Resolve Of The Strongest

[Two Days In]

"Come on! Come on!"

Chimon punched rapidly as he bobbed and weaved through the flurry of blows.

He kept quiet, keeping his eyes on the black-clad fists as he had to push himself to his utmost to evade the harsh gloves.

This was a special type of evasion training, this time focusing on remaining stationary and only dodging with movements of his head.

Recognize his intent…and dodge from there, he thought.

When punches were thrown at the flashing speed at which the former champion was going, just merely reacting by pure reflex could be a gamble.

Instead, he also had to consider what his opponent was aiming for, where their fist would be coming from, and where it would be aimed at.

–

"Phew…"

As he sat down for a break from the rigorous training, he pulled out his phone.

[(3) New Message(s)]

[From Yusei: What's your favorite ice cream flavor? The Boss is going to set-up a banquet for you on the day of the tournament. You better be sticking to your training! (Peace Sign)]

"Ugh…"

[From Tadashi: About your English homework…I normally wouldn't do this, but I'll handle it for you. I know this tournament is important to you. Stay safe with your training, Touma.]

A sigh of relief left his lips as he read the text from his friend, immediately responding with a "Thank you!"

[From Ishikawa: O.M.G Did you see the new "Super Rail-Kick 3"?! It was awesome! Ryuuji Makito was so cool in it!!!]

He didn't even know how to respond to Ishikawa's text before his phone was plucked from his hands.

"Hey!" He looked up.

Chimon held it with a grin, "You can get it back after another round!"

"Grr…" He gritted his teeth, hopping into the ring.

–

It wasn't just solely training in the ring, either.

"Come on! One more! Bring that damn bar up! You've got this!" Chimon hyped him up, standing over him.

Laying on the bench, he pushed the bar up, which held a dozen plates on it, weighed down further by chains for increased resistance as he was caked in sweat.

One scoop. Two scoops. Three scoops, he thought, chugging down protein shakes.

"One more!"

Another push, more weight this time.

"One more–!!!"

With Chimon, there stopped being "One more!" once his arms gave out.

It was nothing short of hellish training, though with somebody as energetic and supportive as the former heavyweight champion–it was somehow fun.

[Four Days In]

After another harsh training day, he was caked in sweat by the time he went on his way back home, returning to the cafe as the door jingled.

"Oh, Touma," Yui said his name in surprise, standing behind the counter.

"Hey…" He said tiredly with a yawn following.

The cafe had already closed for the day, but it was left to the last worker on the shift to clean up the establishment–which happened to be Yui.

"You're really going at it hard, aren't you?" The emerald-eyed girl said while rubbing down one of the cups with a rag.

"Something like that," he said, sitting down at one of the tables, resting his head on it.

As he checked his phone for a bit, scrolling through Twotter, he found more and more headlines popping up about the upcoming event:

"Celestial Fist is just over a week away!! I'm so excited!" +45000 likes

"Who are you betting on? My money is on Xuan Wu!" +23500 likes

"I can't wait to see the qualifiers! I bet this year is going to be crazy!!" +60000 likes

It was clear to him that he had been living under a rock, as the Celestial Fist Tournament was something on an entirely different level of popularity.

…Can't blame me. I only got a phone recently, just because Ishikda begged me to use one so we could text…I don't really watch T.V. either, so…He thought.

As he was lounging against the table, he was surprised by the warming aroma of coffee meeting his nostrils with a cup being set down beside him.

He looked up to find that the girl had placed down a mug of coffee for him.

"What's this?" He looked up at her.

"You looked like you could use a kick of energy," Yui smiled, sitting across from him.

He accepted the offering of coffee with a small, but tired smile, beginning to sip it as the hot, but tasty liquid met his tongue smoothly.

"Thanks," he said after gulping it down.

"...So, you're joining the Celestial Fist this year?" Yui asked.

He nearly spat out his coffee, not expecting to hear those words from the green-eyed woman's lips as he gulped the hot liquid down, looking at her.

"How'd you find that out?" He asked.

Yui showed him her phone screen. Of course, Twotter was flooded with posts about him, but what stood out most of all was one post:

[@YuseiTheSupernova: I'm super-duper excited to welcome Touma Daigo to this year's Celestial Fist Qualifiers! ✮ I've got my bets on him! Show your support! Kick some ass, Touma! (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ]

Of course, a post made by the superstar amassed an unquantifiable amount of likes, and sequentially–attention.

He wished he could reach through the phone and strangle the crimson-haired Overseer, already able to imagine that happy-go-lucky smile that Yusei always held.

That guy…He thought.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Yui asked.

"Honestly…I don't know," he rubbed the back of his head, "I didn't want to risk having to be talked out of it, I guess."

"Idiot."

"Huh?" He looked at the girl.

Yui let out a sigh, folding her arms across her chest as she looked at him with disappointment in something, but certainly not the fact he was in the illustrious tournament.

"Right…" He smiled a bit, "Sorry."

"You better be. You know more than anything, I'd support you in this, Touma. This is your dream, isn't it? You've been chasing this–to prove yourself to be the strongest," she asked him.

It was a boy's dream; a childish one, but one he definitely held close to his heart. He nodded as he looked at her with his dazzling, golden eyes.

"Of course," he told her, "I'm going to win and let the whole world know that I'm not just some urban legend–I'm the real deal, the 'Martial Arts King'."

"Pfft," Yui covered her mouth.

He blushed out of embarrassment, "Hey! What's funny about that?!"

Yui looked at him, shaking her head, "Nothing…It's just funny seeing you haven't changed at all since we were kids."

"Well, yeah…why would I change?" He mumbled.

"True; you're always honest with yourself," she smiled.

After a few moments of awkward silence, they both stood up at the same time, interrupting each other:

"I should head to bed–"

"--I should head home," Yui's words clashed with his own.

They both looked at each other before laughing and seeing each other off.

"You better win this thing, Touma."

"I will," he assured her with a smile.

I have a lot of reasons why I should win…but even more reasons why I can't lose, he thought.