Hewlo lovely people~! Kenar desu. This time I'm here with a weird story where I make some of characters from i7 Thai boxers! The main focus will be on the lives of Yaotome Gaku and Nanase Riku.

Now, since it's a not very common kind of AU, I will explain some terms before you jump in: (Don't worry, I'm trying my best to write in a way anyone can enjoy this is just a bit of background info)

- Thai boxing or "Muay Thai" uses techniques of punching, kicking, kneeing, elbowing (in higher fight classes). There are also 'clinching' which is when two fighters grab the hold of each other's back of the neck while kneeing them. Kinda hard to explain :/ There is no ground fighting like in wrestling.
- The ring is basically the arena for fighters to fight on.
- 'Jab' is a weaker punch (usually your weaker hand) and 'cross' is a heavier punch. Right handed people usually takes 'orthodox' stance with left foot in front of right.

Last but not least: this is a work of FICTION. While I try to keep things realistic, some info may be outdated/inaccurate/depend on ppl opinions so yeah, read at your own risk. If you want to see thai boxing in action just google or youtube. Simple as that. Personally, I have trained in Thai boxing, so I use my own experience to make a fic.

Enough rambling, enjoy! Please leave comments!

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"Winning by knockout, Yaotome Gaku!!"

Ah, the glorious moment. How many times had Gaku heard that satisfying sentence of victory and pride? As a professional Thai boxer, those words should mean everything to Yaotome Gaku.

Yet he could no longer feel the rush of excitement from it. The way he roared when his opponent hit the ground was no longer the same. His eyes were hollow. His realistic actions came from his inner acting skills.

After several victories over seven years of his Thai boxing career, Yaotome Gaku, now 26, had lost his passion somewhere, somehow. While it was true that each fighter he faced was incredibly tough and gave him a thrill every time in the ring, something was just missing from Gaku's heart. He was not sure what it was, but it sure took away the sweet taste of victory and the bitterness of defeat. He was definitely not a smug guy. He respected every fighter who stepped into the same ring as him.

Months before, Gaku thought it was time for him to do something different while still keeping himself fit and ready for any fight events his weird coach and manager, Orikasa Yukito, may have for him. The fighter ended up opening his own gym for people who wanted to learn Thai boxing. It was a very small gym located in one of the thousand narrow alleyways of Tokyo, so Gaku had to limit the number of trainees he could take. Most people who came to train were only doing it for fitness or self-defence. They did spar but had no intention of taking up a fighting career. After all, Thai boxing was a full-contact sport. You simply could not avoid hitting each other to learn the art properly. Gaku could understand that "Muay Thai" had become a more popular option for people to get fit. Still, this sport certainly was not for wimps.

Gaku did not mind teaching, shouting, and scolding those who had come to train. How did things work? Well, some sessions were focused on cardio drills for building endurance. Some were for people to pair up and practise their techniques on the pads, with one person holding the pad and the other executing the combos. Some were for sparring. It was a good opportunity for him to meet various kinds of people and chat with them. Gaku liked this side of his little business.

What the fighter could not get out of his mind was why a certain guy with red hair was here at his gym. Gaku had nothing against beginners. We all had to start somewhere, but this guy did not seem like the type to walk over twenty minutes in a day. He got tired just by stretching and doing a light warmup. There was no power behind his punches and kicks. Plus, he seemed way too nice, naive, and innocent to be picking up this kind of sport. He knew nothing about Thai boxing prior to coming here.

He wondered why a 23-year-old university student, Nanase Riku, would end up here of all places. The little guy could have picked up some other sports if he wanted to get fit, but no, he insisted on training here. In fact, he was very stubborn about it. "I want to learn how to fight." Always, he said that without telling the reason why. That was not all—there was burning passion behind his red eyes whenever Gaku told him about the mistakes he had made. He fully admired Gaku when the fighter showed him some techniques. A good sign, right? Well, Gaku somehow found it slightly irritating. He could not explain why.

"Um, Yaotome-san."

The night session ended just now. The redhead approached his coach with a gentle smile.

"Nanase" Gaku set his drink bottle down on the floor. "How can I help?"

"How do I get stronger?" Gaku could hear the hesitation in Riku's voice. "Everyone seems to be improving quickly except me."

Riku spoke the truth. As a coach of only a few trainees, he could clearly see how far behind Riku was compared to the others who had started training around the same time. The boy's technique was not bad. He could perform jabs and crosses, the two basic punches, quite well. He had good balance in his fighting stance. If Riku were to improve, he would become a fighter with high mobility. That was if he was not so out of breath after half a minute into a simple drill. Another problem was his strength, but stamina was Riku's major problem right now.

"You get tired shockingly easily, I have to say." Gaku was an honest man, which made him speak way too bluntly at times. Right away, Riku seemed upset. Gaku felt like he wanted to take back those words. "Oi, don't make that face. I'm not saying you can't improve."

All of a sudden, Riku beamed. "Really!? Please teach me how!" Gaku swore he could see sparkles coming out of the student's eyes. Seriously, this guy... Gaku was not sure how to deal with him.

"Do cardio. That's your problem. Find something light to start with. You could go for a slow jog or a swim." Gaku wiped off his sweat with a big towel.

"Um, I can't swim, and I've never really run before." The boy was getting fidgety.

"Hah?" Gaku let his mouth hang. "Seriously?" He facepalmed. He definitely could not relate. He had never been 'weak', only 'inexperienced'. "Why are you even here?"

The redhead was back in his upset mode, and Gaku did nothing to help. "Look, this is not a private session. I can't make the class lighter just for you. If you can't keep up then I'm afraid you're gonna have to find someone else to teach you."

It seemed Gaku's harsh words had struck Riku's nerves. He frowned and shouted back at Gaku angrily. "Aren't coaches supposed to encourage their trainees?"

"Oh?" Gaku smirked. So this kid had an interesting side after all. "Seems like you still have some energy to burn." Gaku walked to the metal trolley loaded with boxing gloves, picked out a pair, and threw them to Riku. The boy let out a "wah!?!" from surprise, but he managed to catch them.

"Put those on," Gaku now went to his bag and fetched out two Thai pads. He put them on. "Shoes off and get on the mat."

"Eh?" Riku blinked twice as Gaku walked to the centre of the room. Gaku didn't know what was in that boy's head, but his expression changed to one of determination as he nodded and stepped onto the mat.

Damn, he did look like a fighter when he wore that scary face. What the hell had this boy been through?

"Two minutes per round. I shout out the combo, you do it," Gaku said, getting into his fighting stance. He slapped the two pads together before holding them out for punches. "Jab, cross!"

Riku breathed out each time he let his punch go. He was quick, alright. Once his left jab hand returned to his face, his right hand sprang out right away.

"What was that? Make it harder, kid." Gaku literally felt nothing from the shots. "Turn your hip more quickly."

Riku let out a little "Grrr..." Gaku loved to taunt, to provoke his opponent and it worked like a charm on Riku who got irritated when people looked down on him. The pro fighter kept his straight face as he called out more shots. "Jab, cross, hook, cross!" "Double jab, cross!" Sometimes, he smacked Riku's forehead with his pad. "Don't drop your goddamn guard! Now cross!"

"Ha..ha..." Riku panted heavily but kept his focus the entire time. At least, Gaku admired the boy's effort. The fighter should have been bored. Well, he was not. In fact, he enjoyed watching Riku give it his all.

Gaku did not get it. He also gave it his all every time he stepped into the ring, so why did he not enjoy the fight anymore?

"And time." Gaku let his hands drop after two minutes had passed. Riku put his hands right above his knee, taking deep, laboured breaths. "*huff huff* That was-."

Tiring. Gaku predicted what the boy was going to say. He was about ready to roll his eyes.

"Fun!" Riku sprang his upper body up, still panting. Even though he looked so tired, he smiled.

How could this guy be so adorable?

"Please, Yaotome-san, *huff* one more round."

"Heh. Don't complain when you can't move the next morning," Gaku chuckled then readied his pads and focused.

"I won't!"

Riku kept asking for another round. When he finished his fourth, "one...more...time..." he breathed way too heavily to be healthy.

"We'll stop here," Gaku took off his pad. "Your body isn't going to take it."

"But-!"

"Relax, Nanase," Gaku placed his hand on the boy's thin shoulder. "I've changed my mind. Don't go anywhere. I want to train you after all."

Having caught a smile on Yaotome Gaku's face, Riku felt relieved and happy. He had never been able to last this long before, and this was after he attended a session.

He was so happy that his body felt incredibly light.

"Oi, Nanase. Nanase!"

Gaku caught the boy whose body had fallen towards him. The boy's smiley face now scrunched up in pain each time he gasped for air. No matter how loud Gaku shouted, the redhead seemed to hear only the sound of his own wheezy breaths.

"I need... to fight."

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I regret to say this when I just published a new story but I am taking a break from writing for a while. T^T so if you'd like check out my other fics in the meantime. I do want to continue this but I'll see how it does first. Normally my chapters are longer than this. Just let me know what you think in the comments.

Fufufu can you lovely ppl imagine Riku punching someone in the face? :P

Note - "Thai boxing is a full contact sport" is what one of my coaches say all the time to newcomers to the club at uni.