Chapter 95: Hands Only...
–Chapter 95–
"I’m never too tired to kick your ass."
Dean smiled and stepped further into the center of the room. The distance between them shortened naturally.
"Good," he replied calmly. "Hit me then."
The atmosphere shifted and became heavier with a building wave of tension between the boys.
Rogue rolled his shoulders once before spitting lightly to the side. The earlier frustration in his eyes had not disappeared completely, but it no longer looked unstable
The Blue Streak Dire Wolf slowly rose from the corner of the room, its glowing yellow eyes narrowing with interest as it observed them.
Ash reacted as well. The slime bounced upward from Dean’s collar before staring toward Rogue, observing and reaching him.
Tiny ripples spread across its body like it already knew violence was about to happen and wanted front row seats with popcorn for the entertainment.
Dean was beginning to suspect the little menace enjoyed combat far more than what was healthy for a creature with its capabilities.
Rogue cracked his neck once before raising his clenched fists.
"No familiars, no copying, Just hands," he said behind gritted teeth.
Ash immediately began bouncing harder in protest. Dean glanced sideways at the slime. "You’ll survive two minutes without me buddy."
Ash flattened itself dramatically against his shoulder, its googly eyes becoming even bigger now.
Dean clicked his tongue but was able to ignore the emotional manipulation. But instead of sending the slime back.
He dropped it by the side, away from the chaos as he preferred it, observing and learning. After all, that was one of its strengths.
The Blue Streak Dire Wolf remained active, and watched attentively from the near-by wall.
The room remained silent as the boys watched each other closely.
Rogue settled swiftly into a battle stance first. Dean’s eyes sharpened slightly as he studied the boy properly.
His posture was compact with his hands lifted high near his cheeks. And weight balanced aggressively on the balls of his feet. His lead leg remained light enough to check kicks or launch forward instantly.
’Interesting,’ Dean thought. The boy’s stance was closer to kickboxing which explained his hip strength from training alone earlier.
"Okay..." he whispered as he mirrored him instinctively, though Dean’s stance looked looser by comparison.
His lead shoulder angled forward slightly while his guard remained relaxed enough to transition between striking and grappling naturally.
Years of street fighting, mixed martial arts combat and training had beaten adaptability into his body long before he entered this world.
Rogue’s eyes narrowed after noticing the sudden switch in Dean’s posture.
"You fight weird," he said without holding back.
Dean smirked faintly. "I also kick like a landlord when the rent is due."
Rogue blinked in obvious confusion. "What the hell?"
"Never mind," Dean sighed.
With their stances taken, it was time to begin the soar before something came to Rogue’s mind.
The blond exhaled sharply through his nose before speaking again.
"First to three clean hits?" he suggested. After all, the last time Dean sparred with someone they almost died.
"Works for me.
Neither moved immediately after that exchange, instead they circled carefully, measuring distance and reactions while the tension inside the room tightened and increased steadily.
Dean noticed Rogue’s front shoulder twitch slightly. Then the boy exploded forward.
His motion was fast but it was nothing he couldn’t keep up with.
The gap between them vanished instantly as Rogue drove a punch toward Dean’s ribs with enough force to crack a reinforced wall.
Dean moved like it was second nature, and was about to lower his elbow in time. The impact slammed into his guard hard enough to rattle his entire arm painfully.
"Shit," Dean muttered under his breath while sliding backward. Lowering the guard like it broke.
Rogue did not stop there. The blond immediately followed with a low kick aimed toward Dean’s thigh.
Dean checked it this time, lifting his shin upward just before impact. He blocked the strike but the pain shot through his leg anyway.
The boy’s hits were heavy. Which now explained the dents on the training dummies.
From just his approach and strikes, Dena could say that Rogue fought like a truck that learned martial arts from a bulldozer.
Dean noticed the man’s slow withdraw of his foot and countered immediately with a quick jab toward Rogue’s face.
But the boy wasn’t just hitting hard, he was fast too.
And just in the nick of time, slipped sideways just enough for the fist to graze past him before pivoting sharply and firing another body shot toward Dean’s side.
Dean twisted and withdrew his body back and the two separated afterward.
Rogue moved back with a smirk on his face. "Too slow Gray. Thought you were faster."
Dean flexed his slightly sore arm once. "i was just holding back from hurting your ugly face."
The Dire Wolf let out something close to a snort from the corner. Its massive fangs brandished. But Ash didn’t move an inch. It was still and observing...
Rogue frowned and looked at his summon. "You laughing at me?"
"Probably," Dean cut in as he moved first this time. He didn’t want to play defense and instead stepped forward.
Feigning a high hook toward Rogue’s jaw. But Rogue reacted immediately and tightened his guard upward.
Using the feint, Dean reached into the opening to drive a kick with his shin toward Rogue’s calf instead.
Bam!
The strike landed cleanly as the impact vibrated through Rogue’s body.
The boy grunted but retaliated instantly with a short hook aimed toward Dean’s temple.
Dean saw it coming and ducked under it before stepping inward again, with more aggression than before.
This.part of fighting was familiar to him. Forcing close-range pressure while he could fight dirty without notice.
Dean drove his shoulder into Rogue’s chest before throwing a short elbow toward his jaw.
Rogue leaned backward just enough to avoid the full impact, but Dean still clipped him across the cheek, sending him back by a few meters.
"First hit," Dean said while stepping back.
Rogue rubbed the side of his face before nodding once.
"Fair," he said behind gritted teeth and he charged forward a second later.
The next set of exchanges happened faster.
Rogue opened with a jab, combining it with a high knee feint before transitioning with a spin into a low side kick.
Dean blocked the punches with a simple guard but the feint left him open for the side kick that slammed against his outer thigh hard enough to numb the muscle momentarily.
"Damn," Dean hissed. Playing his part after all, he needed this boy fired up.
Rogue grinned. "That one landed huh?"
Dean nodded like he hurt too much but instead of retreating, he ignored the pain and stepped inward before Rogue could reset.
His fist shot forward and straight at Rogue’s stomach. But the boy was able to tighten his core in time and absorbed most of it.
And with a loud grunt, he stubbornly reached out and grabbed Dean’s outstretched arm, attempting a throw.
Dean’s instincts were too sharp to fall for something like this. Instead he reacted by widening his base.
Twisting the arm sharply, he broke the grip before driving his knee upward toward Rogue’s ribs in quick succession.
Rogue’s eyes transformed into yellow and he blocked with his forearm but he couldn’t cushion the full impact, stumbling backward as he heard something snap in his arm.
"Fuck.." Rogue lamented as the two separated again.
Their breaths were ragged and hard as sweat rolled slowly down Rogue’s neck while Dean flexed his fingers loosely to keep his hands relaxed.
"One each," Rogue said. As if to confirm he was still in this.
Dean nodded non-chalantly. "Sure."
The Blue Streak Dire Wolf seemed to have adopted Ash’s mode and watched quietly from the side, its glowing eyes tracking every movement carefully.
Dean noticed something strange. These creatures all seem the same. They were always seemingly learning.
Honestly, that was slightly horrifying if he thought about it deeper. Humanity somehow reached a stage where summoned monsters now spectated combat technique like sports analysts.
The spar resumed again and they didn’t bother easing into it anymore.
Rogue kept attacking with heavy and aggressive strikes while Dean responded with movement and counters.
Fists collided against guards repeatedly while kicks slammed into thighs, ribs and shoulders with enough force to echo throughout the training room.
Dean quickly realized something important during the exchange. Rogue fought with emotions but he wasn’t reckless.
That was a difference he was learning to appreciate about the boy. Something he could maybe learn going forward.
Each of the boy’s strikes carried frustration like he was trying to overpower his own thoughts. But he was still very careful not to over reach.
In the end, Dean had to admit that Rogue’s high ranking in the draft wasn’t a fluke after all.
Rogue threw another heavy cross. But Dean read it and slipped sideways before driving a punch directly into Rogue’s ribs.
Bam!
The strike rippled through the boy’s body causing him to grunt as he retaliated immediately with a hook as Dean expected.
With the hook at close range, Dean snapped his head sideways but the strike clipped him anyway.
Dean staggered once before laughing despite himself. His eyes suddenly grew duller.
"Oh now you’re trying," Dean cracked his neck with a grin. "Let’s try this again.’
Rogue smirked back, his eyes twitched slightly as he clenched his fist harder.
"There’s the asshole everybody keeps talking about."
"You guys call me an asshole," Dean asked with an eyebrow raised.
The tension between them slowly loosened and even though Rogue still clearly disliked him. And Dean still thought the blond could be an arrogant idiot.
The spar carried honesty that conversations would usually ruin.
The spar continued far longer than either of them originally intended. And At some point they stopped counting hits entirely.
Neither cared about it anymore. They just enjoyed the thrill of what they did best.
Fight!
--End of Chapter--
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