Glass Jaw

Chapter 2

"Piss off." Naoko basically spat out. "E-Eh?" Nanbu blinked a couple of times in surprise, processing the words. The awkward smile was stuck on his face, not knowing quite how to react. She had already looked at them coldly when she mistook them for burglars, but now she was fully scowling at them.

"I said piss off." The young woman repositioned the duffel bag on her shoulder, moving past them and towards the door of her gym.

Nanbu quickly shuffled towards her. "W-Wait a minute! Won't you just hear us out?" He pleaded. Naoko glanced over her shoulder at him with disinterest. "Sorry, I don't teach Megalo Boxers."

The older coach backpedaled at that. "What!? How could that be? All of the traditional boxing gyms have either transitioned to Megalo Boxing or have gone completely out of business! Do you want that to happen to you!?"

The young woman sighed, turning around and crossing her arms as she leaned back against the door. "Well, as you can see, this gym is still standing. Thanks for your concern. Now, are you gonna leave me alone, or do I have to call the police?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Wha—!! The nerve of you! Forget it then! Come on, Sachio! Joe! Let's go!" Nanbu stomped back to their pickup truck, Sachio quickly following him.

Joe didn't follow immediately, still staring at Naoko. She stared back with her piercing blue eyes. His coach shouted for him again when he noticed that he wasn't at the truck still. Joe smirked at the young woman, eyes full of mirth, before getting into the passenger seat.

Naoko watched the truck speed off. So that was Gearless Joe, huh? He was about a head taller than her. He sported a horizontal scar on his right jaw to his cheek and another triangular scar on his upper left cheek. Even through the green military jacket, she could tell that he was in good shape.

Well, if he was Megalo Boxing without gear, he had to have been somewhat athletic.

Naoko shook her head and sighed. She was already in a bad mood. Dealing with almost all of her clients gushing about Megalo Boxing and Megalonia, getting her hopes up about a 'gearless' fighter only to have them shattered, and now even meeting the one and only guy.

Oddly enough, she couldn't get much of an impression from him other than that he had the body of a boxer. He hadn't said anything at all. In fact, it was all just his coach.

What was with that look of his though? Despite her hostility, there was a certain level of curiosity in his eyes. Maybe even a bit of excitement.

Well, it's not like it mattered. Naoko swiped her card and punched in the passcode on the keypad. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to see those three again.

Unfortunately, she saw them the very next day. "What the hell..." She breathed out as they came into her sights.

Once again returning from her shift at work, she was met with the trio. Joe had his hands in his pockets, leaning against the lamp post, facing Sachio and Nanbu. Sachio was sitting down on the ground, leaning against the wall of her gym while messing with his tablet. Nanbu was leaning against the wall next to him with his arms crossed. He had a disgruntled look, clearly with no desire to be here, what with the amount of disrespect she showed them the day before.

"I already said no. What do you want." She curtly asked, making it sound more like a demand than a question. The three turned to her, Sachio jumping to stand up and Joe pushing himself off the lamp post.

The Megalo Boxer faced her, staring her in the eyes with a flash of curiosity. "I wanna know what your deal with Megalo Boxing is." He said, his voice holding a hint of expectation.

Naoko raised an eyebrow. "My deal with Megalo Boxing? Well, for starters, it's not even real boxing. It's just a bunch of meatheads duking it out to see who has the better tech. Megalo Boxing is not, and will never be, true boxing." She firmly stated with absolutely no hesitation.

Nanbu frowned. "Joe doesn't even fight with gear! If you think that traditional boxing is better, then wouldn't he be the perfect person to coach!?" He asked exasperatedly.

The young woman scowled at him. "Oh, yeah? Then tell me that him fighting gearless isn't just some kind of gimmick." Nanbu flinched, knowing that he'd been caught. Technically, it was true. They had intended to have Joe fight with gear, but a mistake caused the tech to short circuit, rendering it useless. Unable to find or even afford a new one in time, they took a gamble. It paid off, seeing as how much popularity the fighter had gained.

Naoko knew her assumptions were correct as soon as she saw Nanbu's reaction. She continued her onslaught, the anger flowing through her. "Tell me that it isn't just something to make him stand out from the other fighters. That it's not his selling point. Because if you're starting from the bottom of the bottom, what better way to catch attention than through fighting gearless?"

She clicked her tongue with displeasure, shoving past the three of them. "Get real. None of you believe in traditional boxing. If you just want to use me because you're scared about your next fight, then forget it. You're all just chasing fame and fortune." She spat out.

"I couldn't care less about the titles or the money. All I want is to fight in his ring." Joe muttered out. It seemed like he was talking more to himself than to her. Naoko paused, peering over her shoulder at him. She had no idea who he was talking about, but the conviction in his voice was real. Almost chilling.

Nanbu walked up to her again. "If that's how you really feel about traditional boxing, then all the more reason to train Joe! You could even be his sponsor! When he makes it big, you'd be taking some of the credit and you could spread the word about traditional, old-school boxing!"

Naoko scoffed. "If that's really what I was after, don't you think I would've done something like that sooner? I'm not interested in publicity stunts. That would only attract more people like you three. I'm not helping you. Now leave me alone." She swiped her card and punched in the passcode, beginning to pull on the handle when she felt an intense pressure behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder again, a bit more apprehensively this time. Her eyes met the fierce ones of Joe's. He was positioned in the standard boxing stance, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet and fully ready to fight. "If you believe traditional boxing is so much better, then fight me. I'm interested to see why. Show me what real boxing is." He challenged with a smirk.

Her hand twitched. This powerful aura coming from him, paired with that eerie determination from before almost made Naoko consent. She tightened her grip on the door handle, forcing herself back to her senses. "I'm not fighting you. Go away." She ground out.

Joe slightly relaxed his boxing stance, deflating a little at her refusal. "Why not? If old-school boxing is so great, then you could surely win against a Megalo Boxer like me, right?" He pushed once more, hoping to get a rise out of her.

Naoko glared back at him. "Yes, the outcome is obvious. Which makes this fight all the more pointless because I don't need to prove myself to the likes of you." She stated scathingly, not letting him get to her. "I'm done with this conversation. Stay away from me and my gym." She walked inside, slamming the door to emphasize her statements.

She leant against it, feeling and hearing Joe banging on it once. "I'll come back tomorrow!" He shouted from the other side, the vow sounding much more like a warning to Naoko. "Joe! Come on, let's just leave!"

She heard their footsteps fade. The sound of the ignition from their pickup truck muffled. She turned around, sliding the eye slot on the metal door open to see them driving off. Satisfied with seeing the truck disappear, she slid the slot closed and sighed.

She had a moment to think. Unlike the last time, Joe certainly made an impression just now. He was serious about fighting her, and it didn't seem like he was doing it to get her on his side. There was a fire in his eyes that signaled to her that he wanted to fight just for the hell of it. Just to see what she was made of. Just to see if she was as good a fighter as he expected.

That look of his stuck with Naoko for the rest of the night.