[There's a part of Dan that feels fear at this moment, an honest fear of taking a blow that won't kill him, but will hurt him and maybe cripple him going forward. A broken hand or a maimed shoulder. But he likes that fear. That fear is a flavor that runs in the sweet drink of adrenaline.
He barely keeps Guts from landing a blow, and he gives up ground, decidedly on the defense. The bat dents, and then the bat bends, until it's more boomerang-shaped, which reduces its utility significantly.
But Dan figures out fairly quickly that the monkey bars aren't in the forefront of Guts' mind, even if he can't mount an offensive enough to force Guts back. So the other option is to draw him in - and what better way than with a live target? What better option than to take some of what Guts is giving?
He purposefully doesn't dodge when Guts grabs him. Instead he does his best to absorb the impact and then, when thrown, instead of a single roll to his feet he gives it another roll until he's in the safe metal structure. He can't use his bat for shit here - at this point it's a means to jab and nothing else - but cradled in the metal bars he's hard to hit, and can still throw punches. And the bent, damaged bat is useless to him now anyway.
He pants for air. His lower lip, cut from hitting the ground during the throw, bleeds down his chin. But he raises his fists in a traditional boxing stance, shielded by the metal bars and ready to duck through the next ring of them to relative safety. If Guts is going to get him, Guts may just end up having to come after him through metal squares and rectangles smaller than his standing height.]
no subject
He barely keeps Guts from landing a blow, and he gives up ground, decidedly on the defense. The bat dents, and then the bat bends, until it's more boomerang-shaped, which reduces its utility significantly.
But Dan figures out fairly quickly that the monkey bars aren't in the forefront of Guts' mind, even if he can't mount an offensive enough to force Guts back. So the other option is to draw him in - and what better way than with a live target? What better option than to take some of what Guts is giving?
He purposefully doesn't dodge when Guts grabs him. Instead he does his best to absorb the impact and then, when thrown, instead of a single roll to his feet he gives it another roll until he's in the safe metal structure. He can't use his bat for shit here - at this point it's a means to jab and nothing else - but cradled in the metal bars he's hard to hit, and can still throw punches. And the bent, damaged bat is useless to him now anyway.
He pants for air. His lower lip, cut from hitting the ground during the throw, bleeds down his chin. But he raises his fists in a traditional boxing stance, shielded by the metal bars and ready to duck through the next ring of them to relative safety. If Guts is going to get him, Guts may just end up having to come after him through metal squares and rectangles smaller than his standing height.]