Boom
Taro and Ocho's fists met as the sound echoed off of the huge cavern's walls. The two of them retracted their strike as they got ready for the next.
Thud. Bam.
The two exchanged blow after blow.
Every one of Taro's punches was blocked with ease, Ocho keeping his enraged eyes locked onto the face of his opponent as he caught each attempt at a strike.
Ocho landed a clean punch to Taro's shoulder, retracting back into defense before Taro could even plan a counterattack.
Then another punch to Taro's other shoulder, Ocho took a deep breath out as he continued to block the teen's strikes between his own attacks.
"Shit. This guy has way more training. If this keeps up, then-" Taro's thought was interrupted.
"Agh," Taro felt a shockwave ripple through his stomach as Ocho landed an open palm strike.
Taro gasped for air as he began to sweat bullets.
He stumbled away from the Deputy, still trying to recover from whatever Ocho put into that punch
Ocho kept the pressure on the teen as he swung his fist back for another strike.
Luckily, Taro spun his head around just in time to see the Deputy's attack, channeling his Spirit into his legs as he activated his Mode.
Crunch
The teen's boots cracked the rock under them as Taro leapt into the air.
Thud
He made a rough landing a yard away, landing on his already throbbing shoulder.
"What's happening?!" Taro mumbled, stumbling over himself as he tried to stand up.
"Look at you. You're nothing without your brother, huh?" Ocho cracked his knuckles as he made his way over to the collapsed teen.
Blurgh
Taro pulled his decorated gaiter down to his chin as he vomited onto the rock in front of him, pulling it back up before Ocho could see his face.
The teen crawled away from the Deputy as Ocho cackled at the gasping noises coming from Taro.
Slowly, Taro got his senses back. Whatever Ocho had done didn't last forever.
Taro stumbled to his feet, putting his hands up as his breathing steadied. "What the hell was that?!"
Ocho's expression flipped back to anger. "Why in the hell would I tell you?!"
The Deputy charged, gritting his teeth as he swung his fist back.
"Whatever that was, I can't get hit again." Taro thought. "Let's try this."
Taro shot into the air, flipping over himself before recovering some of his balance.
He held his leg out as it began to glow with Spirit, ready for a sky high drop kick.
Whoosh
The teen shot back down towards the Deputy.
"Oh shit." Ocho jumped backwards.
Boom
Taro landed with a deafening crash.
Ocho tumbled backwards, scratching to a halt on the other side of the cavern.
After a few moments of silence, Ocho sat up, twisting his shoulder around as he winced at the pain.
"Alright, I definitely wasn't expecting that." Ocho thought as he stared at the cloud of dust Taro had kicked up with his landing. "He might have a new trick, but he's still the same kid. I should still be able to rile him up into making more mistakes."
Taro coughed as the dust attempted to enter his airway, waving it out of his face as he stood up.
"Ugh, shit." Taro grabbed his leg as he felt pain shoot up both of his calves.
"Still need to find out how to stick that landing." Taro thought, taking a deep breath in as he started to walk forward.
"Nice move." Ocho fixed his cap over his long hair. "You learn it from your brother?"
Taro gritted his teeth.
He tightened his fists, taking one long blink before charging towards the Deputy.
The two started their barrage of fists, Ocho blocking every one of Taro's punches with precision, leaving no wasted movements.
Ocho went for an open palm strike to the gut.
Crunch
Taro saw it this time, shooting up into the air, simultaneously dodging Ocho's 'magic' strike while also setting up his own attack.
Taro grinned, recovering his balance as he held his fists together for an axe handle chop.
He rushed downwards, gaining speed with every second he spent in the air.
Ocho looked up at the boy, wiping his nose with the back of his hand before putting his fists up. "How predictable."
Taro's eyes widened as he processed those two words, noticed the Deputy's stance.
"He's not trying to dodge this time." Taro thought.
Bam
Ocho hit Taro's side with a roundhouse kick as he fell, throwing him towards the other side of the cavern.
Boom
Taro crashed into the stone wall, some of the rock crushing on impact.
He fell to the floor, coughing up blood onto the stone below as he winced at the pain shooting up and down his spine.
"I thought you were the wildcard." Ocho stretched his shoulder, still reeling from Taro's dropkick.
"I swear to god, if he says something about my brother-" Taro thought.
"I bet your brother would've done more damage by now." Ocho grinned as he saw the enraged expression on Taro's face.
"There we go. I got to him" Ocho thought.
"I'm gonna fucking kill you!" Taro screamed, charging towards the Deputy with blood still leaking down his chin.
He hadn't felt like this in a while, since his first sparring match in Japan.
Taro thought he had fixed his… Issues, but all he could think about while he faced Ocho was the Deputy's smug smirk.
The boy swung violently, wide hooks that Ocho dodged so easily it made it look like child's play.
Ocho threw a legsweep at him.
Thud
Taro dropped to the floor as his legs were swept from under him.
He jumped back onto his feet, his gaze trained on his enemy, never straying from the Deputy.
"Alright, time to finish this." Ocho thought.
Worp
Ocho hit Taro's stomach with an open palm strike, throwing the teen back a few feet onto the cold hard stone.
"Gasp, Gasp" Taro fought for his breath as he doubled over in disorienting pain.
"Ack" Taro vomited onto the ground, this time with a tint of crimson red.
He turned back towards Ocho, putting his fists up as he tried to get a good look at the Deputy through the bullets of sweat dripping into his eyes.
"Oh god…" Taro thought. He felt the Spirit he tried to focus into his fists weaken with every passing moment, more and more of it being used to keep him standing. "Those magic punches are doing something to my Spirit."
"You're so easy to predict." Ocho walked his way over to the stumbling boy. "With some proper training, you could've been great."
"You're so easy to predict." Those words echoed in Taro's head as he gasped for air.
Predictable… That word made him think back…
A little over a week ago:
Kai, Akilah, and Taro sat in the courtyard.
Akilah had gone out there to find some peace and quiet to read her book in, but the brothers had followed her out of bored curiosity.
"Okay, okay. All I'm saying is, Now you're kinda like a planner, Akilah-style." Kai pointed to Akilah, his head poking out from between the headlock Taro had him in.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Taro finally let go of his brother, Kai gasping for air as he sped backwards to make some space between him and his attacker.
"Just that, it was kinda easier to know what you were gonna do next, the last time we sparred. Your moves actually made some sense." Kai shrugged, flinching at every micro-movement his brother made.
"I noticed that too." Akilah said, turning to the next page of her book before fixing her glasses.
"What'd you know?!" Taro asked.
"When we were sparring, before, y'know, Hendrix's whole situation, when you calmed down, it was easier to track your movements with my ability." Akilah continued, her eyes never leaving her book. "But, when you went batshit crazy, like you do sometimes, it was harder to know where you would go next."
Taro scratched his head, his expression twisting with confusion. "So… What do I do about that?"
"Have you ever heard of controlled chaos? Like when firefighters let a wildfire burn while keeping it from spreading." Akilah sighed, hoping she wouldn't have to elaborate further.
Taro, in fact, didn't get it. "Ah, I've had enough with your philosophical mumbo jumbo. I'll see you guys later."
Taro walked towards the door to the interior of the compound, swinging it open before leaving Kai and Akilah alone in the courtyard.
"Don't worry, babe. I understood." Kai jumped onto Akilah, giving her a warm hug as the cold wind blew over the two of them.
"I swear, you hug me one more time I WILL kick you teeth in." Akilah rolled away from the boy.
Kai laughed. "You're so funny, babe!"
"I'M NOT JOKING!" Akilah yelled.
Present day:
"Huh, I guess you're not such a bad sister-in-law." Taro muttered to himself, wiping away the blood on his chin with the back of his hand.
"I'm surprised you can get up after that." Ocho assumed a fighting stance as Taro stood up. "I'll just have to hit you one more time."