Habagat Project #5
TITLE: Sparing Partner
CHARACTERS: Ueda Tatsuya, Airi Taira, Maruyama Ryuhei
GENRE: RL
RATINGS: PG
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
SUMMARY: Ueda finds himself distracted as he teaches boxing to his 'student'.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: written for pautami for her request in help_pilipinas $1-FOR-A-DRABBLE fundraiser (yes, i'm participating in this too)...
Ueda Tatsuya didn’t actually know how it happened, except that, well, it did. And for the most part, he’s not even sure why he’s still going along with it. After all, he never quite expected to find himself in such a situation. He never thought he’d enter the ring with a woman before.
Yet there he is in the gym he favored (partly because of his trainer and partly because of the privacy he gets to experience even when he’s there), and the woman he is with is none other than Airi Taira.
In retrospect, it was actually Maruyama Ryuhei’s fault, although the guy did blurt the suggestion out mostly to try to help. After all, their drama being Maru’s first ever lead role, he’s bound to still be fidgety with the idea of having to handle the pressure of carrying a drama series on his own, along with everything else that’s going on. And actually, he understands the guy; maybe even pity him a bit. The burden of being the lead goes further than just the ratings of the show and his performance on screen. Somehow, he’s responsible for his co-stars too.
So when Airi voiced out that she had never really boxed before and would love to have a feel of it, it was pretty understandable that Maru would say “Ueda-kun can teach you!” since boxing is in his repertoire. He just never quite expected that Airi would take up Maru’s suggestion, let alone be enthusiastic about it.
“You sure you’re still up to it?” he asked half an hour after the two of them started.
Personally, he hasn’t even started feeling tired, but since Airi is both a woman and a newbie, she might be out of it already. He was actually expecting her to ask for a break already.
Which is why he found himself surprised when she replied “Let’s keep going!”
He actually found himself smiling as he raised his bandage-only covered hands just as Airi raised her gloved-covered ones. For a while, he actually thought he saw her grin.
He immediately pushed that to the back of his mind though, especially when he blinked and saw that the grin was gone and there was a steady look on her face, as he went on to instruct her about jabs and hooks and upper cuts. She was a good student, she listens very well to his instructions. If anything, it can actually be said that it is him who’s distracted.
And it wasn’t a disinterest in teaching that’s keeping him distracted. If he really had to be honest with himself, he’d say that it’s his student. Airi.
He wouldn’t say that he’s smitten by her, well, not exactly. After all, most of the male members of the staff had already acknowledged her beauty from even before she first stepped foot on the set. There’s no denying that. But somehow, it was not just because of her beauty. It wasn’t even just because of her physique, even though he must admit that she, in her racer-back top and training pants, is already distracting on its own. Plus, her interest in boxing made him oddly happy of her showing interest in a sport he’s good at.
At the very least, he’d say he’s interested.
“No, don’t turn on your heels,” he found himself saying a little more later when he changed from statutory to motion boxing and saw how she moved on her feet.
“What?” Airi asked in confusion, her breathing already labored.
Ueda opened his mouth but found himself closing it again as he instead walked to her side crouched down to demonstrate instead of narrate.
“Raise your heels lightly,” he said as he reached for her ankle, changing the position of her foot as he said so. “That way you can turn more quickly on your feet when you’re trying to hit a moving object, or person and not lose your balance.”
“So it’s kind of like ballet?” Airi mused as he stood up.
“Yep,” he nodded, glad at how fast she was to understand.
He was barely even aware of how close to two of them were until Airi made a move that perhaps was to test if she’s doing it right but resulted to something rather disastrous, or almost disastrous. She lost her balance.
But since he still has to step back from the position he took when he moved her foot, she ended up falling on him than on the floor.
Truth be told, he’s perfectly capable of maintaining his balance even with her falling on him, but after the catch, when his mind processed what his body had just done, his heart suddenly started pumping so fast he felt like he just did all 12 rounds of a bout, and somehow, caused him to lose his footing and fall too.
On one side, it was a good thing that even when the two of them completely fell, Airi still landed on him than on the floor. On the other, the position, with her on top of him, made Ueda’s heart beat faster even more.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” she cried as she anchored her hands on his shoulders, enough to pull her upper torso off of him but not enough to lift herself completely. “I was trying to see if I really couldn’t move if I twisted on the balls of my feet,” she explained.
“It’s all right,” Ueda found himself smiling. “In retrospect, it wasn’t completely unexpected,” he said as the two of them started to untangle themselves and stand on their own feet, having done quite the same thing himself when he too was just starting boxing.
He saw Airi smile for a while before she narrowed her eyes. By then, the two of them had already successfully stood up.
“Oi! Why’d you fall down then?” she cried, a pout forming on her lips. “I’m not that heavy you know!”
For a while, Ueda was at a loss of anything to say. It took him quite a bit to realize that Airi assumed that he fell because she was heavy.
“That wasn’t the reason!” he found himself crying as he tried to shield himself from the series of jabs and hits and punches Airi was throwing him playfully.
“What then?” Airi demanded, a pout still visible on her lips.
“It was just an accident,” Ueda opted to say.
His response appeared to be sufficient for Airi, at least she stopped pouting, but still wasn’t completely enough as evidenced by the slit that was still the state of her eyes. At least she stopped hitting him though.
Before she could say anything though, a sound suddenly rang in the air, something Ueda identified as the sound of his alarm he had set earlier to signal the end of their session to give them enough time to head to their individual appointments after.
“So, it’s just up to here for now, I guess,” he said as he stepped towards her to help her out of her gloves. He thought he heard her give off a somewhat disappointed sigh but he can’t be quite sure. What he’s sure though is how he felt disappointed himself. Somehow, he would have wanted their time together to be more.
It was about half an hour later, already changed and refreshed, while they stepped out of the gym and headed to the parking lot when something suddenly hit Ueda, effectively making him stop on his feet. Airi even noticed.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Ah, nothing…” he shook his head as he started to walk again, still caught in the realization he just had as he tried to recall possible proof. The more he thought about it though, the more he was sure.
They’ve already reached their own cars, then parked side by side, when he voiced out “Ne, you really haven’t had any boxing training or experience?”
Airi stopped for a bit before she turned to him and shook her head. “No, why?”
“Nothing,” he replied although there definitely was something. “I just thought you landed a few combinations earlier.”
Perfect combinations they were too, he added to himself; a couple of jabs and a hook, a couple of straights, all of which in perfect form.
Unexpectedly, Airi grinned exclaiming “Oh, that!” before she moved to open her door. Before Ueda could come up with anything to interpret what she meant by it though, Airi had already opened her door. Before she entered though, she turned to him and winked.
“A girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do,” she smiled sweetly before she retreated into her car. “Til next time Ueda-kun.”
Airi had already advanced her car by the time Ueda managed to unfroze from what he just heard. And then he found himself smiling.
It didn’t matter that she managed to get away that quickly. Lucky for him, the drama still has a long way to go before it ends. Besides, like she said, there’s going to be a next time to his session with Airi and in those next times, she wouldn’t be able to get away just like that.
With a grin, he too entered his car and left.
-----FIN----
hi dearie!
first off, i apologize that it took me quite a bit to do your request...
i'm currently transferring from one place to another so i was quote caugth up with everything else... :)
second, i haven't seen that much on Ueda Tatsuya (or KaT-TUN for that matter, or Airi Taira) so the characterization might be a bit off or something...
third, thanks for requesting!
fourth, i do hope you enjoy this... just in case it's not up to your taste or anything, please do let me know...
Thanks very much!!!
CHARACTERS: Ueda Tatsuya, Airi Taira, Maruyama Ryuhei
GENRE: RL
RATINGS: PG
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
SUMMARY: Ueda finds himself distracted as he teaches boxing to his 'student'.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: written for pautami for her request in help_pilipinas $1-FOR-A-DRABBLE fundraiser (yes, i'm participating in this too)...
Ueda Tatsuya didn’t actually know how it happened, except that, well, it did. And for the most part, he’s not even sure why he’s still going along with it. After all, he never quite expected to find himself in such a situation. He never thought he’d enter the ring with a woman before.
Yet there he is in the gym he favored (partly because of his trainer and partly because of the privacy he gets to experience even when he’s there), and the woman he is with is none other than Airi Taira.
In retrospect, it was actually Maruyama Ryuhei’s fault, although the guy did blurt the suggestion out mostly to try to help. After all, their drama being Maru’s first ever lead role, he’s bound to still be fidgety with the idea of having to handle the pressure of carrying a drama series on his own, along with everything else that’s going on. And actually, he understands the guy; maybe even pity him a bit. The burden of being the lead goes further than just the ratings of the show and his performance on screen. Somehow, he’s responsible for his co-stars too.
So when Airi voiced out that she had never really boxed before and would love to have a feel of it, it was pretty understandable that Maru would say “Ueda-kun can teach you!” since boxing is in his repertoire. He just never quite expected that Airi would take up Maru’s suggestion, let alone be enthusiastic about it.
“You sure you’re still up to it?” he asked half an hour after the two of them started.
Personally, he hasn’t even started feeling tired, but since Airi is both a woman and a newbie, she might be out of it already. He was actually expecting her to ask for a break already.
Which is why he found himself surprised when she replied “Let’s keep going!”
He actually found himself smiling as he raised his bandage-only covered hands just as Airi raised her gloved-covered ones. For a while, he actually thought he saw her grin.
He immediately pushed that to the back of his mind though, especially when he blinked and saw that the grin was gone and there was a steady look on her face, as he went on to instruct her about jabs and hooks and upper cuts. She was a good student, she listens very well to his instructions. If anything, it can actually be said that it is him who’s distracted.
And it wasn’t a disinterest in teaching that’s keeping him distracted. If he really had to be honest with himself, he’d say that it’s his student. Airi.
He wouldn’t say that he’s smitten by her, well, not exactly. After all, most of the male members of the staff had already acknowledged her beauty from even before she first stepped foot on the set. There’s no denying that. But somehow, it was not just because of her beauty. It wasn’t even just because of her physique, even though he must admit that she, in her racer-back top and training pants, is already distracting on its own. Plus, her interest in boxing made him oddly happy of her showing interest in a sport he’s good at.
At the very least, he’d say he’s interested.
“No, don’t turn on your heels,” he found himself saying a little more later when he changed from statutory to motion boxing and saw how she moved on her feet.
“What?” Airi asked in confusion, her breathing already labored.
Ueda opened his mouth but found himself closing it again as he instead walked to her side crouched down to demonstrate instead of narrate.
“Raise your heels lightly,” he said as he reached for her ankle, changing the position of her foot as he said so. “That way you can turn more quickly on your feet when you’re trying to hit a moving object, or person and not lose your balance.”
“So it’s kind of like ballet?” Airi mused as he stood up.
“Yep,” he nodded, glad at how fast she was to understand.
He was barely even aware of how close to two of them were until Airi made a move that perhaps was to test if she’s doing it right but resulted to something rather disastrous, or almost disastrous. She lost her balance.
But since he still has to step back from the position he took when he moved her foot, she ended up falling on him than on the floor.
Truth be told, he’s perfectly capable of maintaining his balance even with her falling on him, but after the catch, when his mind processed what his body had just done, his heart suddenly started pumping so fast he felt like he just did all 12 rounds of a bout, and somehow, caused him to lose his footing and fall too.
On one side, it was a good thing that even when the two of them completely fell, Airi still landed on him than on the floor. On the other, the position, with her on top of him, made Ueda’s heart beat faster even more.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” she cried as she anchored her hands on his shoulders, enough to pull her upper torso off of him but not enough to lift herself completely. “I was trying to see if I really couldn’t move if I twisted on the balls of my feet,” she explained.
“It’s all right,” Ueda found himself smiling. “In retrospect, it wasn’t completely unexpected,” he said as the two of them started to untangle themselves and stand on their own feet, having done quite the same thing himself when he too was just starting boxing.
He saw Airi smile for a while before she narrowed her eyes. By then, the two of them had already successfully stood up.
“Oi! Why’d you fall down then?” she cried, a pout forming on her lips. “I’m not that heavy you know!”
For a while, Ueda was at a loss of anything to say. It took him quite a bit to realize that Airi assumed that he fell because she was heavy.
“That wasn’t the reason!” he found himself crying as he tried to shield himself from the series of jabs and hits and punches Airi was throwing him playfully.
“What then?” Airi demanded, a pout still visible on her lips.
“It was just an accident,” Ueda opted to say.
His response appeared to be sufficient for Airi, at least she stopped pouting, but still wasn’t completely enough as evidenced by the slit that was still the state of her eyes. At least she stopped hitting him though.
Before she could say anything though, a sound suddenly rang in the air, something Ueda identified as the sound of his alarm he had set earlier to signal the end of their session to give them enough time to head to their individual appointments after.
“So, it’s just up to here for now, I guess,” he said as he stepped towards her to help her out of her gloves. He thought he heard her give off a somewhat disappointed sigh but he can’t be quite sure. What he’s sure though is how he felt disappointed himself. Somehow, he would have wanted their time together to be more.
It was about half an hour later, already changed and refreshed, while they stepped out of the gym and headed to the parking lot when something suddenly hit Ueda, effectively making him stop on his feet. Airi even noticed.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Ah, nothing…” he shook his head as he started to walk again, still caught in the realization he just had as he tried to recall possible proof. The more he thought about it though, the more he was sure.
They’ve already reached their own cars, then parked side by side, when he voiced out “Ne, you really haven’t had any boxing training or experience?”
Airi stopped for a bit before she turned to him and shook her head. “No, why?”
“Nothing,” he replied although there definitely was something. “I just thought you landed a few combinations earlier.”
Perfect combinations they were too, he added to himself; a couple of jabs and a hook, a couple of straights, all of which in perfect form.
Unexpectedly, Airi grinned exclaiming “Oh, that!” before she moved to open her door. Before Ueda could come up with anything to interpret what she meant by it though, Airi had already opened her door. Before she entered though, she turned to him and winked.
“A girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do,” she smiled sweetly before she retreated into her car. “Til next time Ueda-kun.”
Airi had already advanced her car by the time Ueda managed to unfroze from what he just heard. And then he found himself smiling.
It didn’t matter that she managed to get away that quickly. Lucky for him, the drama still has a long way to go before it ends. Besides, like she said, there’s going to be a next time to his session with Airi and in those next times, she wouldn’t be able to get away just like that.
With a grin, he too entered his car and left.
-----FIN----
hi dearie!
first off, i apologize that it took me quite a bit to do your request...
i'm currently transferring from one place to another so i was quote caugth up with everything else... :)
second, i haven't seen that much on Ueda Tatsuya (or KaT-TUN for that matter, or Airi Taira) so the characterization might be a bit off or something...
third, thanks for requesting!
fourth, i do hope you enjoy this... just in case it's not up to your taste or anything, please do let me know...
Thanks very much!!!