Leo couldn't keep punching to the head or he will break his hand. He couldn't punch to the body or it will just land on Theo's guard. Kicking to the body was no option either or he might break his shin in the attempt.
Kick to the head? Theo can catch those with his elbows as well. Kicks to the thighs? Might as well offer his legs for Theo to break.
Theo on the other hand was in trouble as well. One of those kicks could sent him down and Leo only needed to pick up what's left of him. Attacking Leo was no option either, Leo would just use his attack to exploit the opening in his guard to deliver some heavy blows.
Theo could only remain in the defensive if he wanted to win. Leo was just too fast and his attacks too powerful.
Leo suddenly rushed in again and like before a fast powerful roundhouse kick cut through the air aiming for that rib to break but it was blocked once again.
'I can time it! I only must watch his other foot and try to blindly counterattack! Just wait! Wait for that small jump and pivot!' Theo quickly thought as he analyzed Leo's attack. He watched Leo's legs like a hawk waiting for that opportunity.
Once again Leo rushed in, kicked off the ground, rotated his other foot to transfer the power into his other leg as it flew towards Theo's midsection.
Unfortunately for Theo, it wasn't a roundhouse kick this time. He transitioned it into a front kick! Due to the different kick Theo's counterattack completely missed its target and Theo was completely open. A fast front kick landed directly on Theo's solar plexus, making him take a few steps back as he lost his balance.
Before he could balance himself and recover his breath Leo flew towards him with a superman punch to the chin. As he fell to the ground another roundhouse kick to the face met him on the way preventing him from falling. A punch followed, finally sending him to the ground.
It looked like Leo was trying to take his head off with that last kick. The referee had already approached Theo and after a quick check he announced the end of the fight and cried out for a medic.
Leo was slightly out of breath as he watched Theo for any movement. It was only after the medic came in and dragged Theo out that he regained focus. He had waited for Theo to stand up again to keep on attacking, not even realizing that the fight was over but alas this was enough for the 12-year-old boy.
This fight was the first difficult one. This time he felt like his victory was in the balance. It could have ended completely differently if his reaction time weren't as good. He would have probably broken his shin and would be the one that had to be carried out of the ring.
To say he was glad that it worked out would be an understatement. He jumped out of the ring to be congratulated by his mentor before the two walked towards the tribune.
"After this tournament I will show you the next step of our schools meditation techniques." Mang Tou quietly said as they went back. This little surprise had Leo already fantasizing about what this new technique would look like.
He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was a bit disappointed with the super-secret meditation that turned out to be a simple body-scan meditation. Maybe this time he could take a step into the superhuman side of this world.
When Leo sat down to eat something, Lenny looked at him in surprise. Obviously, he didn't guess that Leo would win against Theo in the very first round and if he were honest, he was embarrassed more than a bit for making this fight such a big deal.
Looking at the fight, Leo didn't seem to need much advice, but Leo himself would disagree. He thanked Lenny for his warnings as he might have not taken the fight as serious and could have broken a few bones if he weren't careful.
In the worst-case scenario, he could have broken his knee which would have long term consequences and even a shin break would take him out for maybe 2 months.
Leo also didn't press Lenny in telling him about that threat or if that Theo guy was somehow interweaved with the danger. By now he realized that Lenny's lips were sealed. The only way he may tell him more was if the threat has been prevented.
The third fight and therefore the last one that day was unexpectedly not as exciting as the fight against Theo. Shunlei had her final fight of the tournament already. The girls had less participants which was why she didn't need to fight as often.
She had won the final fight with some difficulties, but she was tough as a nail and knocked down her opponent two times. In the end she won by points.
She was happy that she won but also a bit sad because she wouldn't be able to fight anymore.
Lenny unsurprisingly won against his opponent as well. His fight was rather anticlimactic as he was a lot faster and slippery compared to his opponent. He completely controlled the flow of the fight. Well, it was more akin to a thrashing than a fight.
Concluding the second day of the tournament, Lenny would have to fight against Leo in the finals. Two of the Saphed school would claim the first and the second place in this tournament.
Of course, this attracted the ire of the other schools, but they couldn't really protest as they had won fair and square, so they opted to pick Lenny as the one they wanted to win the tournament.
Apparently, they hadn't forgotten how Leo had humiliated and bullied that girl, Laura Everlast, in the early morning. Leo was already cursing the unfairness of the world but in truth he didn't care too much about their opinion.
"They are just jealous they ain't me." Leo encouraged himself. He would just take their resentment and use it as his fuel to become even better and prove them wrong!
At the end of the day, they just drove home, and Leo prepared his bag for school in the morning. He still couldn't believe that his mom made him go to school, even though he might become the champion of their district!
Fame, money, and women would be flying into his arms if he won the fight the next day but no, he had to go to school and learn how to calculate 2x4, color some pictures. At least, he had friends who he could brag his accomplishment to.
And lo and behold they were ecstatic hearing his accomplishment. Jack nodded and gave his occasional "Cool." And "Wow." 's, while Sarah was his main conversational partner like usual, even though she didn't really see the appeal of fighting. Bella also wanted to give her input for once as she opened her mouth after Leo's bragging session came to an end.
Usually, she would just focus on drawing her pictures which, in Leo's opinion, were exceptional for her age. This time, however, she looked up from her drawing at Leo.
It might have been the first time that Leo saw her looking at him directly. Of course, that was just a hyperbole, but he could still count the times she directly said something to him while looking on one hand. She would usually opt to talk to Sarah, who would in turn convey it to Leo or say it in an offhanded manner.
Though, she seemed to speak to Jack as they could be seen sitting together quite often. Or rather they spend time with each other, it didn't look like they were actually speaking too much though. They just sat next to each other and did their thing. With all being said it was surprising for her to speak to Leo to say the least.
"It seems like you have finally accepted your violent tendencies and you are set on your path of this profession. At least, with this you don't harm the innocent while entertaining the lesser intellectual population. Congratulation on finding your place in society but please keep your thuggish activities to yourself."
"T-thanks?" Leo's mouth twitched after hearing her little speech.
"You are welcome." She nodded as if she expected his thanks before returning to her drawing.
'Why am I only surrounded by weirdos!! I will never compliment her drawings ever again! … Not that I ever did, maybe that is why she doesn't like me?' Leo internally complained. A few hours later he went home with Lenny before getting ready for the finals.
They then drove towards the tournament's avenue. Leo quickly went into his own changing room and started to change and warm up. Lenny of course did the same. Now, they would have to wait a bit before the finals would be announced. Lenny and Leo had already sworn that they wouldn't go easy on each other.
Leo felt like he was back in his past again in which his entry would be announced before the fight. He hadn't participated in many tournaments in his past, but he did have several amateur fights, so he wasn't too nervous.
He was even less nervous than his first fight in this tournament. All his doubts had been evaporated in the last few days with only his confident remaining. After a while he was announced and guided to the entrance to the ring.
As he walked towards the ring, he saw the crowd of people in the tribune. The size of the audience directly stood out to him. There were a lot of people, he would even swear that there were more people than in any other day before.
But it was only his perception of the audience that changed. In the days before the attention of the audience was distributed amongst the young fighters. Now it was only Lenny and him. Of course, there were also the finals of the other age divisions, but they didn't play out at the same time.
Additionally, previously Leo had been a part of the audience himself, so the sheer scale was not something he completely realized beforehand.
With every step he took his heart started to pump louder and louder of excitement. Good thing he had bandages on or else he would feel the slight sweat in his palms. He slowly went inside the ring to find it empty besides the referee.
He waved at the audience primarily at his friends from school, family, and the other Saphed students. He did receive some boos, but it only made him smile and it only grew with more joining the boos.
Lenny was then announced and came into the ring. His applause was in comparison overwhelming.
He went to the middle and the two listened to the referee before they focused back on each other. He loved this feeling. The excitement just before a fight in which he would bash in his head with another dude who also spent a major time to prepare for this.
Now he stood there in front of a friend surrounded by thousands of people who wanted to see him lose or win, but that didn't matter anymore. The audience's noise was blocked off now. The noise turned to a distance static in the background.
His full focus was on his own body. He could feel that some of his muscles were a bit sore from the previous days, but he was still in top shape. Slightly anxious and fearful but also excited, determined and battle ready.
Although, they were friends out of the ring, it didn't change Leo's mindset that he adapted to whenever he stepped inside the ring. He was here to hurt his opponent, break his bones and cut their skin open.
This wasn't a game. The loser would most likely send out on a stretcher while the winner would be standing and applauded by the audience. It was time to see who of the two was currently the better fighter.