Tick-tick-tick.
My opponent was bouncing on his toes in rhythm.
It looks like he's the patient type. Does he plan to wait until I make the first move?
(...)
I didn't expect it to turn that way, but here I am assisting Johan's father as he referees his first MMA fight.
I can't tell who will win yet, but Johan's opponent has way more experience and has trained various techniques. It won't be easy...
Swoosh—
Smash.
"Ugh!"
Looks like Johan has made the first move. As expected, with his reach he was able to take his opponent by surprise. That hit already connected, and it was a pretty big one...
Skid—
Whap!
Johan lands a fast jab on the face of Lucas.
Thud!
"Uff—"
Lucas took that shot without reacting in time. It's looking bad for him.
But the issue with Johan is that he likes being in control, so he might lower his guard soon...
(...)
"Huff-huff"
I'm dominating the fight right now. I can't let this drag much longer! I have to finish him off.
Smack!
That one hurts. I'm starting to become tired, I have to finish him before he takes the advantage!
Tap... tap... tap...
He's approaching. I need to take this opportunity.
"Huff—"
Swoosh!
As I threw my fist as hard as I could, he ducked under it.
I tried to lower my arms, but it was already too late.
Bang!
Just like last time with Malik, a strong strike was all it took to break me.
(...)
Ouch... that must hurt. Is it over?
It looks like Johan is still standing but he's limping...
I looked at Johan. He lifted his eyes, staring straight at Lucas.
"Oh." was the only word that came out of my mouth at that moment.
I turned to look at Malik, and he was looking at me too.
Before the match, we agreed on one thing.
Whenever he tells me to, I would stop Johan, but it looks like he wasn't ready to stop the fight yet.
"I have a bad feeling about this," I whispered to myself.
Johan lowered his guard completely and started walking towards Lucas.
"...what is he doing?"
I could hear whispers going through the crowd.
To be fair, I'm not sure what he was doing either.
Zip!
Johan dashed towards Lucas and started throwing punches frantically.
Thud!
"Urgh!"
Whap!
Smack!
"...Hey, what happened to this kid?"
The crowd began to cheer as Johan was leading the exchange, but I couldn't help but worry.
Grunt!
SLAM!
It was a clean takedown executed by Johan. Lucas and him are the same weight, and yet he was able to lift him like he was a child.
As the fight went on, I noticed that Lucas had more difficulty keeping up.
"Hngh"
Rustle!
Wham!
As Lucas tried to free himself from Johan, he kept getting punched. At that point, I thought that stopping the fight would be the appropriate choice.
I looked toward Malik and he nodded in agreement.
I then looked at the coaches and they agreed too.
"Alright, that's it for today!" I said.
But Johan wasn't stopping.
Smash!
Johan landed a huge blow on Lucas while he was on the ground.
"Hey Johan, didn't you hear me?"
As I said this, I saw Johan lift his elbow up...
At that moment, I heard Malik shouting his name—
I had no other choice but to intervene.
I dived on him to keep him away from Lucas.
Thud!
"Urgh..." I think I'm starting to get old. I managed to hurt my back just by doing that.
"Johan, you have to calm down!" I said.
And when I turned my head to look at him—
"Fuck you!"
Smack!
He really did it. He punched me...
"This bastard!" Malik seemed pretty angry while saying that. He rushed at us and pulled Johan away.
"...Hey, what the hell is wrong with this kid!"
"...Who allowed a nutcase like him into this gym!"
...
The crowd drifted out of my control, and all the things they were saying about Johan were making me dizzy.
"Alright, stop!" shouted Elena.
The rool fell into a deep silence as she said this.
"Go back to the lockers, we're going to settle things here!" she added.
"Hey Lucas, are you alright?" I said.
He was lying on the floor with his arms spread out.
"Yeah, that guy was... interesting," he replied.
"Ah, please forgive him. You know, he loses control easily when he gets angry. I shouldn't have let him take part in this fight in the first place."
"No sir, I'm alright. You should go check on your son instead," he said.
I looked towards Johan.
Hmm, Malik's going to handle it anyway. I should go get changed.
(...)
I did it again.
After Mom learns this, she will never allow me in a gym anymore.
Ah, I think combat sports are really not made for me...
"Bro, what was that back there? You almost did something really dangerous!" said Malik while holding both of my shoulders.
"I don't know, man. I... nevermind."
"Nevermind what? Do you have any— Oh. I think I'm going to leave you both alone to talk."
"Huh? What are you—"
As I looked up, I saw Lisa.
I didn't need to be a genius to figure out that she was mad at me.
"Get up," she said.
I got up.
"Do you have any idea of what you just did?" she added.
"Lisa, I'm sorry I di—"
"Johan, I was wrong. I don't think you're made for this," she said while cutting me off.
She turned around and left.
"L-Lisa!"
Damn it. I really hate this sport...
...