Love at First Fight: Ch 1
A/N: This is my first time writing anything and actually posting it, so if you review, please be gentle. This first chapter mostly sticks to the original plot (I've only watched the anime), but I promise it gets more original later on. I do not own Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple, or any of the characters. If I did, Kenichi would be gay and kicking ass at his boyfriend's side. I also do not own Bambi, this is a Disney reference. Don't get it? Read to find out what the connection is! :D
P.S. The line below means there's been a point of view change. I'll try my best to make it clear who's POV it is. .
...0.0.0
The bell rang for the end of lunch, and students settled into their desk, completely immersed in their everyday lives. "I used to be like them... my nose in a book, oblivious to what was going on around me. Who knew getting thrown by a cute girl would change everything so much? Ever sense then, I've gone from being a weak-kneed book worm, to being trained to death by certified madmen!" Kenichi sighed heavily and crossed his arms over his desk in a make-shift pillow. "But... even if I could back out now, I don't think I would. For the first time ever, I can defend myself and the people I care about. Not to mention I have a really... interesting group of friends. The Masters are the best I ever could hope to have to guide me. And maybe I'll finally get a girlfriend."
He stole a glance over his shoulder at Miu. She really was Miss Perfect. She could easily beat him in a fight, had the body of a goddess, and succeeded at everything she did. Add that to the heart-wrenching background story she had, and she was so perfect, it was like she was some anime heroine. "Yeah... So why is it that I don't drool over her? Every other guy at the school probably has a shrine of her in their closet... god my thoughts are really strange today. But I guess the guys at the dojo are rubbing off on me!" The disciple bit back a hysterical laugh, he hoped he wasn't that crazy... But Kenichi was brought back to reality at the sound of his history sensei clearing her throat.
"Kenichi, maybe you should stop day dreaming and open your book?" She smiled sweetly at him, not seeming angry in the slightest.
"Yes sensei." He ducked his head sheepishly and cracked his book open. A note fluttered out onto his desk. "What the...?" He made sure the teacher had already turned her attention back to the lesson before he unfolded the note. He froze. "A challenge?"
One excuse later, Kenichi sprinted to the stairwell, and up to the roof to save two guys who probably hated his guts. "I hope I'm not too late."
Something stirred in Kenichi under the blue-haired man's stare, but he smothered it. Now wasn't the time for... Whatever that was! "I better not have eaten something bad for lunch, or this is really gonna suck..." "It's me you want, leave them alone!" He straitened up, trying to look confident.
The bluenette smirked. "See? He showed."
The larger of the two dropped the bully from Kenichi's past and said something, probably a taunt. But the disciple wasn't listening to him, he was focused on the boxer. He told himself that it was because he would be a harder fight. But he didn't really believe it. He had never felt this kind of draw to anyone before, like he could feel his presence. Even the cold look in those brown eyes had some sort of pull on him. "But that can't be right... I must have eaten something strange. That's all this is."
The brunette felt the two bullies he had come to save run past him and off the roof without so much as a 'thank you.' The movement snapped him out of his half-daze, and he steeled himself for a fight. "Two against... well just me. Not that I expected much from them, I just couldn't stand that anyone had been in danger because of me. I hope they don't hate me even more now..." His shoulders slumped a bit as he realized that bullies had been the closest he had come to male friends at this school. "But it's not my fault the guys here are such bullies to me! I'm different, I use strength to protect! Not endanger." He found renewed determination to keep these punks from hurting anyone.
Back in reality, the thrower was still mouthing off, but now he was towering over Kenichi. The thug gripped the small fighter's shirt, and the disciple glared at the man. "There's no reason to use violence!" He knew that they were itching for a fight, but maybe he could convince them otherwise...
The thug- Ukita the Thrower, chuckled. "I could think of a hundred reasons!" All else was lost on Kenichi as he was lifted off the ground.
"So much for that... wait is he gonna throw me... ON A ROOF!?" His survival instincts- or fear, whatever- Kicked in and he clung to the muscled neck and what ever else he could reach, making quite a scene for their one man audience.
...0.0.0
"This is the guy Kisara so determined to fight? He's such a clown... and with that stupid hero act he's got, I give him a month 'till he dies." Takeda watched Ukita try to buck the kid off, like some rodeo act, and threw his head back to laugh. "Come on man, throw him!" But his laughter died a little as the kid wrapped his legs around the thrower's thick mid section. Something sparked in him. Just a flicker of a flame, and though the street fighter didn't recognize it, they were the beginnings of jealousy and lust.
Then Ukita lost his temper and tried to pin the teen between him and the fence. The spark flickered away as he watched the boy spring up and off, and Ukita rammed himself strait into the fence, ripping and warping the metal. Then the little brat landed, and went back to trying not to fight! But the thrower was beyond pissed now, and charged at him head first. There was some switch that seemed to flip within the brunette, and he grabbed the larger man head, bringing his knee up for a strong blow to the large man's head. Then the switch flipped in him again. The kid seemed shocked by his own actions, even went over to his unconscious opponent to apologize! "What the hell? Is the guy bipolar?"
"You realize he's out right?" Brown eyes met as Kenichi looked up at him. "Not to mention you nearly got my friend killed. He could have fallen if that fence hadn't held, and you're gonna have to pay for that."
He reached for his chalk and watch, and Kenichi tensed like he expected a weapon. "What has he been through that makes him expect a knife?" Takeda twitched at the unbidden thought. "Where the hell did that come from? He just fucked up Ukita and I'm curious about his history!? Funny, I don't remember hitting my head." He shook the ridiculous thought and revealed the items from his pocket. He saw the tension bleed out of the youth, his muscles relaxing. "But he isn't off his guard." Takeda wondered at the perplexing actions of the martial artist before him as he scrapped the chalk along the ground.
Then Kenichi showed an emotion he did expect. Confusion. To him, drawing the boxing ring made him feel like less of a thug. But nobody but Takeda himself understood the action. What did surprise the puncher was that Bambi went along with it.
"Bambi? I think I'm losing it..."
It was fitting though. There was something about how Kenichi acted- the feeling that he was still new to more than just the fighting world- that was just so...cute. The small build, brown hair and wide, even innocent, brown eyes complete the picture of a newborn fawn on shaky legs. "Now I know I've lost it."
Takeda hopped from foot to foot, limbering up as if he were in the ring again. He explained his rules, imagining instead that the referee was laying down the law for the fight. "I'll even do you a favor, I won't use my left hand." When he put his excuse in place, he chuckled to himself. The shorty's switch was flipped to 'fight' again and the kid charged him, "Too easy..." He easily avoided his punch and landed three of his own, laying the kid out. "And he's down! You getting up, or should I start counting?"
Poor Bambi seemed a bit dazed, struggling to get back up. "One... Two..." The spark was back, but different this time. It was worry. "Did I hit too hard?" Kenichi got to his feet again. "Alright, I was afraid you weren't gonna put up a fight Bambi." The puncher taunted, "I really was worried for a second there...maybe I should hold back, he's smaller than me after all." He didn't have time to wonder what the hell was wrong with him before Kenichi was on him again.
The smaller man had a light blush on his cheeks. "Probably from the heat..." He couldn't be reacting to the nickname, right? "Something tells me I'll be using it a lot. Especially if he turns red like that every time."
He easily dodged the disciples punches, and recognized the style's patterns. "Looks like someone's been taking Karate lessons. Heh, bring it on." He crooked his finger in a 'come hither' motion. "Let's see just what this guy can do."
"You've got it." He followed up his words with a few high kicks, but once again he didn't touch Takeda.
"You've got enthusiasm, Bambi, but no grace or skill to back it up." He stepped back and let his little fawn catch his breath for a moment. "Mine? No way... the heat must be getting to me to... I've gotta quit fooling around. The sooner I end this, the better it'll be for the kid in the end." He slid around Kenichi and hit him with another three fast ones. Kenichi hit the ground hard, knees buckling beneath him. "Down again, Bambi. One more and it's over."He watched the teen struggle to get back up. "Don't worry about it, you tried your best, even if it was for those pathetic friends of yours! You just weren't ready to face a boxer."
"Why won't he just give it up?"
Takeda realized he had made a mistake when he saw the Switch. (A/N: It's official now, he has a Switch.) Kenichi lunged, but instead of punching, this time he sent a bruising kick to the bluenette's knees. He winced, and the disciple faked him out, landing another hard kick to the same leg. "What the hell!? Was this kid really just acting like an newbie to mess with me!?" The boxer managed to block the next attack and hit him in the jaw with a single punch. But this time, Kenichi stayed on his feet using his lower body strength. "Damn it! Where does he learn to fight like this!?" He cried out as his leg was kicked again, and he was the one on the ground. He fought to get back to his feet, but before he got it together, Bambi got him in the face. "This little fawn is kicking my ass..." The teen sprinted at Takeda and grabbed his head, bringing up his knee to connect with the older male's temple at a frightening speed. He tensed, expecting Kenichi's knee to connect, but it never did. He realized round one was over. "Saved by the bell!"
"You really play by the rules, don't you Bambi?" He backed away on shaking legs. "Damn it, he's mopping the floor with me! Yet he still hasn't called me out on the nickname... What a strange guy."
Kenichi sat down in his corner of the chalk ring. "You don't really seem like a thug yourself..." the brunette tried to get his breathing under control. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure kid, go for it." Takeda was kinda curious about what the kid would ask at a time like this.
"Why did you give up boxing for Ragnarok?"
Takeda froze.
...0.0.0
Kenichi had been dieing to ask the man this question since he heard he was a legit boxer, and even more so when he met him. "Takeda doesn't have a gang mentality. He just doesn't. I think he's a good guy under all the act he puts up... he's been smiling this whole time, but it doesn't reach his eyes." Not to mention the honest interest the teen had in the older man. For some reason, even the nickname that would usually piss him off sent a thrill of pleasure through his system. He liked the idea of the man having a special name for him, that nobody else got to use.
But the painted on smile disappeared and the boxer tensed up. "Well fuck man, way to pick the touchy subject. Learn some tact, you'll loose your friends like that."
Kenichi instantly tried to backpedal, "I-I'm really sorry! Forget I mentioned it- I'm not really good with people..." The last he hadn't meant to admit, but it was true. Beyond his family and the dojo, he had never had any friends or love interest... "Now that I think about it, I've never even held hands with anyone." The young disciple looked down to hide his blush. "God I act weird around Takeda, I feel even more jittery and jumpy than usual... well, at least when he's not punching me in the face."
"It's fine Bambi, I'll tell you. You're better off without friends anyway. All they'll ever cause you is pain." The boxer had a sad, far off look in his eyes that made Kenichi want to pull him back to the present where he was. "Not to brag, but I had a pretty good future in boxing. Ikashida was my closest friend, we made it as far as we had together. I couldn't of done it without him." The ghost of a smile he had while describing his buddy fell into a frown. "One night he called me on his way to the gym, since we kept a sharp eye on each others health. It sounded like he dropped his phone, and then there was some people shouting about money. I wasn't really sure I should go help him, see, I had a big match the next day, and if I got hurt I'd be screwed. I had a choice between my career and my friend."
Kenichi was leaning forward now completely caught up in the story. He could see it in his head, the panic on Takeda's face as he was faced with such a decision, then the determination when he made his choice. The emotions written on the bluenette's face in the present were so heart-wrenching Kenichi wanted nothing more than to reach out and comfort him somehow. He was on his feet, and had taken a few hesitant steps forward before he even realized he had moved. His hand extended out into the air between the two, as if to bridge a gap. Takeda seemed to waver forward at the promise of the safe haven Kenichi offered.
"Takeda..." The sound of his own voice seemed foreign to Kenichi. It was desperate, but not in fear. He just felt the overwhelming urge to wipe away the bitter outlook the other man had on his past. He hated that he was so hurt that he still carried that pain with him, a smile painted on his face. "If he keeps up like this, he'll run himself into the ground. I can't let that happen, not to him!" He took another step forward, now only a foot and a half away from the boxer.
The blunette's face exhibited his warring emotions. Since saying his name affected him so strongly, the shorter student tried again. "Takeda." The moment he repeated it, Kenichi's world shrunk down to the man in front of him, and he forgot all about Ragnarok, fighting, even the dojo. All that mattered was Takeda.
Then he was brought crashing back to reality at the sound of the bell. The boxer put his mask back on, and any hint of vulnerability was gone. "Time's up Bambi." Now the use of the nickname stung. The distance between them felt like miles and even as Kenichi's finger's itched to touch the puncher, he knew he had closed himself off completely.
"But why does that hurt? We're practically strangers, he doesn't have any obligation to tell me anything." His chest constricted in protest at that, and Kenichi stumbled back, hand on his heart as if he had been physically stabbed. He half expected to feel blood soaking his shirt.
The older teen started to run at Kenichi. "To him, I'm just the kid he takes to his boss, or maybe a good fight." The invisible weapon twisted, and just like a real wound, the pain seemed to sharpen everything. He snapped out of it, shaking his head. "What about the story?" he couldn't keep the hurt from his voice.
"Can't you put it together?" He punctuated his sentence with a punch. And with that Kenichi pushed all the confusing and foreign emotions to the back of his mind. They were too much and he had no time to think about them.
He flipped his mental Switch and advanced with a few upper kicks before he aimed low again, but this time the boxer was prepared and dodged the attacks. The disciple tried one more high kick, missed, and took three more brutal punches to his torso and face. "He's still so fast! Wait... Of course!" Apachai told him that he should judge speed by watching his opponent's shoulder. Using the that knowledge, he avoided the next punch and caught the one after that.
The next punch, however, caught him in the stomach. He doubled over, but stayed on his feet this time. He had Apachai to thank for that.
He decided to try and stall a little. "What happened next? I bet anything you went to help your friend." The younger fighter barely got it out between breaths.
Takeda sprinted at him again, "Just drop it okay!?" The disciple backed up, the boxer's fist punched through the fence beside Kenichi's bruised up body.
"... Of course I went. But it was stupid." The boxer's arms grabbed the fence on either side of Kenichi's face for support and he hung his head, like he was overwhelmingly tired. Kenichi couldn't stop the inappropriate blush that colored his face at the position he was in.
"That cost me my career... I fought by Ikashida's side, but one of the thugs got my left arm with some pipe or something. I missed the match. My career was over. All for a friend." His sentences grew short and choppy as his voice seemed to tighten up with bottled emotions. This time, Kenichi did reach up to brush the side of the taller man's face, in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.
His heart fluttered when Takeda's eyes slid shut, his head tilting into Kenichi's open hand. "This... this is what people feel when they like someone isn't it?" His heart beat wildly against his rib cage, as if to say "That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Kenichi knew that he was supposed to feel shocked or disgusted at liking another male, but when he looked up at Takeda, he felt none of that. He caressed the taller man's cheek with his thumb, and had an overpowering urge to protect the other man from even his own memories.
But the caress startled the boxer and he jerked away, turning his back on the younger male. The warm feeling Kenichi had been floating in froze over, "Just my luck. I finally like someone and he keeps pushing me away." He listened dejectedly as Takeda finished. "Ikashida went on to live out our dreams. He became a professional contender. The next I saw him, he brushed me off like I was a stranger." He growled to himself, his frustration etched into his rigid posture. "Don't you get it Bambi?" He whipped back around to see Kenichi. "I'm the closest thing you've got to a friend, cause I'm trying to show you the truth!" He lunged forward with another punch, sending the boy back into the fence with enough force that he wire felt as if it was imprinting itself into his back.
"It's obvious those bastards who abandoned you don't give a damn about you. So tell me, was it worth it?" Takeda spat the words. he really seemed to hate that the two guys had run off and left Kenichi on his own. Now the disciple knew that it was only because it reminded him of his own past.
"But he's got it all wrong."
Kenichi stood up strait. "You're wrong. Those guys actually used to bully me, so they're not my friends." The boxer's forehead creased as he processed the new information. "I came because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if any one was hurt because of me. I don't really care if those guys appreciate it or not! You shouldn't give up on everyone because one friend turned on you! Don't shut others out for something they didn't do!" He was yelling by the end, tears pricking at his eyes and a rage boiling in him fro a man he didn't know. "Some selfish asshat who isn't even here is standing between me and Takeda! It's not fair!" He felt like a child stomping his foot and throwing a tantrum because they couldn't have a treat.
"Shut up!" Takeda lunged forward again.
"But the real point is..." Kenichi caught his head and brought his knee up, yelling. "A true friend helps without regrets!" Just before the blow could connect, the puncher broke out of the hold and fell backwards. Right through the fence weakened by the other thug's charge.
Kenichi threw himself half over the edge, catching Takeda's right hand before he could plummet to the ground far below. He clung to the edge with his other arm and one leg, his mind already racing and his heart desperately trying to decide if it wanted to stop or beat out a marathon. "Takeda! Pull yourself up! Use your other hand!" The possibility of the man he had only recently met dieing so quickly was suddenly all too real.
"Damn it Bambi! I can't! I paralyzed it in that fight." Shock whipped through the disciple, panic hot on it's heels. "I didn't quit cause I wanted to, I had no choice!" A look of desperation locked in Takeda's features. "Just- Let me go! If you don't we'll both fall!"
"Not a chance in hell." Kenichi breathed deep, calming himself so he didn't waste any energy. Then he used every ounce of strength left in his body to pull the other man up.
The bluenette's eyes widened, half in awe, and half in horror. "What the hell are you doing!? You can't pull me up, just let me go! It's okay! Please Bambi!" But the shorter man ignored him. He saw spots in his vision, and knew he would pass out soon. "Come on... just a little more..." He pulled Takeda's good arm over the edge just as his body gave out. He pitched forward, falling over the edge. A large hand gripped the back of his shirt, hauling him back.
A gruff voice reprimanded the two of them. "What the hell is wrong with you two? You trying to get yourselves killed!?" He felt himself get thrown back to safety. It was Ukita. He had forgotten that there was a third person on the roof, his entire being had been focused solely on the boxer. Kenichi still felt like he was listening in to his emotions, even as he was fighting for consciousness. As soon as he saw the surge of relief on Takeda's face, he relaxed, letting the blackness wash over him like a wave.
...0.0.0
Thank you for reading! I hope you like it, because this is SO not a one shot. ;)