It's been three years since Nadia attended a boxing gym. After she's done work, she goes to a boxing gym and do training. Then go home. That is her daily routine. Nadia had played tennis when she was a student. She like exercise very much. However, after graduating from high school, she got a job and lost the opportunity to play tennis. She went to a boxing gym to exude her desire to do exercise. Nadia had no strong interest in boxing. However, She liked to do boxing that allows me to do exercise. Nadia had good motor skills, so her boxing skills improved. Jim's chairman advised her to become professional boxer, but Nadia declined his proposal. Nadia like to practice boxing, but she isn't as passionate about boxing as she wanted to be professional boxer. Nadia work for a travel agency and thought that becoming a professional boxer would hinder her work.

 

Three weeks ago, a junior high school student entered the gym in Nadia. His name is Bertrand. He is the third of junior high school trainee at the gym. This gym trainer does not teach junior high school students very hard. Because they are still children. However, the two junior high school students, who had already been entered, became friends with a college student trainee in the gym and asked to teach him boxing . And they are under the guidance of college students.But Bertrand has a shy personality and rarely talks to anyone in Jim. For that reason, he was the only junior high school student who was not taught by college students. That is why Bertrand often practiced alone.

 

Nadia sees Bertrand and remembers her younger brother. Her parents had been divorced several years ago and Nadia began to part with her brother. My younger brother was also very shy and was not good at making friends. So Nadia often played with her brother.

Nadia was unable to leave Bertrand alone, and she suggested that she teach him boxing. But Bertrand turned down her proposal, embarrassed to be taught by a woman. Nadia is in a bad mood for Bertrand's behavior and hit a punching bag in front of Bertrand. The punching bag shakes violently in front of him. Bertrand saw it and asked Nadia to apologize to her for boxing guidance.

 

Bertrand's boxing skills didn't improve much when he was practicing alone, but Bertrand's boxing skills improved steadily since Nadia gave guidance. It seems that The difference in ability between the other two middle school students seemed to have narrowed little by little.Bertrand became more and more fond of boxing, and as well became friends with Nadia.

 

Bertrand told Nadia that he wanted to be a professional boxer. He said he would be the world champion. Nadia thought he was innocent and boyish, and Nadia wanted to support his dream. Since then, Nadia became more enthusiastic about coaching Bertrand boxing. Bertrand will be stronger than me in the next two years. In the meantime, I want to teach him boxing skills as much as I can. So,Nadia thought

 

Half a year after Bertrand entered the gym, he sparred for the first time in the gym.It is Jim's professional boxer who deals with him.Of course, there was a big difference in ability between the two, so the professional boxer managed to relax.

 

boxers without hitting a single punch.Professional boxers are punching with a lot of slack.Still, But Bertrand kneeled on the canvas after receiving a professional boxer's body blow in the second round.It didn’t seem a punch strong enough to go down.But Bertrand was unable to stand up and went down.Jim's trainer told him to stand, but Bertrand wouldn't stand up.Jim's trainer was furious at Bertrand's timid figure and stopped sparring.Other trainees who were watching Bertrand's first sparring sigh and return to their practice. Nadia was worried about Bertrand and approached him who got off the ring. Bertrand was almost crying. Nadia told Bertrand.

 

"That's the way everyone sparred for the first time."

　Nadia tried to cheer Bertrand up, but he left the gym without saying anything.Then Bertrand stopped coming to the gym.Nadia was worried and called Bertrand's cell-phone, but he didn't answer.

　A month has passed since Bertrand stopped coming to the gym.Nadia still tries to find Bertrand first when she comes to Jim.

She want Bertrand to come to the gym.But the days went by without Nadia's wish.

After two more weeks, Jim's chairman consulted with Jim's professional new female boxer about the match. This is the first time that this match is a professional match, but she was an amateur amateur player who has won the national championship for two consecutive years. Jim's new female boxer refused to ask the chairman. The chairman also spoke to other new professional women's boxers, but other girls also declined his proposal. There are not many boxers who know they're going to lose and take games.

　Nadia had one thought when she saw the chair shaking her head. And Nadia approached the chairman and said: I will play against that player. The chairman had a surprised look at the beginning. But joyfully, you didn't like becoming a professional boxer. So the chairman confirmed her feelings.Nadia shook her head with powerful eyes. Nadia shook her head with strong eyes.

Then, Nadia started to practice for a professional boxer. It was a practice harder than I had practiced so far. Nevertheless, Nadia continued to practice without complaining.

 

A junior high school student going to the gym went to Bertrand's house. He met Bertrand and said. Nadia rises to the professional ring and plays against a very strong amateur player. Bertrand heard the story and asked him with a surprised look. Why does Nadia play a strong girl in the professional ring? He just went home, saying, "That's Nadia's intention." Bertrand returned to his house, entered his room and was stunned on the bed. Why do you play a match...

 

The next day, Nadia finished work and arrived at the station near her house, and when she exited the ticket gate, she found Bertrand. Bertrand approached and told Nadia. "I heard from Mike. Why do you play Nadia?"

Nadia has a troubled face.

"If you play a match for me, stop it."

Nadia shook her head.

"You stopped boxing with a pain in sparring, but I've never even beaten up on the ring. So I just thought I have to experience the pain of punching too"

"Nadia, What do you do if you get hurt and it affects your work?"

"I think at that time if That time come "

　Nadia smiled and raised her right hand and said goodbye to him.

 

Match day. Bertrand watch Nadia standing in the blue corner on the ring from behind the seats. She told me a lot before this, but it must be because she wanted me to return to the gym after all. But whatever Nadia did, I stopped boxing anymore. Bertrand looks at the ring with an unfaithful feeling, but he also had a strong desire to want Nadia to safely exit the ring. Two thoughts dominate his chest, and Bertrand look at Nadia on the ring, with hard thoughts.

 

And the game's opening gong rang.Her opponent, Alice, moves on the ring using speedy footwork. Probably Alice is an outboxer.Nadia, too, took distance to look carefully at Alice.Bertrand doesn't know about Nadia's boxing style, but he thought Nadia would also do outboxing.

　Nadia and Alice punch in the middle range. Two girl who are faithful to the basics mixing a lot of left jabs with the right straight, but the difference in their abilities is huge.Nadia's punches continue to swing, and only Alice's punch hits unilaterally.Every time Alice hits a punch, a violent sound comes from Nadia's body.Every time Bertrand heard the sound, he felt like turning his eyes away.Bertrand soon found that Alice is an outboxer but have the power of a high punch.

 

Eventually, Nadia stops punching and only Alice punches.The game becomes more and more Alice's one-sided game.The game went as many of the spectators had imagined, and everyone began to think that the game had already been Alice’s victory.The audience becomes interested in when Alice will knock out Nadia.No one enjoyed the outcome of the game.

Among them, Bertrand hoped the referee would stop the game soon.

　Nadia, who had been hitting Alice's punches from the middle distance, go into a attack.Straight on the right. Nadia's eyes are still strong. She has a fighting expression and has not given up on the match.

 

The sound of intense punch echoes from the ring. A cheer broke out from the audience seats. There was a beautiful punch on the ring that caught the eye of the audience.

　Nadia's right straight was deflected, and Alice's left straight is driven into Nadia's right cheek as a cross-counter.Nadia's face, with Alice's left fist buried in her cheek, was distorted and her eyes were no longer catching anything.

 

Alice looks a triumphant look. Nadia downed. Nadia fell down the canvas with a strong sound from her back. The scene is so vivid that applause to Alice, who showed her ability far beyond what the audience expected.

　Alice shows the strength more than the previous reputation to the audience, and Alice puts her elbows on the uppermost rope and looks at the opponent who was downed by her boxing with a satisfying look.

 

Bertrand turned down and he wanted the referee to stop the match early. And he just hoped that Nadia is safe. More screaming was heard in Bertrand's ears facing down. Bertrand looks up at the ring and wonders what happened. There is Nadia standing in the ring and taking a fighting pose.

 

Nadia…….

 

　When the referee resumed the match, the gong at the end of the 1st round sounded. Nadia showed a painful look with her face facing down at the interval, but Bertrand didn't think that the second would stop the game because she nodded weakly at the instructions of the second.

　The gong of the 2nd round start rang. Nadia leaves the blue corner with a weak footing, while Alice leaves the red corner with a dashing step. The contrasting appearance is reflected on the ring in the second round.

 

Nadia, who gets a lot of left jabs from Alice.Alice can close the game at once, but she goes all the way to her boxing.Is it an amateur boxing style, or is it possible to finish the game if she decide at any time?Either way, Alice unilaterally struck the left jab from the middle distance, and Nadia's face became increasingly miserable.Both eyelids were so swollen that Nadia's eyes, which were only slightly opened, were no longer as strong as the first R.Her weak eyes look her weak fighting pose.

 

Gushaaa! !

Alice's right straight pierces Nadia's face with no mercy.

Nadia spits a mouthpiece covered in saliva, spreads her arms, and falls back.

She falls into the canvas with a flashy sound. The referee declares down and begins counting, but Nadia does not move at all. She looks up at the ceiling with her mouth open and relaxed.

　The ceiling lights are dazzlingly illuminated and the field of view is blurred. Even the referee's count sounds strange. I feel like I'm in a paralyzed sensation.

I think I did enough. I fought up to 2 round against an amateur champion who didn't even think I would become a professional boxer a month ago. But I can't say anything to Bertrand. This is my limit. I can't change anything.

 

　

But... At the bottom of my heart I still have a strong desire not to give up the game. I don't want to end the match as it is. I had so much pain and pain. why……. For Bertrand? It is not. My parents divorced when I was a student. As a result, I lived away from my brother. A feeling of loss when something important is no longer nearby. I don't want to repeat that empty thought again. If I am strong, I may not lose my loved ones.So I went up to this ring.

Nadia grabs the mouthpiece with her right hand and holds it in her mouth. The hall is filled with excitement at Nadia's appearance.

 

Nadia stands up with a count of 9.The referee resumed the game.Alice, who was waiting in the neutral corner, showed an unpleasant look and dashed and narrowed the distance. Alice hammered Nadia weakly into the body blow, then tapped the left and right hooks in succession. With a staring eye, Alice transformed her boxing style and gave Nadia a strong punch over and over again.There is her strong will to end the game quickly.

At that time, Nadia's right straight hit Alice. The punching sound is light and not significantly damaged. Nadia steppe back and run to a safe distance. However, Nadia could do her best to get away from the punch damage. From there she doesn't have enough strength to mislead her opponent with her footwork. Nadia keeps staring at her opponent with a weak fighting pose. Alice's frenzy look distorted with rage and went forward at a stretch.hit the left straight.

 

At that moment, Nadia struck the right straight and caught the opponent's chin earlier than Alice. Alice's neck bent sharply at the counter-attack, and the body turned over and fell down on the canvas in a prone position.

　The unexpected calm down inside the venue. The referee declared down and instructed Nadia to wait in the neutral corner. A loud cheer aroused from the audience seats. In the loudest cheers of the day, the referee continues to sing a count in front of Alice. .Alice looked at the canvas with a stunned look on her face.It looked like she lost her fighting spirit, but Alice stood up with a count of eight.

The gong of the 2nd round end rang here.

 

Bertrand's heart is pounding with Nadia's big reversal. He hoped Nadia would win, feeling the pounding heartbeat.Then, the gong of the 3rd round start rang. Both Nadia and Alice look at their opponents at a distance. It is Alice who punched out first. Alice struck two left jabs. Nadia surpasses the guard. There is still a lot of damage left to the opponent. Alice who read so strongly struck the left hook. However, Nadia's right counter hook was decided again here. Alice moves back one step, two steps and back.

 

Alice looks at Nadia with an incredible look. The counter punch is Alice's favorite punch, but Nadia hited the counter punch as well as she can match. Nadia didn't think she is good at counter punching before the match. On the contrary, she never even decided to counterspunch by sparring. However, she played tennis when she was a student, so kinetic vision was greatly enhanced. When Alice hited to punch the counter in the middle of the game, Nadia learned the timing to hit the counter punch with her body. As a result, ability for Nadia's counterpunch is blooming.

 

Nadia shoots the jab on the left. This punch also hit Alice's face. Nadia's left jab speed did not increase during this match. However, Alice knew that Nadia had a counter punch, and Alice started to get lost in the defense, and she got another punch.

 

Both Nadia and Alice shoot the jab and straight from an intermediate distance. They are wary of their opponent's counter punches, and fight each other with little punches. The two who have a large amount of damage left on their bodies cannot avoid the punches and take a punch each other. A batting battle at an intermediate distance that their punch hit if they shoot punch. However, the opponent's counter punch is a threat to them and they cannot give a big punch. However, the punches of the two became bigger, and the distance between them gradually decreased. Even if they want shoot their sharp punches,They even lost their strength, and they gradually moved to a distance where it is easier to hit a hook that is easier to hit than a straight.Even though they had each other's damage, the two who were boxing faithfully to the basics eventually changed into a big punching fight. They can't even afford to be wary of their opponent's counter punches, and they're hitting the punches they can hit right now just to want to knock out opponent'. Nadia and Alice can't put out the technology and fight only by instinct.

 

The audience was excited at the sight of two beasts, who, with their beautiful appearance and their single-mindedness, were all eager to win Nadia.Definitely win, Nadia.

　Two of us stop and hit each other.They had already forgotten that the other person in front of them was good at counterpunching.They're just punching hard to knock down the opponent in front of them.Many strong punches came out of their bodies, and every time a groan, blood and saliva came out of them.Two people with high counterpunching skills forget it and continue to hit each other primitarily.However, it was the punches and counterpunches that they were good at.

 

The spectators were enthusiastic about the appearance of two beasts who striking each other with their beautiful appearance, and Bertrand heartily hoped for Nadia's victory. Absolutely win, Nadia.

　The two stop and fight each other. They even forget that the opponent in front of them is good at counter punching. They just punch hard to knock out the opponent in front of them. A strong punching sound was repeatedly generated from their bodies, and each time they groan, blood and saliva leaked. Two with high ability of counter punch forget about it and continue fight to beat each other primitarily.. However, the punch at the end of the match was the counter punch they were good at.

 

Gushaaa! !!

　The sound of a most hard hit in this match reverberates from the ring. Their hard blows stopped. The silence on the ring become widespread into the audience's seats, and the audience continued to look at the two girl who are showing the end of the hard-hit game. Alice's right hook is embedded in Nadia's left cheek, and Nadia's left hook is also embedded in Alice's right cheek. Nadia and Alice do not make a slight movement while crossing their arms and punching into the opponent's face while stopping their legs. Nadia's cheeks are distorted and the wide-eyed right eye does not capture anything, while Alice, like Nadia, distorted her cheeks and left her eyes empty.

 

A change occurs in the hall where The sound disappearsed and the all movement stoped.

The mouthpiece is spit out from Nadia's mouth, where Alice's punch hited into her cheek and was greatly distorted. The blood-stained mouthpiece fell on the canvas, and Nadia's body, with blood dripping from her mouth, began to cramp. The distorted mouth becomes even more distorted, and Nadia's face becomes even more ugly. Nadia was completely defeated by the punch damage, while Alice barely stood with a look of anguish. In the beautiful scene where they hited their punches against each other, Alice went up a little, and Nadia, who defeated her, fell down on the canvas with her blood vomiting scattered.

 

The referee crossed his arms in the appearance of Nadia, who fell to the canvas on his back and cramped in his body, and stopped the game.

Khan Khan Khan

　The gong at the end of the match sounds high. While Alice's right arm is raised by the referee and Alice, who received the victory, is applauded by the spectators, Bertrand looked uneasy while enduring the desire to rush to Nadia who is still immobile from the second. I kept staring at her.

Bertrand continued to stare anxiously at Nadia, who had been cared for by her second hand.

 

After a week, Nadia resumes her practice at the gym. There is no more damage in the match. She went to work with a swollen face and was angry at her boss, but only to be alert. Her daily routine returns to normal. And Nadia found Bertrand hitting a punching bag in the corner of the gym, and she smiled and called out.

 

A year has passed since then. In the lobby of the airport,there are Nadia and Bertrand with big bags at his feet.

"Do you continue boxing in Japan?"

"Of course. I promised to be a world champion with you."

"Which mouth are you talking about?"

Saying that, Nadia banged on Bertrand's head.

 

Bertrand decided to move from England to Japan because of his parents' work.

"What are you going to do with Nadia? Will you become a professional ring again?"

　Nadia was never in the professional ring after the match with Alice. Although she has spent the same intense training as a pro, she has never played in a match yet. Next time Nadia go to a match and swell her face and go to work, Nadia have to get fired. The next time she go into a match, she have to be prepared for that.

 

Bertrand decided to move from England to Japan because of his parents' work.

"What are you going to do with Nadia? Will you become a professional ring again?"

　Nadia was never in the professional ring after the match with Alice. Although she has spent the same intense training as a pro, she has never played in a match yet. Next time Nadia go to a match and swell her face and go to work, Nadia have to get fired. The next time she go into a match, she have to be prepared for that.

 

"Uh-huh..."

　Nadia kept silent as she said. I don't care if I'm fired from my job because of a boxing match. I can't come back in the ring without a reason I think so. But over the past year, Nadia has found that she don't seem to have that much motivation for myself. If I were to go up to the ring again, maybe Bertrand is involved again. But that is when something bad happened to Bertrand. I don't want to expect that. So it may be good for me to stay out of the ring. However, Nadia has a complicated feeling that she cannot feel the desire to be so. Once again, I want to hit hot feelings on the ring. Once again Once again, my passion for that time...

Nadia turned her right index finger to the sky.

"only God knows the future."

She said, smiling with one eye closed.

 

Fin