The Champion

With his victory over Sendou, Ippo would be facing off against Date next. This was the goal. The reason Tree-sama had sent him back. Date was one of the best champions that Japan had ever produced. A chance to fight with someone like that happened once in a lifetime - usually. The very thought made Ippo nervous. This would be the ultimate goal of the last 2 years of training. There was another reason for his nerves. Mashiba had also won his tournament, and Kumi wanted to celebrate both of their victories.

Ippo really liked spending time with Kumi. She was cute, funny and easy to talk with. Spending time with her was almost as fun as training. Actually, it wasn't right to compare Ippo's favorite past-times. They were enjoyable in different ways. That said, Ippo dreaded going to her house. They saw each other a few times a week, and the feeling of dread that had accompanied their first month or so of dating had disappeared. It must have been brought on by imagining what her elder brother would do if he saw them together. Ippo got the same exact shivers down his spine when he encountered the elder Mashiba. Ryou (not that Ippo would dare use his first name in a conversation) didn't like him. Ippo noticed that he was becoming increasingly flustered around the younger Mashiba sibling since he really wanted to call her 'Kumi-chan' or hold her hand, but the idea of doing so was petrifying.

"Ah Ippo-san! Welcome!" Kumi's smiling face met him at the door.

"H-Hello." Ippo weakly smiled back.

"Come in! Ryou-chan! Ippo-san is here!"

"..." Mashiba was slouched in a sitting position at his usual spot. He didn't speak, but Ippo could feel his glare.

"I-I heard you won your tournament... uhm... I bet you'll take the championship next!"

"Oh! I forgot the juice! I'll be right back. Don't cut the cake until I return, OK?"

Before Ippo could object, Kumi was out the door. This happened every time he came over. Once again, Ippo sat in uncomfortable silence. The aura of dread surrounding Mashiba was almost palpable by now. Kumi wouldn't be leaving him with her brother on purpose...would she?


Stamina would be important in the next match. Date had started running with a sick mask on again. It made breathing difficult and pushed his body to the limit. He had to get used to moving while his body was depleted of oxygen. Makunochi's stamina was monstrous and he was 2/3rds his age. With the kid's defense, the fight stood a good chance of going into the later rounds. While Date could box at full strength for 10 rounds, even one of his next opponent's punches could rob him of several minutes of stamina. The Makunochi today was stronger and faster than the one he'd faced in the spar. Back then, he hadn't exposed his chest no matter what. Date couldn't count on the heart-break shot ending things early.

Close range was Makunochi's. He had that devastating 10-cm punch, and corkscrew blows couldn't land either. Date would have to punish him for claiming that ground, and then move before it got too dangerous. Thankfully, the kid's peek-a-boo style and head-swaying left one significantly sized hole in his defense. Neck-twisting and shuffle blocking could diffuse a lot of his power, but not all of it. Maintaining an offense would be difficult. The sheer power that Ippo possessed was intimidating by itself. Factoring in the Dempsey Roll made for a very scary opponent. Not that Makunochi's new move didn't have any weaknesses. Date could try for a counter, but that wasn't his strongest suit. Missing the timing by a fraction of a second would spell disaster. If his plan worked, the Dempsey would never get off the ground.

The scar on his nose was acting up again. Every year at this time it throbbed. When it got colder, Date remembered that day. He didn't want to remember the day he lost everything, but scar wouldn't listen to his desires. He had been so young then, so talented. He didn't think there was anyone in the world that could stand against the power of his fists. He was taking on the world and winning. The only opponent left was Ricardo Martinez. His wife was pregnant with their first child, and soon he'd become the world champion and force her family to accept him. That one match had been the start of everything. Date had thought it was a start of a wonderful new chapter of his life, but it had turned out to be the exact opposite.

Martinez had been better than him, and not by a small amount either. The new Champion's skill and power had both been leagues beyond Date's. He'd been completely crushed in just 2 rounds. With his hopes for the World Championship as shattered as his nose, he returned to Japan. While he was over the Pacific, his wife had been in an accident. Aiko-chan had fallen. It had nearly cost her life, but instead fate had taken their unborn child away. It was 6 years ago, but Date remembered it like it had happened yesterday. As illogical as it was, a part of him thought that if he had just won that one fight against the champion, then his wife and baby girl would've been ok. The feeling that it was his personal failure that had resulted her accident wouldn't go away. Over and over he relived every second of his fight with Ricardo Martinez, wondering what he could've done differently if given a chance. If his wife hadn't pressured him to make a comeback 2 years ago, he might still be a salaryman. Trapped in the past, and unable to enjoy the present. Making a come-back at his age was unheard of, yet his goal was the same. Ricardo had reigned undefeated. A chance to fight a champion like that came around once a lifetime, but for Date it was going to occur twice. The goal of the last 2 years of training was approaching. He hoped that fighting Makunochi would awaken his old fire. That going up against such a strong challenger would in some way return his youth to him. Once he won, he'd denounce the title and start moving up the world ranks. At the top Martinez awaited him.


"Champion's weight...over."

Takamura looked at the scale. He hadn't made weight, but he was off by a measly 200g. Like that would stop him.

"Hmph, the re-weighing is in three hours right?"

"Takamura..." The old man was worried, but it was baseless.

"I'll go and shed it off."

It was winter and hard to work up a sweat, but 200g in 3 hours would be easy. First he'd do some road-work. As he was running past the fair grounds he heard someone coming up from behind. Takamura twisted his head to see...Ippo.

"Takamura-san!"

"What do you want?" Takamura wiped his forehead, but all he felt was dry skin.

"I going to come with Takamura-san. I know you can lose the weight, but I want to cheer you on." And in a quieter voice: "and be there if you faint in the sauna."

"You're worrying for nothing!" Like he'd faint from a little heat! "Don't say things like that! You'll make me worried too!" Even if Ippo didn't have psychic powers (which Takamura was now certain of), saying something like that was disheartening.

Thankfully Ippo accompanied him inside the sauna. After his warning, Takamura wouldn't have gone by himself. He was the Champion. It was a special title. The Champion was above everyone else, but where did that leave him in regard to fate and someone who could see the future? Across from him, Ippo seemed lost in his own thoughts. Probably worrying about...that...guy he'd fight. What was his name? It was getting harder to think... The room was spinning, or was that him? 'Crud, Ippo's prediction came true.' was the last thought that Takamura had.

He awoke outside the sauna where Ippo had dragged him. He felt horrible, but he was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. All he had to do was get back and get weighed, then he could rehydrate himself. If the gods were going to bestow psychic power on someone who wasn't him, he was glad it was someone like Ippo that got them. His kouhai was a good person.


Ippo sat in Takamura's dressing room. The Champion Carnival was about to start. The matches occurred by descending weight-class, so Takamura's match was at the start while Ippo's was still several weeks away. Takamura was looking good considering he nearly failed his weight-training. Being so far under his ideal weight must be hard, but his was the heaviest weight class that Japanese boxing possessed. The match was about to start. As Ippo followed his senpai out into the hallway, he saw a familiar figure.

"Date-san!"

"...I came to see him off, but this is the first time I've experienced such a heavy feeling before one of his matches."

"His weight-training..."

"I've heard the story. A strong opponent and a botched weight loss, it'll be a tough fight even for Takamura. If the Champion falls in the carnival opener, it's like a beacon, and Champions fall all over the place. It's a bad omen..."

"Takamura-san won't lose. I'm sure of it!"

"Is that so? Then he'll definitely win. To have someone support him this much - his punches will be heavy tonight. He will not fall. That carries over to us, as well. Your punches are light. I won't fall to them."

"I-I may not have as many people's hopes riding on my punches as a champion...b-b-but m-my punches carry weight as well!"

"Is that so? We'll find out soon enough I suppose." With that, Date turned and walked towards the arena.

When Ippo made it to where Aoki and Kimura were watching, Takamura was already in a tight spot. His condition wasn't at it's peek. Ippo wouldn't make the same mistake he'd made at the night Takamura claimed the belt.

"GO! GO! TAKAMURA!" He'd cheer with everything he had!

Takamura lost the first round, but in the second he made a comeback. His opponent had a strong offense and good punches, but as soon as Takamura scored an uppercut it only took two more punches to get the knock-out. With that, Takamura had defended the title for a 3rd straight time.


His little sister had gone ahead and thrown a party for him for winning the championship. She wanted it on that same night, so none of his co-workers were able to make it - not that it bothered Mashiba very much that they weren't there. Once again however, she'd invited that Makunochi punk. How could he have lost to such a weakling? Mashiba glared at his uninvited guest. Kumi had 'forgotten' to get drinks again. She was so transparent. Beating Makunochi into a bloody pulp would be so satisfying. It was only because of how much Kumi seemed to like him that Mashiba didn't pummel the worthless punk. Ippo was saying something stupid and pointless. Again. It'd be so easy to just shut his mouth by force...

Except the fight tonight HAD been tough, and Makunochi wasn't the weakling he seemed to be. Mashiba was dead tired. The 7 round fight had taken 27 minutes, 21 minutes of that had been actual fighting. It was a long time to box, and instead of going to bed he had to sit here with his sister's boyfriend just because she wanted them to get along...

Makunochi was rambling on about his upcoming fight. The punk didn't have any guts at all. Worrying about some over-the-top champion who was well past his prime. Listening to him go on was so annoying! He should just tell him to get out of his apartment...

That would make Kumi sad though. He'd sworn that she'd be happy, and if that meant putting up with Makunochi's inane chatter then he do it.

"...yeah, he sounds tough."

What do you know? All it took was one little sentence to get some peace and quite. The surprised look on Makunochi's face was pretty funny too. Mashiba held back the smile. The strain of doing so stung where he'd taken that counter in the 5th round, but he wasn't about to let his sister's boyfriend think they were getting along!


"Masaruuuu!" Takamura was standing outside the gym with Aoki and Kimura. The three of them were about to leave when a high-pitched voice called out Aoki's first name.

"Tomikoooo!" Aoki waved at an approaching figure. As she got closer, Takamura recognized her as the...woman...from the swimming pool. Curse Aoki and his taste in woman if it caused them to hang out at the gym! Aoki blushed a little and rubbed the back of his head. "Iyaaah... She said she wanted to see where I practiced."

"That so." Kimura answered at the same time as he did.

The four of them went inside. Tomiko looked around with interest. "It's got such a unique smell."

"That's the scent of sweat and vaseline - the smell of a fighting man." Aoki was really hamming it up. "Oh yeah, were you guys going to ask me something."

"No, forget it." "It's not like it woulda been right anyway." Takamura had wanted to get Aoki to make a prediction for Ippo's match. As fun as it'd be to mock him later about it, the cost of spending time with his new female friend wasn't worth it.

"Oh, but there's a really good way Tomiko showed me." Aoki turned to her and asked: "Did you bring them."

"Yeah." She pulled a deck of cards from her purse.

"OOOH, those're real tarot cards. Are you a fortune teller like Aoki?" Kimura was interested at least.

"Nah, she's much better than I am." So's a coin.

Kimura had come up to look at the cards, but Takamura stayed back with a contemplative look. "And you want to foretell how Ippo's going to do?" Given what'd he'd seen of Ippo's strange powers, perhaps a fortune of him would be helpful.

"That was the plan."

"Ok then, lets see what she's got, but if she's wrong you'll be giving me free ramen for the next 10 years!" There. Now it was a win-win situation.

Aoki led them to a side room. It didn't take her very long to pull some disturbing things out of her purse. "First we must setup the proper objects of power: A skull of a shinto priest with a sacred candle on top, a crystal ball taken from a dead gypsy's grave." Tomiko gave nerve-rattling descriptions of the creepy-looking objects that came from her purse.

"..." The room was strangely quite. The only light came from the candle on the top of the skull.

"Takamura-san, this isn't good. I get the feeling it'll actually be right." Kimura was falling for her act.

"Keh, don't be fooled by the atmosphere. It's just a bluff." Of course if Ippo had psychic powers, then it wasn't impossible that this girl had them too. All of this was just for show though.

"SH! Tomiko's skills require extreme concentration. Please be quite." What a good little boyfriend Aoki was.

"6..." The sound came from Tomiko, but it was a gravely voice far different from her usual high pitch.

"What about 6?"

"It's ominous... a very ominous number...earlier...after a difficult match, you... six times..."

"What the hell's that?" "I don't get it, could you be a bit more specific?" Wait. Six times? Takamura hadn't been able to...relieve himself while he was on his diet. After his match last night, he'd done it...how many times again? ...6 times! No way. There's no way she'd know that...

"To be more specific..." No way. No way. "Last night, you..." She knew! She knew! "you..."

"I was wrong! Please don't say it! Please... besides...aren't we here for Ippo's prediction not mine?" Yeah, that was a smooth way to distract everyone. After everything died down, or were punched down, the seance continued.

"I... see..." One after another Tomiko dealt cards from the tarot deck. "I... see... a... new... beginning..." Well, that was what Ippo had referred to his boxing as. "A... repeated... challenge..." Right, a rematch of the spar he and the old man had. "A... great... obstacle..." 'Great' was pushing it. Date was good, but great? "Inner doubt..." Well, duh, it was Ippo. "Lack of... harmony..." Get to the end! Tell us the outcome! Takamura didn't voice his thoughts though. "I... see..." Tomiko reached for the final card. When the last one was played, everything would make sense.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!" The door to the room swung open. A furious-looking Kamogawa was silhouetted in the doorway. Everyone in the room had jumped and yelled in surprise. "What are you idiots up to? Don't you know that telling a boxer what's going to happen can have a large mental impact?"

"Geez, relax old man. Ippo's not even here." Takamura retorted. Plus, it wasn't like Ippo did't already know. Not that they'd believe him if he told them about his kouhai's strange powers.

"If you guys got a fortune told, there's no way you'd be quite about it before the fight! The kid's gullible enough to believe something foolish like that!" Well, he had a point there.


"The fighters will enter the ring. We will now begin the champion carnival of the Japanese Featherweight class."

"In the red corner, from Nakadai Gym, weighting in at 125 and one-forth pounds! The Japanese Featherweight Champioooooooon: DATE EI~JI!"

"And in the blue corner, from Kamogawa Gym, weighting in at 125 pounds even! The Japanese Featherweight Top Seed: Makunochiiiii IP~PO!"

"Will the champion retain his title, having only ever suffered one lost in the past?! Or will the undefeated challenger continue his streak?! The match is about to begin!"

*ding*ding*ding*

The bell rung and Date moved the center of the ring. Makunochi was already swaying side to side, as soon as he got into range Date threw a left jab. The challenger managed to move to the side and make it a glancing blow, then he dashed in. Ippo began to throw short and compact body blows. At such a close range under constant attack, throwing a corkscrew blow wouldn't be possible. That was obviously the plan the Kamogawa Gym had come up with for the match. His punches were strong, but with such little variation blocking them was simple. The problem was that Date's arms were starting to sting from just blocking.

He'd never been one for defense anyways. At this rate the round would be over without any serious offense on his part. A short uppercut brought the challenger's offense to an end. Ippo swayed momentarily from the hit, but then dashed in again - pressing the attack. Date was a little taken back my Makunochi's assault. From what he'd seen of the challenger, he wasn't this ferocious at the start of a match. Well, that suited him just fine. The sheer power of Ippo's punches had managed to drive him to the ropes, and his next uppercut missed the challenger's head and left him unable to defend. The body-blow sent a shockwave through his torso, but it'd take more than that to stop him. Makunochi had kept his head down after landing his first clean hit, and seemed to be about to throw a right as a follow-up. A clinch was out of the question for multiple reasons, but you could't land a punch for free against the champion!

Date pushed against Ippo and shoved him to the side. Now that they were even with the ropes, he had some room to back-step. Date could feel the wind from Makunochi's next punch, but the breeze just meant that he'd managed to get out of Ippo's range. Date cocked his fist, then threw a corkscrew blow. Ippo managed to block it, but the force stopped his advance. Date followed up with a left-right, then the round bell rang.

*ding*ding*ding*

"How're you doing? You took a good one there."

"My side aches already, but I've matched his shadow to my image. I didn't expect him to be on the offense so early."

"I thought he'd try that move he knocked Sendou out with."

"Well, if he did: we'd get to see if my counter-measures work." Date smiled. Makunochi really was the strongest challenger. He had a good plan that was backed up by the stamina of youth and his colossal strength. Date was sure a left hook from mid-range would come eventually if he waited, then the heartbreak shot would end the match. However, holding back wasn't his style and wasn't the way a champion behaved. He'd show Ippo the weight of years that had built up in his gloves.

*ding*ding*ding*

Makunochi was swaying in his compact peek-a-boo style. It was a defensive style that magnified his already impressive ability to take a punch. It wasn't without weaknesses though. Swaying was effective against punches like jabs and straights, and the peek-a-boo style protected Ippo's front and sides. A well-placed hook to the side of the head would require him to move his fist to block, but there were some punches that were better to dodge.

As the got into range, Makunochi dashed forward again. Date threw a right hook to just below his ear. It wasn't the normal spot that you aimed for - the temple was a much more damaging target, but a punch like that could open doors. Ippo staggered and Date began his offense. He managed to drive Makunochi back and land several clean hits. The challenger wasn't showing any signs of slowing down though. A left to the ear. A right to the temple. From their spar, Date had a good idea of what it'd take to crack open Ippo's shell.

The right body-blow caught him by surprise. Even while reeling under his assault, Makunochi had thrown a good one. He followed up with a liver blow. His punches were just too strong to block normally, but a cross-arm block left his head vulnerable. Ippo capitalized on this by throwing a right hook to the head immediately after his left was blocked.

*thunk*

Date saw the blow coming, and diffused it power by twisting his neck to the side at the moment of impact. By moving with the punch, the power was vastly reduced. In Makunochi's case, it still left his jaw aching. The kid was just too strong! Ippo rallied and began to land several 'clean' punches in a row. Neck twisting was difficult to do. If you were a split-second off, then the technique was useless. Date had confidence in his skills. After all, they were what was going to let him challenge the strongest man in the world again.

*thunk*thunk*thunk*

Makunochi's assault was relentless. He was a hard-puncher. He must've been able to tell that something was wrong with the impacts, but he doggedly threw hooks over and over, while alternating between the head and body. Date would neck twist or move his block with the punch for a similar result against he body-blows. Even considering how much effort was involved with such defensive tactics, and how much stamina they drained, Ippo should've been worse off in the exchange. It was costing them both stamina, but the younger boxer had more to spend. Even if his punches weren't having their normal effect, they were still effective in that regard.

*ding*ding*ding*

The bell rung, and Date moved back to his corner. That last round had taken a lot out of him and he was breathing heavily. He wouldn't show weakness though. He was the champion!


"Good job kid! He took a lot of damage that round!"

"*zeh* No.. *zeh* he was *zeh* reducing the hits *zeh*"

"What?"

"*zeh* My punches *zeh* felt light *zeh* but... *zeh* I know he took damage!"

"Then get back in there and punch, punch, punch! Don't let up!"

"Right!"

"Protect your chest! If he lands that punch of his the fight will be over!"

*ding*ding*ding*

Ippo dashed out of his corner. He'd regain the pace he'd set in the 2nd round! Approaching Date was difficult. The champion's punches were tough to block. He seemed to be able to find holes in Ippo's defense almost at will. To the spectators it must have looked like a brawl. The two boxers met in the center of the ring and exchanged blows. Ippo threw more punches, and landed more hits, but all of them felt weak. He'd press on! Date was hurting, he knew it! Their exchange felt like it had been going on for an hour, but it couldn't have been more than 2 minutes when Ippo's chance came.

He was feeling the damage from all the champion's punches, but in comparison Date was still going strong. Ippo ducked under one of his killer hooks. He'd done so before, but his returning uppercuts hadn't met any resistance when they connected. Ippo had hoped a vertical attack would be able to penetrate the champion's defense, but Date seemed to be able to minimize any head-shot. This time when he came up from dodging Date's punch, Ippo stepped in, swiveled his waist, and let fly a liver blow.

*THUD!*

He felt it! That punch had been heavy! He'd gotten through the champion's defense! Date had even buckled at the waist! It was the perfect chance! Horizontal and vertical punches didn't work, but an overhead punch while he was reeling from the liver blow would! Without even a split-second's though, Ippo reversed his rotation and brought his right hand down towards Date's head.


The pain was almost unbearable. In terms of raw power, Makunochi was probably superior to even Martinez. Date's muscles were burning and he couldn't catch his breath no matter how much air he gulped down. Even taking only 1/10th of the kids full strength was taking it's toll. He was a heavy puncher. Date had expected his moral to break when he couldn't feel the usual strength behind his attacks, but he didn't relent at all! It was close to the end of the round when he'd slipped up and took that body shot. In front of him, Ippo was starting to throw an overhead punch - it was his K.O. pattern. Date had a fraction of a second to react. He couldn't block. He couldn't dodge. He'd be unable to use his neck twist to negate damage from a punch like that! He only had one option. Date lurched forward and clinched.

He knew the punch was coming. It always came when Makunochi was clinched. Knowing allowed him to withstand the 10 cm punch, but the damage was done. His ribs creaked. Makunochi might have broken one or two. It was the cost he had to pay to avoid a knockdown, so Date gladly sacrificed his gut. Under his arms he could feel Ippo shifting again - probably getting ready to throw another punch. There was no way he'd get away with hitting him without paying a price! Date shoved Ippo back, and then caught him with an uppercut of his own. The motion made a sharp pain emanate from his side, but Date's punch connected cleanly.

There was now distance between the two of them again. Ippo was looked like he was in bad shape, but Date could see the fight left in his eyes. Makunochi dashed forward, but then...

*ding*ding*ding*

The referee stepped between them. The 3rd round was over.


"You're doing good kid!"

Ippo was breathing heavily. He wanted to talk to his coach, but his body needed oxygen too much for him to be able to. He'd felt those hits! His head was swimming, and it was getting difficult to move, but at the end of the round he'd connected with two full strength punches. Date was injured. Now was the time to use the Dempsey Roll!

*ding*ding*ding*

Ippo moved forward. Standing up from the corner took so much effort, but he'd come too far. This was his chance! This was his goal! He wouldn't lay down and stop! Date was moving slower too. If his legs hadn't recovered during the break, now would be the perfect opportunity. Ippo began his left and right swaying and dashed in. His arms felt like lead, but he pressed the champion. Date lost ground until he was back against the ropes from Ippo's punches. His punches were feeling heavier with each hit! Date's defense was faltering. Up close, his swaying turned into a figure eight motion. Date was throwing punches, but the added back and forth movement was making them miss their marks. Now he was in full gear! It'd taken a lot of energy to get started, and Ippo didn't think he could manage it another time, but now his punches could flow continuously and overwhelm the champion!

*thud*

The first punch landed! It was a solid blow too! Ippo could feel his fist pushing Date to the side, rather than the light impact he'd been getting before.

*whoosh*

The second punch missed? How?

"Down! Get to a neutral corner!"

What?

"1!"

"2!"

"3!"

"4!"

"5!"

"6!"

"7!"


It wasn't a good plan. More like an emergency backup. Date had fallen on purpose after the first punch. He'd tried to diffuse it, but he was just too tired. It enraged his sense of pride, but he knew that if he was trapped in Makunochi's technique he'd be knocked out. Falling down on purpose was conceding defeat...at that moment. The kid had gotten him, but if he wanted to finish him off it'd take more! The Dempsey Roll let the user fire multiple punches at little stamina cost while constantly dodging. In terms of stamina usage, it was a tremendous deal... if you got more than one punch out of it.

Date waited for the count to get to 8 before standing back up. It'd take more than one punch to keep him down. In terms of stamina, both he and Ippo were reaching their limits. That last exchange may had scored Makunochi more points, but the winner in terms of how much damage was done was him.

"Fight!"

Ippo looked dead on his feet, but Date could tell that the challenger still had fight left in him. As soon as the referee signaled for the the match continue, he started that figure 8 motion again. This time he'd done it before closing the distance to close range, and Date wasn't against the ropes. A quick back step coincided with cocking his fist. The distance was perfect, and Makunochi was throwing a left hook as part of the Dempsey. His heart was open.

*THUNK!*

The heartbreak shot was perfect! Makunochi froze. Date's ribs hurt, but he'd put his full power behind this next blow. With no defense, and in his current state - Ippo would fall and would not be getting back up!

"Stop!"


Kamogawa shouted a warning when the brat started his Dempsey Roll for the second time. He was too far away! Date could put him in corkscrew blow range with a simple backstep! Time seemed to freeze not only for Ippo when the heartbreak shot connected. This was the moment Kamogawa had feared. Date's new finisher, he'd only seen it once, but that was enough for him to fear it. The heartbreak shot itself didn't cause much damage, but it had left Ippo completely vulnerable. A hit like what was coming could cripple a fighter. Makunochi had unprecedented potential, but if he took too much damage his career would be cut short just like too many aspiring boxers before him.

"What are you waiting for? Throw the towel!" Yagi was screaming beside him.

They had decided beforehand that if Date landed his Sunday Punch that they'd forfeit. It only made sense. The haymaker that was to come would definitely result in a knockdown. Ippo would suffer major damage, and for what? Even if he could stand up from a blow that strong, even if there wasn't any permeant damage, winning the fight after that wouldn't be possible. The kid had spirit. He trained like a mad man, but could he force his body to move after taking such a hit? The corner man's responsibility was to ensure his fighter came back safe. In that sense, throwing the towel was the sanest choice - the only choice.

The towel was in the air. Before it hit the ground, the referee was between the two fighters. Kamogawa hoped that Ippo would forgive him. He may have lost, but he hadn't taken much damage. That fact may prolong his career, but at the same time it would increase the psychological damage of the kid's first loss. As his coach, Kamogawa hoped he'd made the right decision.

K.O. Time 4th Round: 1 minute 55 seconds

Macunochi Ippo Unable to take the Japanese Feather-Weight Title

10-1-0


Epilogue

Ippo stared up at Tree-sama. It'd been so long since he'd been here. So many things had happened. Despite everything he'd done, the second chance he'd been given, in the end...

*sigh*

His main goal. The purpose he though he'd come back for. His rematch with Date had ended with his defeat.

*sigh*

Perhaps Tree-sama would give him another shot... This time he could practice the Dempsey earlier, and not use it until the Date fight! He could also redo the Rookie King Tournament! Fight Miyata. Give Sendou a better match... But things were different with him and Sendou now. The other boxer and him hadn't met outside the ring. They weren't friends...

Well, he could fix that! He could befriend both Sendou and Volg this time, just like he'd done before! All that he needed to do was... break his fist.

*sigh*

"I-Ippo-kun?"

Kun? She'd called him kun? Kumi was standing on the hillside looking at him. She'd invited him to go to the carnival to help him get over his loss, just like before. The though of going though that scary tunnel had caused Ippo to ask if they could go for a walk instead. That had wound up with them passing the side of the road where Tree-sama rested. (
Unbeknownst to Ippo, it had also resulted in Mashiba spending a long night fruitless searching for his little sister at the carnival so he could defend her honor.)

He'd lost the friendship he'd had with Sendou and Volg, but if he went back in time he'd lose what he'd shared with Kumi. Ippo might not even be able to travel to the past again. Even if he could...would it be worth it? He'd decided that not meeting Miyata in the finals wasn't so bad since they could fight in the future. The same was true for Sendou and Volg. Easier even! He could visit their gyms! Become their friend by his own actions! He wouldn't give up what he'd shared with Kumi, and he wouldn't let opportunities slip through his fingers either!

Ippo walked up the hill. He'd been afraid of a lot of things, but fearing what might come if he was more open with the girl in front of him was stupid. Ippo could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks as he reached down and gently took Kumi's hands in his own.

"K-Kumi-ch-chan... I... I... l-like you. I'm really glad we met! S-Sorry it's taken me so long to say so." Ippo avoided her gaze and concentrated on his shoes. He felt her slender fingers pull away from his grasp and move to his chin. Kumi raised his head up and looked into his eyes.

"Ippo-kun, I like you and I'm glad we met too!"