[LOG] Boys Fighting (Echizen, Tooyama)

[gontakure]

Characters: Echizen Ryoma, Tooyama Kintarou
Location: School Grounds
Time: April 20th
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Echizen challenges Tooyama [ X ] due to his frustrations at Chinen [ X ].

Echizen sat on his bed, hands clenched into fists. A few moments ago, he had closed the computer. It was too upsetting to even look at, unthinkable even, that a senpai of his would rather kill a dog than accept any sort of help from him. He knew the school wasn’t a safe place, but he hadn’t considered things quite that bad.

Not even Karupin, rubbing her big furry body against his calf, could cheer him up. He needed to distract himself.

He didn’t think he’d need Tooyama. But, as he typed, he thought that the redhead might be the only person able to distract him right now. He was lucky; Tooyama responded quickly.

Figuring they could meet at the same entrance as their first sort of fight, he headed out to wait.

Kintarou was just rolling on his ultra awesome bed, trolling around boring journals when something caught his eye. His name. Not a lot of people called him by his last name, except maybe old people. And this was even more unusual. Did Echizen really just call him by his name?

“Eh?” He tilted his head, confusion pulling at his eyebrows. As the conversation went on, however, his disposition changed to excitement. Awesome! A game with Koshimae!

He immediately threw on a jacket and jumped off the bed, hurrying out of the dorms, hoping he got which ‘outside’ Echizen told him about.

With his hat pulled down over his eyes, Echizen waited and leaned against the wall of the school. He was never really good at quieting his thoughts. At times like these, he seriously wished that he were better.

Perhaps he should join the yoga club.

....Or he could irritate the redhead that had just come out to join him.

“You’re late,” Echizen drawled cooly. “Maybe you were just hoping I’d fall asleep so you wouldn’t have to fight.”

Whatever suspicious reason Echizen had for calling him out to spar, Kintarou was just glad that he had an excuse to stretch his legs and use his powers. Not his full power, but it would be a good practise other than the one he had with teachers. Those were boring and he had to follow rules. This was fun and exciting and... it was still odd, though, that Echizen called him by his name. Wonder what’s really up with him... He scowled as the cold swept around him when he pushed the door open and he spotted Echizen.

“Late,” the redhead snorted. “You just arrived before me. Not the same.” He then laughed, loud and proud. “Dream on, Koshimae!”

Echizen stood up straight and stretched his arms up above his head. “Looks like I’ll have to beat my name into you so that you won’t forget it,” his eyes gleamed with challenge and pent up frustration. Tooyama would be in for a fight.

“Let’s walk a bit farther, so we don’t cause a big disturbance,” and he would hate for Tooyama to miss and break the senior dorms.

“Like you can.” Kintarou grinned and trailed after Echizen. He had to think though if he was supposed to call Echizen properly now because he had called his name. Pfft. Course not. It was fun calling him by a nickname. Still he wondered. It was normal for them to snark over the journals but for him to actually seek him out for a fight? “Sup with you?”

He walked on, toward a spot less obvious, but not all that far from the dormitory. As long as they couldn’t break anything.

For a moment, he considered how much to tell Tooyama.

“I’m pissed off,” Echizen said. “Figured this would be the best way to get it out of my system.” Turning back to look at Tooyama, he asked, “Got a problem?”

Kintarou scowled. “You’re pissed off so you wanna get beaten up?” He put on another smug face. “No problem, I can help yah with that.” The redhead laughed and cracked his knuckles as if to support his claim.

Turning to face his opponent fully, Echizen said, “Nah, I’m pissed, so I wanna beat someone up.” He smirked widely. “I figured you could help me with that. Come on,” Echizen beckoned with his arm. “Don’t be scared.”

Flashing a wide grin of his own, Kintarou said, “You wish, Koshimae!” Oops. The name again. Oh, whatever.

Kintarou, dyah really wanna do this? Eight chided, his tone already exasperated even when nothing had happened yet. We just had detention for your skiving.

He just ignored his clone. “Nothing scares me!” Just as soon as the words escaped his lips, he shivered involuntarily, but he would swear that was because of the cold, not because of the memory of red eyes and an eerie laughter.

Koshimae doesn’t become like that, does he? Five spoke, something like a whisper.

None of the other clones or Kintarou could answer. As far as they could remember, their tussle the last time had been so brief and more like a game; there had been no sign of an... evil side to Echizen. Well, an eviler side, they all agreed, laughing nervously to themselves.

In that moment that Tooyama seemed distracted, Echizen took a few steps forward and flicked him on the head. That simple touch gave him Tooyama’s strength.

“You looked pretty scared just then,” Echizen teased with a wicked smile.

“Oi!” Kintarou swatted at Echizen’s hand but he had already withdrawn his arm. The indignant redhead pointed accusingly at the other. “Do that again or I will break your arm!” He willed the memory of Akaya’s other self away from his head. “And I so wasn’t scared!”

Echizen snorted.

“You could try,” Echizen said, and started circling Tooyama, just as shark would. “You might break your arm trying.”

Not that either of them would seriously harm the other. This was just in the name of fun.

Since Echizen had already drawn the ‘first blood,’ Kintarou didn’t have any qualms not giving him any warning before he reared a step and hurled himself toward the other boy, and with a smirk, he drew his right arm back, aiming a punch to his face.

Glad to have the fight really begin, Echizen leaned into the attack and blunted the power of his own arm against Tooyama’s by catching that fist. Since Echizen was borrowing the other boy’s strength, it locked them in an equal stand still. It was like an arm wrestling match standing up.

To Echizen, it felt like catching an anvil. He had Tooyama’s strength, but he was hardly used to it.

“Ha!” It was so awesome that he had someone strong enough that he could have a sort of friendly match with that Kintarou roared with laughter. Grabbing Echizen’s arm with his free hand and pulling his other hand away, he took another shot at the other’s nose.

Everything except for their fight seemed to melt away. Echizen spun away from the blow, and used the momentum to pull Tooyama with him by the grip on his arm. Even so, Tooyama’s fist skimmed the side of his face. Echizen saw fit to repay it with his own left hook.

Utterly curious, and a little bit distracted by the shouts of ‘fight! fight!’ and ‘let us out!’ Kintarou just braced himself and let Echizen’s fist connect with his cheek. He skidded backwards for a few feet, blood trickling down from a cut like a teardrop. He hissed as he massaged the spot and wiped away the blood. Huh. That actually hurt. Not that he would tell Echizen, though.

“Again!”

Echizen stopped, watching Tooyama wipe the blood from his face. The side of his own cheek felt hot enough for him to know that it would bruise. He didn’t care. Tooyama knew what he was getting into. He didn’t have to apologize. He walked, settling into the fight, and into the power. To keep his friend safe, he would have to control it better.

And watch his own back too. Getting fully hit by one of Tooyama’s punches would hurt like hell.

“If you want it, come and get it,” Echizen goaded, gold eyes narrowed and blazing with competitive energy.

For a second, Kintarou contemplated on calling out his clones, but it was still too early in the game and a hit (that only hurt a bit, okay?) like that could hardly faze him. He launched himself at Echizen again, deliberately missing his face, crouching to sweep his feet off.

If Tooyama was trying to take him down, Echizen would bring the other boy down with him. He looped his arm around Tooyama's shoulder, and brought his knee up to knock the wind out of the redhead as the boy fell on top of him. His own head rang after impact with the ground, but he refused to lose focus.

Kintarou’s yelp of surprise as he felt himself being drawn by Echizen with him as he fell immediately turned into a gasp when he felt the other’s knee dig in his gut. This wasn’t the first blow to his body that he had ever received, however, and it was hardly the strongest, so he instantly recovered, and he grabbed two handfuls of Echizen’s collar, rolled onto his back and yanked Echizen along, and then flung him off, but not using his full force in fear of actually injuring him.

Unscathed by the tumble, Echizen rolled right onto his feet. He hardly noticed that his shirt was torn open halfway down his chest.

He circled, still facing Tooyama, and waited for his opponent to get up. He wouldn't attack someone on the ground.

The redhead tilted his head and watched Echizen upside down. He looked funny, all serious and in the game but had that rip in his shirt. Surely he won’t owe Echizen something new. He still owed him favours, another shirt was out of the question. Besides, he asked for this. He can’t be held responsible for any damage on his person or school property. Well, okay, maybe the destruction of school property was a stretch but he had better control now and they were a bit away from buildings. Long as they kept away, everything crumbly like concrete were safe.

“That look suits yah.” Kintarou let out a boisterous laugh as he jumped on his feet and followed Echizen as he rounded him. “Come on, Koshimae, make this more fun!”

Recalling the few sessions of judo that he actually attended, he grabbed the redhead and used the forward energy to send him flying over his head to land on his back.

“...Fun enough for ya?” Echizen goaded.

He decided now was the time to mess with the boy a little. Using Tooyama’s powers, he duplicated himself and looked down at him from either side. It would look like Tooyama was seeing double.

Getting a little winded, Kintarou found himself on his back again before he realised what Echizen had done. Served him right for being distracted, but he still scolded his clones for being as distracted as him. However, his complaints fell on deaf ears - they were still going on about ways they could beat Koshimae, but all of them involved letting any them out so he ignored them. He could do this alone. “Heh, that was good, Koshima - eh?” There were two Echizens standing over him, looking exactly the same, and wearing the exact same clothes (even the tear was the same). He screwed his eyes shut and even rubbed at them but when he opened them again, the two Koshimaes were still there, smirking at him. “What...?” He rolled to his feet again, eyes wide in wonder and confusion. Did he faint because of that last throw? “Why’re there two you’s?”

Echizen chuckles and had the clone disappear in the next instant.

"You must've hit your head too hard," he goaded. "Do you give up, Tooyama?"

After letting a clone out, suddenly they were all murmuring Mada Mada Dane in his head. Annoying.

Okay, so maybe he hit his head, but it wasn’t enough to knock him out or give him delusions... right? Far as he knew, he was the only one in the academy that could create clones. So maybe that was an illusion? But Koshimae was a levitator, his thoughts echoed Eight’s. Still scowling, Kintarou shrugged, and then smirked. “Give up? You can have all the copies you want and I’ll still outnumber you in power.” With both hands, he beckoned Echizen to come at him.

We have the same amount of power, you idiot, Echizen thought, then dismissed the notion.

“Dunno what you’re talking about, but if you’re trying to distract me, it’s not working,” he walked toward Tooyama slowly, not showing favor to one side or the other for a strike. Loose and ready to move at any moment, he faked a left jab, but truly went in to try and get Tooyama on the right.

Kintarou was about to respond but before he could think of anything funny or annoying to say, his classmate had already made a move, hitting one side just to quickly turn to the other. He hardly had time to twist to evade or stop the punch so he just summoned Three who held up both arms to block it. He then disappeared the next second while Kintarou jumped a few feet backward. A moment later, Three reappeared in front of Echizen, fist already flying toward his face. Before the other boy could move, however, Three vanished again. Kintarou hoped that his clone had blocked Echizen’s line of vision so his surprise attack, mimicking exactly the same position as Three had had earlier, could land. Let’s see you block this.

In the fast flurry of movement, it was all Echizen could do to twist his body such that Tooyama’s blow didn’t hit him square on the nose. He accepted the blow, but trapped Tooyama’s striking arm in his own. While his cheek felt like it was on fire, he raised his knee to get the redhead right in the gut.

Kintarou let out a howl of laughter when his fist hit something. He didn’t get to find out as he found himself being pulled again, making him lose his footing so he instinctively threw a hand to regain balance, only to double over in pain the next moment as a knee - was his knee made of iron or something? that hurt! - landed on his side like a boulder. That blow didn’t help with his balance at all, and he fell down, rolling them both so he could stay on top of Echizen and pin him to the ground.

Echizen felt sweet vindication for that mocking laugh when his knee connected with Tooyama’s stomach. The mocking was more annoying than the giant bruise forming on his cheek. That good feeling didn’t last long. The feeling of the back of his head colliding with the ground soon replaced it. He squirmed, but found that Tooyama had him quite solidly pinned under his body weight. Tooyama was heavier than he looked. For a moment, he just stared up at him, locking their gazes together and giving Tooyama just a second to feel like he had won.

“Mada mada dane,” Echizen growled to the redhead on top of him, and swung his head forward to butt their foreheads together.

Cursing loudly when stars broke out behind his lids, Kintarou scrambled back, landing on his backside with a dull thud. “Ow, ow, ow, ow!” He clutched at his head with both hands and rubbed at the sore spot, hissing at the sting. He could feel prickling at his eyes but no, no way will he cry! “Ow, Koshimae! That hurt!”

"....Che," Echizen noised, though truthfully his own vision was swimming too. That had been such a bad idea. "I win...." though the way he was rubbing his forehead suggested it was more of a tie.

“Like hell you do!” The redhead huffed, made to be a threat, but it came out more as a whine as he continued to knead the smarting lump. Slowly he hauled himself up, shaking his head to ease the dizziness and assumed a fighting position. “Ha!” He extended a hand toward Echizen and beckoned him with a flick of his wrist. “Come on!”

"Eeeh," Echizen signed, and stretched his arms behind his head in mock boredom. "Do you always say that because you're too much of a coward to attack me yourself?"

In truth, he lost Tooyama's power in the few seconds he spent nursing his forehead.

Kintarou snorted, but he did not relax his pose. Koshimae might do a feint again and his forehead was still stinging - he did not need another bruise. “It’s to give you a chance, y’know.” He gave a small shrug and a wide grin. Even though the memories of his fight with Akaya were trying to surface again, he pushed them to the back of his head with the help of his clones’ encouragement. “If I attack and attack you, you’re doomed.”

“Let’s see it then,” he added a yawn to his little show, and closed his eyes. In truth, he had one of his eyes slit open to peer at the redhead. “I doubt you can back up those words.”

Only excited to get things moving again despite the throbbing lump on his forehead, Kintarou jumped to his feet and threw his arms outward, spinning on the spot and immediately building momentum, dust and pebbles lifting as he stomped around. Amidst the mini-cyclone he was creating at his feet that was gradually rising, laughter could be heard.

Time to show off! Two, the clone that always disagreed with Kintarou for some reason, roared in unison with him as the original shot skyward like a cannonball, wide grin in place, and he lunged toward Echizen. “Here I go!”

If this were a movie, it would be time for the dramatic main-character-makes-a-boo-boo music. As it were, Echizen was trying to figure out what to do. With his split step, it was all he could do to avoid major damage and catch the blow with his right shoulder. Considering he no longer had Tooyama's strength, it hurt like hell. He had to blink back tears.

The contact filled him with enough energy to gather himself together. He could barely lift his right arm, so he decided this would be his last blow.

Golden eyes glowering, he charged with his left arm out. He kept his right arm down to surprise Tooyama with a hook. Twist serve punch.

A cry of victory from his punch landing quickly got replaced with a gasp of pain as he got blown back with that sneaky hit that connected square on his left cheek, dazed and still puzzling but thrilled at the same time over how strong Koshimae was. Thankfully, this was just a game; if he and Echizen had been in a real fight, he would probably have been in a worse state than having a smarting cheek. But because this was a game, he had been a bit complacent, trusting that Echizen would not really do serious damage. Still, as his back crashed into the jagged trunk of a nearby tree, leaves and dew from the previous day’s downpour rained around him, he knew he had an error in judgement.

“Ow...” The redhead winced, laughing through the pain. It would take more than an ice pack to relieve this later. He peered one-eyed at his friend. “That was one hell of a punch, Echi- Koshimae!”

"Fuck," Echizen agreed, flopping down near Tooyama to grasp his hurt shoulder. "...Can say the same for you...." he nursed the area. "That hurt like a motherfucker... probably should go to the onsen and have a soak before it swells.”

They could call it a tie there. "You okay, Tarzan?" the barest note of worry slipped into his voice.

Kintarou laughed weakly once more. “Course I’m okay. I can still go on, y’know.” The hiss that came after must have made his words sound less convincing though. He carefully shifted to see if his back still hurt. It did but at least nothing seemed broken. “Now you know not to go around challenging me to a fight.”

"Whatever, Tarzan," a draw got Tooyama at least an elimination of ‘baby.’ "Wanna go to the onsen or something?"

It would be much better than lying on the ground.

Before he could answer, Kintarou’s head exploded with cheers that amplified his own. Oh, yay! Onsen!

We get to go out, right? Right? Right?

Yeah, yeah, all of you. The original answered Six. But you know the drill.

Aye, aye, Overlord-sama! Tsch. Such a suck up when he needed something, Six. Well, at least they always did pull through and fetch him food whenever he needed more energy.

“Sounds good to me.” He gave Echizen a lazy grin. “Looks like you need it.”

"Sure, if it makes you feel better," Echizen rolled his eyes. "Let's get going then. You look like you're gonna pass out any second now."

Kintarou snorted. “Says the guy who can’t seem to move.” A hearty laugh and and some wincing later, he was on his feet. He extended a hand to Echizen. “Come on!”

Taking Tooyama's hand, Echizen used it to pull himself up. "I'm standing a hell of a lot better than you. Is that your way of asking for a race?" he smirked a little, knowing full well that neither of them wanted that.

“There’s no point in beating you when you can hardly move!” A wide grin quickly replaced the grimace when Echizen’s weight put a little strain on his back. “I can’t really brag and say ‘I beat Echizen because he’s injured.’”

"Like you'd be able to beat me, even if I was injured," Echizen retorted. "Let's go, idiot," the second their hands parted, he started off to the onsen, expecting Tooyama to follow.