A chill ran down his spine as he passed the sensor, would security guards arrest him?
'I'm going to show Jun how much I like him. I won't care what others say! It's my life. I am fighting for my happiness here.'
Convinced of what he was doing, Haruki nipped to his destination, so as not to be discovered by security guards before he paraded with the sign.
Ignoring the three-step ladder, Haruki jumped onto the ring platform where the ring girls paraded. The singer raised the stolen plaque announcing the first round, publicly displaying his offense.
Haruki felt his cheekbones burn, but he strutted faking to be one f the ring girl androids, and as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
'Man, breathe... and smile!' He saw the situation as what it was - a show, an entertainment show. The singer put a wide smile on his face, and sashayed as if he were a ring boy with the 1 round plaque, stopping at the corners and positioning himself for the cameras,
'Act naturally, Haruki,' he encouraged himself mentally.
"HARUKI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Jun yelled from his corner.
"Doing my thing! I mean, working like everyone else here. And most importantly, I am showing my support for you," he promptly used his rehearsed response. He had guessed that this would be Jun's initial reaction. But Haruki was betting on the long-term effects.
"HARUKI! Get out of there and stay with the team, then. And stop showing your body. What are you thinking?!" Jun reprimanded with a scowl.
"...!?"
Haruki's eyes widened. That was unfair!
"If you can be shirtless, I can, too!" The singer countered shamelessly, pointing to his navel with a glorious smile.
"You punk!" Jun narrowed his eyes at Haruki's lame excuse, with a veiled threat in them.
'He's still jealous!' Haruki smirked to himself, 'I'm doing fine then.'
He accepted the suggestion and joined the Sasaki team.
Takashi and Hinata were on the dais below the ring. As he approached them, Haruki thwacked the sign on the senior student's head, because Hinata had left him talking to himself moments ago.
"Ouch! Haruki-senpai, what did I do?!" Even though the plaque only hit him slightly, Hinata complained, pretending not to know the reason for the reprimand.
"Use this, Haruki," Takashi covered him with Jun's robe.
The singer accepted it, in turn pretending not to have noticed the veiled rebuke in his friend's eyes. As he put on the robe, Haruki realized that the outfit smelled wonderfully of Jun.
'My God! I'm completely into this guy, even his scent drives me crazy. Man, I am so fucked up. ' Haruki assessed the degree of his insanity by the confusing feelings he now recognized as falling in love. He had never been like that for any girl.
Again the judge called the athletes to the center and went over the rules, facing each other to see the nod they were aware of and agreed to. Then the judge walked away from the fighters, who straightened up for the attack.
The bell rang to officially announce the start of the match.
Haruki's heart sped up, and he prayed for a miracle. Jun's victory!
The fighters moved around in the ring.
Jun rocked his body, bobbing and weaving, while covering-up himself in a defensive attitude.
LaMotta, indifferent to his opponent, advanced with his body erect, throwing a straight punch into Jun's nose. The fringe contender tilted his torso backward, preventing the champion's fist from reaching his face.
LaMotta went forward, sending cross punches against Jun, who retreated, slipping back and forth. The champion's punches were in a vacuum. Jun was fast to keep a safe distance between them.
The way Jun moved his torso, leaning back as he slid from side to side, making a semicircle, resembled a dancer. At least it was how the singer saw it. Haruki had never seen any fighter with that much bobbing. He thought Jun was an amateur!
The android tried to hook the opponent's ribs to no avail. Opening his guard for a split second, more than enough time for Jun to deliver his first punch. A left-handed straight!
LaMotta didn't have a quick reflex to defend himself, receiving the impact in the middle of the face. He raised his fists, covering up.
Jun left the side, going to stand on the champion's back, who had to turn his body to face Jun. The android took the second punch, a hook on the right flank. LaMotta reacted with a sequence of jabs, punching the air.
Haruki was happy that Jun hadn't taken a punch yet, but the singer understood the champion's strategy. Jun soon would be tired. LaMotta won't. He was wasting the human's energy.
The champion had tilted his back toward Jun, changing his body posture. He continued with the Jabs in constant pursuit of the human, without giving Jun time to rest.
Jun avoided the punches, keeping his guard up. He ended up stuck in the corner of the ropes. Cornered, his footwork and fabulous slips were neutralized.
Haruki held his breath. This was a dangerous moment for Jun in the bout. LaMotta had tapped him into this trap!
The champion started a new sequence of cross punches.
Jun swayed his spine further back and kept his swing!
"Wow, Jun is incredible!" Haruki got excited, bouncing out of nervousness. Jun had a rare ability - he was a Slipping ace, avoiding all attempts at LaMotta's punches.
The champion stopped punching, changing his strategy, and went to Jun's left side in order to hit him in the flank.
Attentive to the opponent and reasoning as fast as his avoidance, Jun sneaked on the right side, out of the trap. He returned to the center of the ring.
Arena spectators cheered Jun, shouting his name.
Ecstatic at the feat, Haruki applauded and shouted Jun's name,
turning to look at the crowd.
Jun had won many new fans in seconds, and the colors of the bracelets were changing from blue to red. AI was responding and changing opinions!
The singer noticed that two security guards climbed onto the platform where he was on with Takashi and Hinata. They separated, each coming from either side towards him.
'Busted. I'll be arrested!'
Here is my tribute to Muhammad Ali, THE BOXER I am a fan of. In this narrative, I tried to describe a minimum of what this great man's skills were. A fighter in and out of the ring. The greatest legend of Boxing and World Sport of all time.
To all who are reading my story, thank you very much!
Thank you for following this arduous journey of self-discovery for a young man, becoming an adult.
He will still make many mistakes along the way. But Haruki will also have some hits. Most importantly, he’s discovering the pain that’s Love.
After all, only those who endure suffering have the reward of Love!
Friends, it’s because of what you write to me I know which paths I should give priority to continuing writing. Leave me your comments, and if possible, vote for my story.