King for a day, Nam and Zach gravity training

[Nam Reikonaga]

Nam couldn't help but grin as he successfully planted his fist into his adversary’s midsection. The sound of his reaction confirmed the power packed behind Nam’s punches. He was aware that his power had increased exponentially but he never really had a chance to test it out. He only experienced his enhanced speed in the outside, but this was as new to him as it was for Zach, although it was more painful for the latter. By the time Nam had struck Zach’s abs, his right hand was already cocked back under his waist and as he began to retract his left arm, his blond rival attempted to counter with a right knee in the chest. But Nam’s left hand was conveniently in the way to catch the attack. If Zach had lifted his left knee instead, his attack would have probably landed due to the almost nonexistent distance between them and Nam’s slow movements.

As soon as Nam caught his left knee, Nam immediately extended his right arm once again to strike his midsection for the second time. If this worked, Zach would have to involuntarily loosen his right leg and retract it to keep himself afoot, for which Nam would use the chance to ram a third into his packs with his left hand while taking back his right under his thigh.

[Zach]

Thrusting his knee up, Zach hit something but it didn’t feel like Nam’s chest. Instead of the grunt of exhaled breath he expected to hear coming from the boy, Zach heard another grunt, his own. Nam had hammered him with a second punch to the gut, taking away another good portion of his air and making his innards start to ache. Dropping his knee from the failed attack, Zach couldn’t believe he’d gotten his left and right mixed up. He intended to quickly correct that mistake, and planned to plant his other knee in Nam’s chest. Unfortunately the sluggishness of his muscles to respond under the gravity was enough that before he could shift his weight and raise the other leg, Nam hit him with a third punch to the gut that emptied his lungs.

“Uuuuugh!..” the blonde hunched up and stumbled back, trying not to drop to the floor. His breathing was ragged and he could feeling his insides doing summersault from the punches. ‘Where did he get this much strength? He doesn’t even have an altered state yet, he can’t be this strong.’ Zach’s mind raced. Backing away another few steps, Zach tried to straiten up and keep his muscles tense but they were getting just as sluggish as the rest of his movements. The combination of the weights and the intense gravity was murdering his stamina and Nam’s punches hadn’t helped any.

“Jeez, Kami did a number on you…” Zach croaked out and tried to take a few more breaths. Hopefully Nam would let him, otherwise he was in for a pretty short fight or perhaps a long one if the other boy was feeling sadistic.

[Nam Reikonaga]

Nam’s smirk widened even more as everything seemed to have been going his way, but he smacked his face to keep his exterior mellow before his opponent could see it. He didn’t want to make himself seem cocky, for those thoughts were nowhere in his head. He was just both surprised and excited by his new found power. He watched as his rival walked backwards, trying to catch his breath. Nam just returned to his stance, standing to the side with his right side facing his opponent; right leg bent and right arm arched covering his chest and chin. The left side of his body was behind his and his left arm resting in the waist as usual.

Nam was then caught off guard. Zach usually hated speaking during fights, in fact, he constantly lectured Nam about it and now he was doing it himself. The half-saiyan began to evaluate just how powerful he had become, to force this man to stall for air. “Hehehe…” he chuckled. “To be honest, this is as new to me as it is to you… I haven’t had a chance to actually test my new found strength…” This short moment of chatter was convenient for Nam. After crouching and moving so much, his legs were shaking from the exhaustion of holding all the weight of his clothes which were constantly trying to dig a hole through his body.

Nam broke his stance and took the chance to remove his scabbard. He was still keeping a close eye on Zach in case he would take the chance of vulnerability. Nam wouldn’t attack with his sword, but he’d used its sealed state to shield him from any attacks if he were assaulted in that moment. He wanted Zach to recover, he didn’t want to end the fight too fast since it had been so long, he needed to break into those packs.

[Zach]

“Heh, well we’ll see just how strong you have become. And later I’ll have to have a work with Kami.” Zach replied and took the opportunity to recover his breath. The blonde waited for Nam to finish removing his sword and place it aside before he resumed his classic defensive posture, arms up high to defend his head and chest. He still wasn’t sure of Nam had truly surpassed him on power or if it was just that he was more tired then the other boy from his earlier workout, but one thing was for sure, he intended to keep his abs tight now. Nam’s punches were probably as devastating as his own and although he was accustomed to the sensation, it never the less did weaken him, just not as quickly as the average fighter.

Deciding to throw out the first move this time as it had taken Nam a few moment in their last exchange to take the initiative, Zach approached and launched a half hearted left hand up high with the intention of occupying Nam’s blocking right arm, and then followed it immediately with a strong right handed punch aimed for the other boy’s solarplexus.

[Nam Reikonaga]

Nam hummed affirmatively to Zach’s comment and turned to face him as his blond rival decided to take the initiative. Since Nam had broken his stance to remove his sword, he was currently standing straight, but the beauty of his stance was that returning into would naturally dodge his adversary’s left punch. As Zach approached to deliver the blow, Nam withdrew the right side of his body, moving back with the attack and thus evading. It was especially easy for some reason, as if that first attack was a feint.

Just like that, Nam had his left body forward in his usual stance: left hand arched upward, covering his chest and chin, and his left leg bent forward and his right arm cocked under his waist. Zach’s fist ended only centimeters away from his face, just enough to evade and then initiated his next real attack towards Nam’s midsection; but thanks to his stance once again, he didn’t only evade the first but prepared for the second as it was a short distance between his right hand and Nam’s left.

The half-saiyan opened his left hand and pushed Zach’s thrust to his right and away from his body by pressing his palm against his wrist as the attack came. Using that same momentum, Nam turned his whole body to the right with leg in air and aimed a reverse kick to the face, twisting on his left foot to rotate backwards.

[Zach]

Either the gravity was messing with Zach’s coordination more then he thought or Nam was adjusting to the pull faster then he did and both were intolerable situations. His feint had been handily avoided and then his actual punch deflected so that he was twisting to the left. Nam was carrying through with the momentum of his blocking maneuver and Zach could see the other’s right leg lifting from the floor just as it passed behind the other boy and out of sight. Acting fast and ironically as Nam had done, Zach used the intense gravity of the room to his advantage, tumbling forward to avoid the spinning kick.

The boy rolled the full length of his body past Nam on his right side and then hauled him self back up to his feet at the completion of the roll. He was sweating so much at this point that where his back had met the floor there was a definite wet impression left behind. Zach quickly turned around to face his opponent but give the sluggishness of his movements, he didn’t know if he’d been facing Nam before another attack came. Ever ready though, as soon as his arms weren’t needed to support his weight of for balance, they were up and about his head to ward off further assaults.

[Nam Reikonaga]

As Nam made the attempt for his reverse kick, he spotted Zach rolling past and behind him. This made him slightly panic and tried to rush the movement and prepare for a potential attack. His right leg finally landed and it took him a while to recover. Performing that kick wasn’t very easy under their current conditions and it was only a matter of time before his legs gave in and he collapses to the ground. Nam looked over his left shoulder quickly to watch out for an attack, although, even if Zach was attacking, Nam wouldn’t have been able to dodge or block from his position as he was still recovering from his failed attack; but thankfully that wasn’t the case.

Zach was turning around to face his opponent’s back, and Nam did what seemed like the fastest action and performed a heel kick from his back. He lifted his left leg, arched in midair as 90 degrees with his heel sticking out. As his upper body tilted forward, his left leg would move back and straighten. Nam tried to do this as fast as possible before his adversary could get back in position to counter. Whether his kick landed, got blocked or dodged, he would immediately retract it, turning 180 degrees on his right foot. By the time his left foot would reach the ground, Nam’s body would have turned completely to face his opponent.

Nam could have continued the assault, but he was much too tired and tried to hide his exhaustion by letting Zach catch his breath. All the while, he would be doing the same. Nam was breathing heavily, his own clothes was so damp, the weight was felt as it stacked on his special clothing and the enhanced gravity. Nam was standing straight again, giving his muscles time to recuperate. At this stage it was tiring even trying to maintain his fighting stance. He stood there with arms high, breathing deeply. He wasn’t about to let his guard down, even while being so tired.

[Zach]

As Zach feared, an attach did come, just as he was completing the turn to face Nam, the boy executed perhaps one of the most perfect kick’s he’d ever seen, let alone took. Nam’s boot slammed right into Zach’s abs and dropped the boy to his knees with a very audible groan. Zach gagged as s bit of spit dripped out of his mouth, his innards were no longer doing summersaults, but a full on gymnastics routine. He stayed that way for longer then he would have liked, eyes squeezed shut as the ache washed through his guts and finally started to subside, letting him breath again.

Eventually Zach hauled himself back to his feet, although it took a lot more effort, both physical and mental then he would have liked to have admitted. The teen was back up though and drew his arms up into his ready posture, but anyone could tell he was getting tired. His skin was completely slick with sweat, his gaze was getting listless and his shoulders drooped a bit. He would go down just yet though, Nam was going to have to force him, or he would force Nam to submit. One of them was going to go down, unfortunately with a record of four hits to zip, Zach’s chances were getting pretty slim.

[Nam Reikonaga]

Nam’s kick landed perfectly on its mark. Zach was finally forced to his knees; it was inevitable that Nam’s kick would have quite an impact for various reasons. They say legs are three times stronger than a person’s arm because they walk with them. If you count that with Nam’s heavy boots and the fact that Zach’s midsection had already endured various powerful hits, it would all sum to a very painful experience. Nam remained in place, resting as Zach did the same and recovered from the blow. After a few long moments, the shirtless man got back to his feet, although a bit shaky and returned to his fighting posture with his hands high.

Is he doing it on purpose? he began to ponder. All of Nam’s attacks were centered on Zach’s midsection so far. He did try attacking different place, but they were all evaded or blocked. Regardless, Zach always kept his defense high and left his abdominal cavity open for the season. It also occurred to him that his blond rival hadn’t brought out his translucent armor. It had been a while since he’d experience it. What was Zach trying to accomplish? Or was he really unaware of his mistakes?

Right now they were both standing in similar postures with their hands high. Zach’s reason was unknown to Nam, but he did it because he was currently too tired to take his usual stance. If he did, his legs would probably shake uncontrollably and he’d collapse to the ground. Zach’s position was much less stressing on his muscles. Both of them stood there, staring at each other from the distance. Zach was probably too tired to take the initiative and would prefer to defend, Nam’s case was two-fold. He wanted them both to recuperate; one, to hide the fact he was as tired as he was. And two, so his opponent could rest and contribute more to the fight.

Aside from the fight, this was excellent training for Nam’s body to adjust to the increased gravity –along with the extra weight. He could almost feel his body improving further as that burning sensation expanded and engulfed him. Nam was tired, but somehow, it kind of felt good. But that was probably mental; he was just happy to have gotten so strong and was determined to keep getting stronger so he could take down the intergalactic tyrant. He didn’t know whether Touketsuki would die by the hands of another before he could reach such level, but he would push on forward just in case and work his way to that vision he had in the last three days.

Kami’s words repeated themselves in Nam’s head as he explained the red medallion. ”…it grants the user vision's into their potential, and often into their future. Nam wasn’t sure how that blond guy in his vision had anything to do with his future, or even him as a whole, but he wouldn’t find out by just lying around. If anything, Nam wanted to emit the same power he felt from his vision –maybe even more. The power that being was emitting; with his golden yellow hair and turquoise eyes.

“This gravity thing…” he began, huffing and puffing with every breath. “…it’s pretty intense, huh?”

[Zach]

Holding his ready stance, Zach worked hard to recover from the punishment his body was taking. He breathed deeply now that his lungs were responding to commands from his brain again and did everything possible to restore the oxygen content of his blood to normal. Just breathing in the intense gravity pull though was a chore since as the chest expands it also raises and thus must work against the pull. In addition to his lungs having to work hard to keep him going, Zach’s abs were getting wrecked by Nam’s punches and that last kick. The boy didn’t want to look down and check, as that would give away his doubts about the defensive muscles, but judging by the sensations he got from the muscles when he tried to tighten up, he was pretty sure they were no longer doing their job.

‘Hm, looks like the rest of this match is going to be a torture trip. I can deal with that.’ Zach mused to himself and took a few more moments to recover. In that time Nam saw fit to comment on the intensity of the gravity machine and that made a sly grin spread across Zach’s face. He could attack what he perceived as an insecurity Nam had about their training and maybe goad the other into attacking. Hopefully this time he’d be able to pull off a counter and work that into a combination.

“Oh? Is it?” Zach started, still grinning. “I could go higher but if it’s too much for you we can turn it down a bit.” the teen replied, trying badly not to laugh. This could go a few ways, either Nam takes the bait or he doesn’t. If he does then Zach would either manage a counter and hopefully swing the fight in his favor or at the very least, get it back on even ground, or Nam would flatten him and he’d take a beating. In truth it wasn’t the beating he was trying to avoid, he simply didn’t want to end up being relegated to the back row simply because Kami was playing favorites. He was being left behind on purpose and needed to prove that they couldn’t do that to him. He’d worked hard for everything he could do and to be slapped in the face like this and have others surpass him with such ease and no effort at all was intolerable.

[Nam Reikonaga]

Nam smiled sarcastically at Zach’s reply. “Of course, you’ve done with before…” he said. He was then left thinking about his opponent’s request about increasing the gravity. It certainly angered Nam the way he was being teased, but he wasn’t about to fall for such cheap tricks. Or was he? At the rate the fight was going now, Zach would undoubtedly lose. So far, Nam had connected four times in the same spot, while his adversary didn’t –but he wasn’t about to accept without returning Zach’s words on him.

“Sure, maybe you’ll finally manage to land a hit if we increase the gravity pull!” he teased with a defiant grin. Nam wasn’t cocky, and he never will, but Zach was trying to taunt him and he’d definitely return it when possible. This though, was probably a big mistake, considering he was already quite tired; but Zach wasn’t only tired, he was weakened by Nam’s punches and kicks. If he could continue, then Nam shall never give up.

[Zach]

Zach was happy to get some kind of response out of Nam, but not so mush as he had hoped. Instead the other boy tried to taunt him into attacking and Zach wasn’t going to fall for his own trick. He did however had another up his immaterial sleeve. He could tap into his hidden reserves and push himself even farther. Even if Nam now had a comparable ascended state, he likely couldn’t hold it for long. Zach’s experience with his own taught him that it was difficult to maintain of any length of time but had also shown him how to do just that. The blonde boy was sure that he could outlast Nam if need be.

“Ok, you want more, sure, I’ll give you more, but you’re going to be sorry.” Zach responded and opened up his guard. He released his fists and then clenched them tight again as his energy production spiked and the boy’s crimson aura flared up all about him. As he ascended he could feel the weight of his clothing and that added by the gravity mechanism lessen a bit, not so much by two thirds as he was already tired, but more akin to half of how much they had been oppressing him. Giving no time for any witty comebacks from his opponent, Zach launched himself across the space between them, bringing his right arm in low to try and burry it in Nam’s stomach. His left arm mean while returned to it’s usual defensive position.

[Nam Reikonaga]

Nam instantly got back into his guard once his opponent began to charge his ki. It was his usual stance, with his left side forward and his right side behind him as they’d always be. Zach’s power began to spike up and his body was engulfed by a crimson aura, similar to Nam’s Kaioken. The half-saiyan began to regret his decision. When Zach said he could go higher, Nam thought he was referring to the gravity, not his chi…

Nam felt somewhat nostalgic watching his rival’s power peak as it did. He displayed the same power during the tournament, which marked Nam’s total defeat; except, this time he was stronger. But although he was stronger, so was Nam. He believed he diminished the gap between them, even if by a little; not to mention he had the Kaioken now. If Nam could use it at the right moment, without fail, every time, he could still win the fight. But his heart shook with doubt all over again. As soon as Nam would face a fighter of superior strength, his heart quivers. How could he even think about facing Touketsuki Yakedo with that flaw? He immediately highlighted his adversary’s huge advantage: he could sustain his transformation a whole lot longer than Nam’s Kaioken, which ends in seconds. Not only was he able to maintain his transformation longer, but as far as Nam knew, it didn’t cause any extreme fatigue like the Kaioken did.

Nam did have one advantage though, injury wise, he was completely fresh. But even then, he was already considerably tired by the gravity and weights restraining him, keeping him from reaching his full power, which was a problem against someone who could, to a certain extent. Nam’s only chance was the Kaioken, and he would wait for the perfect chance to reassure his success in every attempt to strike –even if it meant taking a hit.

Nam tensed his body as his opponent was finishing with his power up. Zach got serious, there were no more games. Nam would no longer allow him the chance to catch up and he would take every chance to finish this. He was positive that Zach would do the same. Nam immediately discarded his pessimistic thoughts, they would just burden him. He needed to learn to confront people stronger than him, or he could never become strong himself. Nam focused and watched his opponent’s movements carefully; his heart would shake no more...

Without anytime in between, the blond man propelled himself forward at full force. Nam flinched to his incredible speed, he knew things would change, but somehow, he could never quite prepare himself for such an attack. Luckily, Nam had gotten into his stance before his opponent had finished charging, and to add to it, Zach was attacking with his right hand, which aimed directly at his stomach –and which Nam’s left hand was protecting. The half-saiyan managed to jerk his left arm around enough to meet with Zach’s punch –just in time, blocking with his forearm.

The impact of the attack was explosive; at least, that’s how Nam felt it was, but only a third party could really know. It was as if the impact of their powers colliding caused a powerful force around them, and he could’ve sworn he saw sparks between them. It was painful too. Nam couldn’t imagine how it would’ve felt if he let it hit his abdomen, even if he tightened it. Right now Zach’s power was incredible. It was almost hard to believe he wasn’t able to defeat Touketsuki. If they were on land, Nam thought the ground would’ve broken beneath them, unless they already made a dent on the floor.

Nam remained in stand-by, preparing himself to block or dodge whatever his opponent’s next attack would be. It wasn’t time for Kaioken, not yet. Zach was hot now and he would’ve probably been able to counter if Nam attempted at that moment. This was also an advantage; Zach doesn’t know Nam obtained a way to increase his power and it would most certainly catch him off guard. Not by power level, because Nam remembered Zach still couldn’t sense energy –but from performance. The sudden speed and power his Kaioken would grant him would probably be quite shocking for his adversary. Although, it was still not the right time, Nam wanted it to be perfect and flawless.

He was aware that he might not be able to react to Zach’s next attack in time, distance saved him the first time, but he wasn’t sure about the second. So the half-saiyan moved ahead of time and tighten his abdominal cavity as if he were going to receive the strike at that instant.

[Zach]

Thrusting his right arm forward in a low arc, Zach ended up crashing his clenched fist into Nam’s forearm instead of his gut. The result further angered the blonde and he only lost half a heartbeat growling at the miss. Launching another strike, Zach pulled his right in and threw the left out. The attack was a roués however and intended to sail right past the other boy’s head so that he could attempt a grab. Nam was also right to expect another attack against his abdomen, as whether of not he managed the grab, Zach lifted his right leg with the intention of plunging his knee upward into the other boy’s stomach.

With any hope the left handed punch would provide enough distraction to keep the other from noticing the knee. Even better, if he managed to grab the back of Nam’s head it would aid him in landing successive knees to the other boy as Zach didn’t intend to stop with just one. If his strike was clean and landed in the other teen’s gut, he would pull back and launch another and another, intent on feeding Nam some payback for the blows he’d received. All the while Zach’s crimson aura raged around him, threatening to tare up the very floor plating with his fury. Thankfully the chamber plating was designed for this and the instructions had been well followed so the mechanism was in no danger, only Nam’s midsection.

[Nam Reikonaga]

Following his punch, Zach thrust his left fist forward as Nam predicted, but this didn’t hit him in the stomach like he thought; instead… it didn’t hit him at all. Nam was surprised that his opponent had missed his face by centimeters as the half-saiyan didn’t have time to really react. He began to think it was a purposeful miss, but he didn’t know exactly why. What he did know though, was that if Zach had aimed correctly, he wouldn’t have missed. He would’ve planted that sucker on the half-saiyan’s face without even trying.

Nam was tired and disoriented by his adversary’s speed and power, which he was trying to adapt to. Because of this, he literally didn’t react to Zach’s left fist –maybe a blink of his eyes, but that was it. Nam was too busy keeping his body tense and stiff for the strike in his abdomen he was waiting for, keeping his same position –which saved him by a surprise knee. Nam didn’t really block it, but his arm was in the way enough to lessen the intensity of the blow. But then came another one from the left, which made real and clean contact. Nam maintained him-self stiff like a boulder trying to think about what to do, but as he tried to move away, his opponent had gripped the back on his head.

DAMNIT! he growled to himself. His exterior expression maintained calm and looking at the consecutive knee’s being rammed to his midsection, but grunting with every blow. In came the third knee, Nam didn’t know how much more he could take without giving in, and Zach was still gripping the back of his head, which didn’t allow him to escape. Zach would just continue ramming his knees into Nam unless he thought of a way out; but then, he began to reason as the fourth left knee made its mark. Zach’s right arm was busy holding onto his head, this was the absolute perfect moment. No, not yet.

Nam’s eyes focused on his rival’s midsection as he clenched his left fist, and as his right and fifth knee was approaching, Nam catapulted his left hand and buried it into Zach’s solar plexus before his knee could reach in time. As he thrust his fist, his body engulfed in the scarlet aura that enhanced his power and speed threefold. Nam felt as if his heart literally skipped a beat as he used his Kaioken, which was exactly the time it took to execute his strike and return to his normal power. In that split second of immense power, Nam felt all the weight on him disappear. The gravity wasn't felt, and the strikes to his abdomen was nullified, just for that small beat. Afterwards, it all returned, and worse.

By the time his punch landed, the aura would immediately disperse. Anyone capable of sense energy would be completely baffled by the sudden surge of immense power; but this was not Zach’s case as he could not sense such phenomenon. If the attack made contact, Nam would endure the pain he was in and follow through by gripping the back of Zach’s neck with both hands and bring him down to his left knee that would strike him in the face. This maneuver was obviously much slower, since the effects of his Kaioken were no longer active and instead his strain was increased, but after such a fierce blow to the solar plexus, Zach would be too busy recovering to avoid this attack.

After the set of attacks, Nam would leap backwards for distance, gripping the clothes on his chest tightly with his right hand as if trying to get air. His left hand would hang loose, marked red from Zach’s powerful first strike, which he managed to just barely block. His legs were spread apart and his face was was covered in sweat as they dripped down to his open mouth and to the floor beneath him. Some got in his right eye, which made him close it instinctively. His eyes still slanted on his rival.