Glass Jaw

Chapter 4

"Three rounds. Three-minute rounds. One minute break between each." Naoko curtly explained the conditions of the match as she swiped her card and punched in the passcode, opening the door for them.

Team Nowhere entered Raika Boxing Gym for the first time. The three of them looked around in awe. Unlike the outside, the inside of the gym was in clean and almost pristine condition. A very stark contrast.

The gym even contained some of the latest training and workout equipment. Boxing sandbags hung in a line from the ceiling on one side, boxing speed bags on the other. A rack of weights on another side, and other state of the art workout machines littered the area.

In the center was a boxing ring.

Naoko flipped on the stage lights, illuminating the ring. The spotlights and television screens hanging from the ceiling above the center of the ring lit up, as well as the lights surrounding the floor of the ring. Joe gave a low whistle as the stage lit up. Sachio and Nanbu were speechless, taking everything in with wide eyes.

"Take a picture. It'll last longer. Especially since you three will only be in here for about another fifteen minutes." Naoko commented. There wasn't really an arrogant tone to her words. It was more of just her wanting them out as soon as possible. She walked away and unzipped her midnight blue hoodie. She threw it to the side, revealing more of her well-toned body.

The Megalo Boxer stared at her back, seeing some of the muscles flexing underneath as she moved around. She began wrapping her hands with a standard, cotton hand wrap. Without the hoodie, her arms were exposed in that black, form-fitting, sleeveless turtleneck. Along with the shoulder scar he saw before, a couple more scars on her arms were on display.

Most definitely scars from boxing.

He was already excited that he finally got the chance to fight her, but now he was itching to get in the ring. He took off his own green military jacket, hastily throwing it over to Sachio. He strapped on his red boxing gloves, seeing her do the same with her blue ones.

Naoko rolled her neck around as they climbed into the ring, and they each went into a corner. Joe couldn't take his eyes off her, much too excited for this fight. Nanbu was trying to tell him how he should start, but Joe wasn't listening. He was solely focused on the woman in front of him.

The ring recognized that two fighters had entered, the television screens above displaying the round counter and a timer of three minutes. A bell rang, signaling for the boxers to meet at the center.

Joe immediately hopped up, quick to take the standard boxing stance. His fists were up and he was bouncing on the balls of his feet, eager to fight. His brows furrowed when she stood at the center with no guard. Both of her fists were jut out towards him and she seemed to be waiting for something to happen. Joe slowly lowered his arms with uncertainty. Naoko raised an eyebrow at him, noticing his confusion.

"It's a boxer's handshake. You touch gloves at the start of the fight." She explained, then scoffed while shaking her head in disapproval. "Another thing I don't like about Megalo Boxing. No sportsmanship. You come into my ring, you follow traditional boxing rules. Not whatever the hell the rules are for your sport." She demanded with a deep frown.

Joe smirked, his eyes full of mirth. He'd never done the boxer's handshake before. It was true that in Megalo Boxing there was no such thing. The fights just started out guns blazing, and all three of his previous fights had both fighters getting right into it.

Thinking on it, he kind of liked this tradition. It was interesting, and it seemed like a show of respect for the other fighter. Definitely something he had for strong opponents. Maybe he should start doing the boxer's handshake for people that he respected for fighting a good fight.