Classroom of The Elite : The Marionette

Chapter 16: Fist

It seems that Kazami really values ​​his gang. A gang that Shinji thinks has its own code of honor. Shinji tries to capitalize on his pride and challenges him to a duel. If Shinji wins, then he will force Kazami to study hard. Kazami will not refuse if he loses, because it will paint dirt on Onimetsu's name which he values ​​so much.

Shinji who is confident in his abilities is very sure that this plan will work. To be honest, now that I think about it, this plan really isn't that bad after all. Shinji believes the method will work because he is confident that he will not lose. As someone who always goes to the gym with him, I know what he's capable of. I've also done sparring sessions once or twice. Shinji...might be the strongest student in this school, at least that's what I believe right now. I knew he wouldn't lose to a street thug, but somehow I was also worried.

Kazami didn't look weak at all. I know that he probably has a lot of fighting experience. His body looked well trained, almost as muscular as Shinji's. People say experience is the best teacher. Kazami who used to be in a gang definitely knows how to beat up people. One thing that makes me think that Shinji will win is because of the temperament problem. Kazami is hot-tempered and easily provoked. If he couldn't control his emotions, Shinji would defeat him.

I predicted that Kazami would attack first and sure enough, when I shouted the command, the man immediately lunged at Shinji. The boxer met Kazami's first strike with a grin. He pulled his head back to avoid Kazami's right hook then countered with an uppercut. Kazami had no time to recover from his attack position and was forced to take the attack head on. The man staggered backwards. I thought it would all be over then and there but he apparently managed to keep his balance at the last moment.

Kazami immediately fixed his posture and glared at Shinji. I saw that there was a little blood in his mouth. On the other hand, his opponent returned his gaze with a slight chuckle.

"Sorry if I'm being too harsh," boasted Shinji. "Are you okay? You can still stand up straight, right?"

"SHUT UP!"

Kazami was of course furious to hear Shinji's babbling. His next attack became more blindly. Shinji skillfully parried or dodged all of the attacks while occasionally sneaking a punch or two to his body. I don't know if he did it on purpose or not, but all of Shinji's counter punches weren't as hard as his first uppercut. All those little counter only seemed to make Kazami angrier. He tried to catch Shinji, but instead of dodging, Shinji slammed his shoulder against Kazami's chest to create some distance between himself and his opponent. As Kazami was pushed back, Shinji followed up with a heavy punch to Kazami's face. I remember seeing this same technique used by Steve Fox from Tekken.

Kazami fell back into a daze, but once again he managed to recover before collapsing completely. Shinji could have ended this by delivering a second strike while Kazami was in a daze but he didn't. I do not know why. My friend even took advantage of the time lag to rub his hands which were probably hurting from blocking Kazami's punch. It seems that Kazami's strength is not inferior to Shinji's but his technique and speed are far behind.

Kazami tried to take a breath. He was still glaring at Shinji but this time his gaze was much more focused. If he underestimated Shinji before, right now, not anymore. He finallay realize that Shinji is not an ordinary opponent. He took a stance, ready to attack again. From the start Kazami was always more proactive while Shinji was just reacting to his attacks. Even so Shinji still had the upper hand. I don't know how Kazami can turn things around.

Kazami lunged once more. As usual Shinji easily reacted and gave a counter punch, unfortunately....this time he took the wrong step. As Shinji threw a counter punch, Kazami quickly pulled his head back and kicked Shinji's leg. It seemed Kazami had started memorizing Shinji's attack patterns. The beanie hat man winced and almost lost his balance and Kazami didn't miss his chance. He tried to follow up with a punch to the face but Shinji managed to dodge it by tilting his head to the side while throwing a quick hook at Kazami's face.