them.

I turned my head for a moment to check on Anne, and saw that Gordon completely dominated her. He kept his offense constant, and Anne wasn't able to dodge it. She was getting completely battered by him, and if I didn't help her soon, things could get worse, as Gordon didn't look like he was taking this as a friendly match.

My focus came back to Alex, who was slowly beginning to break through my guard. He began pummeling the same spot several times, and eventually, my arms gave away to him, and my defense was broken.

His fist, hard as a rock, connected with my abdomen, and stomach felt like it would come out through my mouth. His punches were definitely hard.

I doubled over, and a roundhouse to my face sent me to the other end of the ring. I didn't fall out, though.

Alex's kick made my vision slightly hazy, and he marched towards me in full confidence.

His fist sped towards me, but this time, I dodged. I grabbed his arm, and threw him outside the ring, but he managed to land inside. I couldn't see how, as a dropkick hit me, and I stumbled back, stunned.

Alex ran towards me and jumped, another dropkick ready. I sidestepped, and he landed down hard.

I began thinking. His strengths were my weaknesses, and my strengths were his weaknesses. So he couldn't keep up with me in speed, focus, and energy control.

That's it!

I turned to check on Anne, and she had started to dodge Gordon's attacks. I turned back to Alex, who got up, and lunged at me, punch ready.

I closed my eyes, and time suddenly seemed to freeze. I willed my energy out, and my body was covered in red energy.

He brought his fist forward, and I brought my wrists close. One jerk, and his punch stopped, a centimetre away from my face. The bind had worked, and Alex tried to move in vain.

If I could land one good punch, Alex would be eliminated. I clenched my fist, as I swung my arm, and smacked Alex in the face.

He went flying, but landed just at the edge of the ring. I looked at my fist, unable to believe how couldn't I eliminate him.

However, he was stunned, and I could easily eliminate him, but I looked at Anne, who was now at a disadvantage against Gordon. She'd been driven to the edge, and was one push away from biting the dust.

I ran towards Gordon, and hit a dropkick, which pushed him forward, but he recovered, and hit two hard hooks to my face.

He smirked,"I'm getting a two-in-one revenge offer. It's too good to refuse!"

He stepped forward, and went for another hook, but I stepped back, and looked at Anne. She nodded.

Gordon kept trying to punch me, but I kept dodging. Soon, he got frustrated, and began wildly swinging at the air. I nodded at Anne. She pushed him from behind, and my forearm connected to his face. He stumbled back, and we hit a double dropkick, sending him out of the ring.

Gordon glared at me,"Stealing strategies? Come on!"

I looked at Anne, and she smiled at me. In the midst of this, we didn't notice Alex, who'd recovered, and was right behind us. No sooner had Anne got up, than Alex gave her a quick shove, sending her stumbling out of the ring.

Anne got to her feet, and glared at Alex, who shrugged and said,"Just seized the moment...."

We laughed, and I got up.

"So, it's you against me then?" I said.

"I guess," Alex took his stance, and I followed. A gust of air ruffled through, and as soon as it stopped, I attacked.

I went for Alex's arms, and tried to land strikes at his shoulders. Even though he had improved at defense, I'd easily hit him with a good amount.

I stepped back, slightly tired, and Alex began his offense. This time, I moved before he even punched, and used my speed to my advantage. As I expected he couldn't predict where I was gonna be (focus!) and was swinging in vain.

As I moved, I began to charge up my energy towards my fists. Pretty sure you know what's coming. Anyway, I kept dodging, and soon enough, my fists glowed red. Even Alex noticed it, and jumped back.

"You were gonna surprise me with your special move?" He asked.

"I planned to, but since you noticed, I'm changing my plan."

"And I assume you won't tell me about it?"

"Just wait and watch."

He again lunged, and I crossed my arms. As expected, Alex retreated. I lunged at him, straightened my arms, and at the same time, jerked my wrists.

It worked! Alex froze, and I shouted,"Enforcer!"

A beam of pure red energy erupted from my arms. It hit Alex head-on, and knocked him out of the ring. The beam stopped, and I sat down from exhaustion.

It was over. I'd won. We'd won

Mr. Benji smiled and said,"A great match! All of you did well! Now, let's go back inside, I got something to talk about."