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The sun hung high in the sky as Hakishi and Lee arrived at an abandoned field just outside the city. The area was perfect for training—wide open space, no one around, and plenty of rocks to break.
Hakishi stretched his arms, looking around. "Alright, we need to get stronger. Toji isn't going to stop, and I'm not letting him get the upper hand again."
Lee smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Stronger, huh? Let's see if you can keep up with me."
Hakishi raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is that a challenge?"
"You bet," Lee said, grinning. "First to knock down that boulder wins." He pointed to a massive rock at the edge of the field.
Hakishi chuckled. "Alright, you're on."
Lee stepped forward, his fists igniting with flames. "Watch and learn!" He pulled back his arm, launching a blazing punch at the boulder. The impact left a fiery scorch mark, but the rock didn't even budge.
Hakishi burst out laughing. "Is that all you've got? My turn."
He summoned his glowing drill, shouting, "Drill Strike!" The drill shot toward the boulder, spinning fiercely... and missed entirely, crashing into a nearby tree.
Lee doubled over, laughing uncontrollably. "You missed! How do you miss a boulder?"
Hakishi's face turned red. "It's called strategy! I was testing the wind direction."
"There's no wind!" Lee cried, still laughing.
Hakishi muttered something under his breath and tried again, this time hitting the boulder dead-on. The drill made a satisfying thunk, but the boulder remained unscathed.
"Wow," Lee said, wiping a tear from his eye. "Impressive. Really shook the dust off."
Hakishi rolled his eyes. "Alright, let's make it more interesting. Whoever loses the next challenge has to carry the other one back to the city."
"You're on!" Lee said, his competitive spirit ignited.
The next challenge was simple: speed. They'd race to the edge of the field and back.
"Ready... set... go!" Hakishi shouted, taking off like a rocket.
Lee started strong, his fiery aura giving him an extra boost, but halfway through, Hakishi tripped over a rock and face-planted into the dirt.
Lee stopped, turning back to see Hakishi sprawled on the ground. "You okay, champ?"
Hakishi groaned, spitting out a mouthful of dirt. "I'm fine. Just... inspecting the terrain."
"Sure you were." Lee jogged back, offering him a hand. "Come on, let's call it a tie."
Hakishi accepted the help, brushing himself off. "Fine, but only because I'm being generous."
They spent the rest of the afternoon sparring, though it quickly devolved into a series of ridiculous mishaps. Hakishi accidentally summoned his Dark World while Lee was in mid-punch, causing him to miss and land in a pile of shadow soldiers. Lee retaliated by lighting a ring of fire around Hakishi, who ended up spinning in circles trying to find a way out.
By the end of the day, both of them were covered in dirt, sweat, and scorch marks, laughing so hard they could barely breathe.
Hakishi wiped his eyes, grinning. "Okay, maybe we're not that bad."
Lee leaned back against the boulder, smirking. "Speak for yourself. I'm in peak condition."
Hakishi raised an eyebrow. "Peak condition? You couldn't even break the boulder."
"Neither could you!"
They stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter again. Despite the chaos, they both felt stronger—and closer—than ever.