An Old Friend

I'll start with light weight for now to warm my body back into the groove, he thought.

Moving from dumbbell curls, he also worked on his triceps, then shoulder presses–aiming not to leave a single muscle untouched in his training to re-sharpen his body.

As the sun began to go down, his training continued for hours on end with a dozen empty water bottles beside his bed.

Suddenly, his door opened with Yui walking in and immediately stopping, "Hey, Touma, I brought some dinner up–"

The emerald-eyed girl stopped as the young man's chiseled abdomen was on full-display from his vertical push-ups that had caused his blue tank top to slide down.

He looked at her while upside down, standing on his hands, "Yo, Yui."

"...I'll just leave this here," Yui said, gulping before closing the door again.

After his colleague left just as quickly as she came, he hopped back onto his feet, caked in sweat as steam exuded from his body as his muscles had gone into overdrive from the hours of non-stop exercise.

"A sandwich?" He looked at the plate left by the girl.

His stomach growled at the sight of the savory-looking item on the plate.

Picking up the sandwich, he sat down on his bed, biting into the meal while checking his phone.

[1 New Message from [Yusei]: Make sure to get lots of rest! Training is only beneficial with proper rest factored in~]

Accompanying the text was a smiling sticker of the Overseer himself, prompting him to smile before setting his phone down and finishing his meal.

The sandwich he ate was one of the cafe's specialties: sourdough bread, lettuce, tomato, a grilled chicken breast, and a special sauce that was only known by Mr. Genji himself.

–

With the next morning coming, he didn't waste any time heading out after having a piece of toast for breakfast and a quick slurp of coffee.

If I'm going to do this right, I'll need to visit an old friend. He's as tough as they come, and he won't let me half-ass any type of training. Usually the problem with training is that it's just that–training. There's no consequences and that can result in things not sticking. But…with this guy, even training is a battle for survival, he thought.

After racing down a few blocks, he came to an establishment: "CHIMON'S KINGMAKER BOXING GYM."

As he entered the boxing gym, he immediately heard the sounds of shoes squeaking across the mat as well as the sharp breaths that accompanied swift hits.

In the sparring ring amidst the center of the gym, there were two men currently training.

Though there was one who clearly stuck out–who was clearly more experienced and training the other man.

"Come on! Keep those arms up! You're no Alai yet!"

Throwing heavy blows, though even those were clearly "training punches", was a tan-skinned man clad in sweat with slicked-back, jet-black hair.

He was clearly two meters, at least, with a physique to rival Greek gods, continuing to instruct the boxing gym member who was dressed in protective gear.

"Stop letting me corner you, Ichika!" The man instructed.

With another "soft blow" that still launched like a cannon, carving through the wind, the hit to the stomach caused the trainee to keel over.

"Tch…What is this generation made out of, anyway? Cardboard?" The instructor said, finally looking to the side to see the young man who walked through the doors.

He raised his hand with a smile, "Yo, Chimon."

The sweat-clad boxer hopped out of the ring with a bright smile, greeting the silver-haired young man with a high-five while still wearing his black glove.

"Touma Daigo! It's been forever, eh? You need to come by more often!" Chimon laughed.

"Yeah, I know," he smiled, looking past him at the trainee who crawled out of the ring, holding his stomach still, "...Still as rough as always with newbies, I see."

Chimon glanced back, taking his gloves off before throwing a towel around his neck, "That? I call that doing them a favor! Kids these days need to toughen up! They oughta be more like you!"

As he said this, the eccentric, burly boxing instructor grabbed a cold bottle of water, squeezing it as he sprayed the entirety of its contents into his mouth with one gulp.

"Anyway…What did ya' come here for? It's not often you come by this dingy old place," the burly man asked, tossing the empty bottle aside.

He smiled, "I need your help–with some training."

An excited smile stretched itself across Chimon's lips, "You know what you're asking me, right? My training isn't sunshine n' roses, ya' know."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm asking you," he nodded, stretching his arms across his chest and jumping in place a bit.

Chimon immediately stood up with a fiery look in his sharp, light-blue eyes, cracking his neck side-to-side as he threw the towel from his neck.

"How about right now, then?" Chimon offered with an excited grin.

"Sounds good to me."

Once the two were in the ring, he was offered headgear by the trainee who got pummeled earlier, but he rejected it.

"...Are you sure?" The young, blonde man asked.

"Yeah, I'm good," he assured him.

Hopping in place in his corner, he looked over to see Chimon strapping his black gloves back on tightly.

"So, you want to hone your reflexes again and work on your endurance? Just want me to come at you while you evade me?" Chimon asked with a smile.

"Yup. Just that," he nodded, bouncing in place as his silver locks swayed.

Chimon smiled, "I'm guessing you want the full experience?"

"Don't hold anything out on me," he smiled as well.

The burly man looked happy to hear the answer, bouncing a couple times on his feet as his black-and-white trunks swayed.

There was a good reason why this training method was something that horrified the members of Chimon's gym, and why specifically he came here to ask the man to help him with this specific form of training:

Chimon is a living legend. He was a heavyweight champion. In a lot of ways, he's seen as an "anomaly"; he's got a huge build which lets him hit like a truck, but…he's also insanely agile and has a seemingly boundless tank. What was his title again?...Chimon "The Ogre"--each and every one of his wins was via knockout. Scary stuff, he thought with a smile.