Narrated by John
As I came back to the arena, Collin had advanced to the quarter finals, with little difficulty.
"It is now time, for Match Five! John from Stronghold City, takes on Egor from Seeburg!" Jimmy announced.
As the audience cheered, my opponent confronted me. He was in his early teens, with a round bald head, and shiny blue eyes, round nose and a wide grin.
"We will be facing each other in this round! You better be careful of me! I'm really strong, you know," he said, pointing at his biceps, as if to scare me. He did have a toned build, and wore a blue training gi, and a black belt knitted over his waist.
"Well, your strength will be tested against me. Sure you can make it?"
"Of course! I have to win!"
"And why is that?"
"Because I need the prize money!"
"And what would you need it for?"
"Well, my sister's sick, and I need to cure her!"
"Is that so?" I asked,"What is she suffering from?"
"I dunno. She was doing pretty well until a few months back, when she suddenly collapsed down. Ever since then, she's been coughing up blood, and looks pretty thin! She's even begun losing her hair now!"
"Losing her hair?" I asked, slightly surprised. This sickness was beginning to sound like cancer to me.
"Yep. And we did show her to a doctor, but he said that we'd need to operate her, and a lotta money will be needed. My parents got teary-eyed after that, cuz they had nothing at all, so I decided that I'll fight here!"
"Do you know what sickness your sister is suffering from?"
"Nope," he shrugged,"we aren't a rich family, so I never went to school or anything. So I dunno what's going on."
"I see. So, what would you do if I managed to defeat you?"
"That won't happen!" He beamed, and went out to the ring.
I laughed as he went, but also felt sorry for the poor guy. He was fighting out there for a good cause, and under different circumstances, I'd support him as much as I could. But even I had my purposes, and if i defeated him, I wouldn't really feel good about it. But I had to.
I walked out to the ring, where he impatiently waited.
I nodded at him, as I got to the ring, and he nodded back.
Benji looked at me, and I said,"Yeah."
Egor nodded too.
"Begin!"
Both of us lunged forward, and our fists connected with each other. Egor jumped back, and came at me with a kick, but I ducked down, and tripped him down too.
He got up quick, and advanced with a punch. I blocked his hits, but I couldn't keep up with him much longer, and he had me down soon.
"Egor may be young, but don't underestimate his fighting skills due to his age! He's definitely giving John a hard time, ain't he?" Jimmy said, as the cheers alternated between me and Egor.
"You're good." I said, getting up.
"Didn't I say that already! Be prepared to get eliminated!"
He went for another punch, but I sidestepped, grabbed his arm, and twisted it behind his back. He yelped in pain, but turned the next moment, and punched me with the other hand, staggering me back.
He gained the upper hand after that, and out me on full defense. He punched swiftly and strong, and I could hardly find any openings to exploit.
"Egor's completely dominating John! But the tables can be turned at any moment!" Jimmy announced.
I had to somehow try and use my strengths to my advantage. Egor was already faster than I was, and I was probably focusing as hard as I could. And using my energy wasn't advantageous, as we were fighting at the edge of the ring, and there was hardly much distance between us, so we'd both get blasted out of the ring if I used energy blasts.
He knocked me down to the floor one more time, just as something popped up in my mind.
Yesterday. The brawl with Hager. In the end, Alex had coated his fists with a layer of energy. Could it be that the energy enhanced his strength?
I got up, and wiped the blood off my nose. We were both sorta exhausted.
"Not done yet?" Egor asked.
I laughed,"I still got a lot left."
"Same here!" He lunged at me.
I willed my energy to gather at my fists, and my hand was blazing red soon. I looked at them, and laughed, as red energy flowed around my fingers and palm. I'd done it!
I dodged Egor's punch, and delivered one to his gut. He gasped, and I wasted no time, and hit him with lefts and rights on his face.
"The tables have been turned!" Jimmy announced.
He went down, and got up again.
"Why is your hand red?" He asked.
I gazed at them, and said,"I've enhanced my fists with energy. They now deal more damage, you've probably felt that."
"Yeah, they do. So you're using energy? I wonder...."
He closed his eyes, and suddenly, his forearms were covered with a dark blue blaze. Did he just....
"Would you look at that!" He marveled.
"Whoa. That's surprising! You can adapt quickly!" I said, truly surprised.
"Yes! Now, are you ready to get outta this tourney?"
I laughed,"This was a great fight, kid. You're great. Keep training, and maybe you might as well surpass me."
"You're talking as if you'll win the fight."
"I will." I smiled.
"Not yet!" He lunged at me with punches ready, but it would be useless.
I sidestepped, and as he went past me, I brought my hands forward touching his chest. I nodded, and released all of my energy forward.
Boom!
An explosion, and Egor went out of the ring.
"This match is over! John advanced to the quarter finals!" Jimmy raised my hand and announced.
I walked out of the ring, and helped Egor up. Together, we walked back to the room.
"You've got a lot of fight in you." I said.
He laughed,"I guess."
He extended his hand forward, and as I was gonna shake it, I noticed tears forming in his eyes.
I smiled, and pulled him into a hug. Don't know why, especially since I'm not a guy who appreciates physical contact.
He was confused, but then broke down suddenly.
"What do I do now?" He sobbed,"How will I save Tori?"
I pulled him away, knelt down, and wiped his tears.
"Your sister's name is Tori?"
He nodded.
"Don't worry. We'll save her."
"How?"
"You want money for the operation, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, can you wait for me after these fights are over? We'll arrange your money then."
"Really!"
"Yes!"
"Okay!" He wiped his tears, and said,"I'm counting on you, John!"