krystalkatzficz | The Wall part 7

Nino grunted as he accepted the punch to his arm so he could gain the advantage to send out a kick. His mind was focused only on the fight and the opponent in front of him. The man was forced back due to the force of his kick and Nino heard the crowd cheer but he ignored it choosing instead to decide on his next move and perform it quickly and easily. He felt the crunching of bones and his opponent grunted collapsing into a heap in front of him. Blood was coming out of his mouth now and Nino turned to the judges, made up of the foremen, floor managers, and managers of both the Ohno mine and the much smaller Taro mine. It took them only a few seconds to make their decision and Nino smiled a little as he watched the thumbs going up one by one. The judges from the Taro mine looking reluctant but doing so as it was clear that he was the fair winner. He bowed and the left the mat going to Masaki who was holding water and a towel.

“Are you okay?” His brother asked looking pale and frightened and Nino smiled washing out his mouth a little and then spitting it on to the ground. He felt awful for wasting water like that but it was best to look nonchalant as people were smacking him hard on the back and congratulating him. It was a rough life sometimes but at least those from the Ohno mine that had had money on him would be able to have a little extra money. His odds were great today as the Taro mine fighter had already taken down five of the other fighters and Nino had never been much to look at.

“A few bruises but nothing that I can’t handle…” He said knowing that he was lying, at least a little, he had felt one of his ribs crack with a blow and his stomach was burning from the series of punches that been rained down on him. It had been months since his last fight and he hadn’t been practicing as much as he should but he had thought about giving it up and hadn’t even been expecting to fight today. They had needed the money if they wanted to eat that night and for the rest of the month until they went inside.
Trepidation was still running through him at the idea of the sponsorship but he hoped that Satoshi was the man that he seemed to be. “Come on…Let’s go get the money so we can get something to eat…”

“I wish you didn’t have to fight…” Masaki whispered and Nino gave a little shrug that was too painful for his liking. He pushed it aside and walked over to the foreman, a larger than life man who had been a friend of their parents. The man seemed to have a soft heart when it came to Masaki the most and could often have been found trying to convince him into office work over actually being in the mines. The level threes hadn’t liked that idea very much and Masaki had been reluctant to pick a fight and had chosen to stay in the mines until he had decided that they were going to go through with the sponsorship.

He still had no idea why Masaki had become so determined about the sponsorship but he had learned long ago that he couldn’t always predict what would go through Masaki’s head. He did know that his parents last words to him had been about looking after Masaki. It wasn’t something that he had needed telling but it had stuck inside him. He looked at his brother from the corner of his eyes noting that his face was paler than it had been months ago, and it was thinner. Making a mental note to ask his brother about it later he walked up to the stage and stood next to the foreman.

“You fought well, Nino…”

“Did you expect anything less?” Nino asked with a sly smile jerking his head at the others. The foreman gave a smile nudging his shoulder with his fist. Nino tried his best to ignore the pain of it and gave a smile while the managers of Ohno and Taro mines made their speeches. He felt his stomach rumble and he wished that they would just get on with it so he and Masaki could go eat.

Eventually the hemp bag of money was placed down onto his palm and those in the crowd that had supported him gave a cheer while those that had lost on him muttered under their breaths. He had never been one for making speeches and thankfully they were soon able to go.

He and Masaki left the stage and head through the crowds until they were finally on their own walking through the grimy streets to the market. It was ordinarily somewhere that they couldn’t afford. It offered those outside foods grown on the inside farms. Masaki was buzzing with excitement as they moved from stall to stall buying everything and anything that they hadn’t tasted in a while. They only took one of each kind not wanting to waste the money. The pain grew inside of him until he had to reluctantly hand over the coin purse to Masaki. “…I’m going to get going home, you’ll be okay, right?”

“…Of course, are you, okay?” Masaki asked his hands coming up to look at his face and Nino rolled his eyes wondering how his brother could even ask that. His hand moved to his side lightly caressing over the chest where he had been hit as he said with a smile;
“I…I just won a fight, of course I’m not okay…But I will be…A wash and some sleep is all I need, I promise…I’ll see you at home later, don’t stay out too late…”

“…Nino…You do realise that I’m the eldest, right?” Masaki chuckled as he reached up and ruffled his hair and Nino let out a laugh pushing the had away as he shot back;

“That may be true but we both know that I’m the most mature…I’ll see you later okay, I’ll be as good as new by the time you get back to the apartment…”

“Okay, if you promise…” Masaki looked troubled but Nino knew his own body and there wasn’t anything that a bath and a sleep wouldn’t cure. It had been one of his easier fights if he was being honest but he didn’t want to continue wandering around the market while his side, back, and arms were throbbing.

“I promise, I’ll see you soon, okay?”

TBC
A/N: I hope that this isn’t too boring >.<