Rise (Percy Jackson x Reader)

twenty-six

"Rotate your hips. Your power doesn't come from the arms, it comes from the body. One more minute."

He nods, taking a deep breath before starting his attacks again, pausing every now and then before continuing to punch the dummy. "Exhale when you strike, Percy. I don't want you passing out."

She continues to give Percy advice as he keeps hitting the target, his form correct and no longer wavering.

"Vary your attacks."

"Blue, his face is unguarded and right there. Punch it!"

"Switch up your angle a bit if you need to."

"Good."

When there are ten seconds left on the timer, (Y/N) starts counting down. When she gets to the final second, Percy sends a hook punch to the dummy's head, letting out a grunt of exertion before stepping backwards. His breaths are deep and uneven as he looks at (Y/N), and she sighs. "One more minute."

"What? Why?" he asks, confused. She looks at him with a frustrated expression on her face.

"That last punch was sloppy. You just swung your arm for the sake of swinging your arm. You didn't pull it back to stay ready and you immediately stepped away. You dropped your stance without a thought of still protecting yourself. Your time wasn't up, Percy, and you didn't do anything in that shot properly. One more minute."

Percy groans, facing the dummy again in a fighting stance, and a beep sounds from (Y/N)'s watch as she starts the timer. "Go." He starts attacking, sending a barrage of jabs, hook punches, and uppercuts as annoyance roots in him.

This isn't fair.

This isn't fair.

This isn't fair.

No.

This isn't easy.

(Y/N) warned him about what he was getting into, and he accepted it anyway.

It's completely fair.

"And... time," (Y/N) says, and Percy brings his fist back to rest in its ready position. "Good, Percy. At ease."

He drops his arms, and (Y/N) hands him the water bottle from before. "Remember, we're not done yet," she says, and Percy takes the bottle.

"Yeah," he pants in acknowledgement, taking a few deep breaths before looking at the amount of water he has left. His eyes go wide when he sees that it's filled up again, and he looks to (Y/N) for explanation.

She sighs, almost apologetically. "I'm being nice for today. Tomorrow the one bottle limit is going to start."

He smiles at her, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Come on, let's keep going. Unwrap your hands, we're gonna do kicks now."

Percy unravels the protective wrap from his knuckles, flexing his fingers a bit before standing in front of the dummy once more. "Get in your ready position and kick it once," (Y/N) commands, and Percy does so. "Alright, the first thing we need to fix is your base foot. Make sure you're pivoting it when you kick." (Y/N) demonstrates the proper way to do a roundhouse kick, staying perfectly balanced on one leg to point out aspects of her position to Percy.

"Whenever you kick or punch, the power doesn't come from extending your limb. It's from the rotation in your body, so pivoting your foot here will allow you to get the right motion and not fall over." Percy nods, paying close attention to everything she says. "When you extend your leg, make sure you're not stretched out too much. That only hurts you and keeps you from landing a proper blow. You need to be a good distance from the target, not too far but not too close."