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The first training day was already not off to a good start for Zuko. And not even because of Fuero - things had gone rocky for completely different reasons. So he wasn't in the best of moods when he met the purple 'Zard to take him to his training ground, and Fuero could tell. "I hope this wasn't because of me..."

"I haven't known you long enough to get this annoyed at you," Zuko replied rather undiplomatically. "I haven't known you long, period...and yet Cullen Grapthorne is writing about it already, hyping you up as 'star pupil' and 'protégé in the making.'"

"Oh...jeez, that's awfully, uh, presumptuous..." Zuko didn't reply to that, but to him that was putting it lightly. It was no secret that the red 'Zard wasn't a big fan of the paparazzi, but he tended to endure it by deflection and limited exposure, and didn't talk much about himself beyond what related to his matches. And for the most part that kept anything outside of the actual matches out of the spotlight for him. But Cullen Grapthorne, a Grumpig reporter for a rag that was more tabloid than newswork, was an everpresent annoyance for him and others who didn't like their personal life splashed everywhere. The fucker could figure out ANYTHING, and no one really knew how he did it - sure, he was a psychic, but even most psychics couldn't sniff out a story without even showing up for an interview, much less within a day or two of it happening. And he was the most tireless pesterer when it came to Zuko, dishing out details about his life that he wanted to keep to himself and fans most certainly did NOT want kept to himself. The worst part was, nothing Cullen ever wrote about was entirely untrue - he had a reputation for the 'report' part of his articles to be unassailable, which gave him leeway to speculate rampantly in the rest of his pieces without ever opening himself up to libel claims. Being infuriatingly untouchable while being able to touch anyone else at his leisure, few public figures liked him, but he had a legion of adoring fans who ate up all the dirt he dished out.

"If I ever figure out how he's getting all this shit, that bacon bitch is going to rue the day he ever dragged me into his dumbass tabloid," Zuko continued to snarl. "Just because I do something people watch doesn't mean I want my whole goddamn life laid out in front of every random mon on the street."

"My parents loathe him, he makes discussing business deals with others kind of a nightmare," agreed Fuero. "And I'm pretty sure he was dragging me through the mud during my first year of junior league - not that I'm sure he was the only one, or that I didn't kinda deserve that."

"Well, you'd better not give him anything willingly. And you'd better stay on your best behavior, because I know anything you get caught up in, he's gonna get on me for it, and I don't need that garbage, I have enough to deal with."

"I'll stay out of trouble, I promise." Fuero sounded a little nervous, but Zuko didn't really care. If he was going to be cowed by Zuko being in a less than pleasant mood, he wasn't going to last long as a trainee. But he was already setting it aside as they arrived at the training ground, someplace where he could get the rest of the world off of his mind and just do what he was good at.

It was a private place, not like any other training location used by ACL fighters. Zuko had made it more or less himself, though Bryson had helped a bit here and there with the set-up but only to make happen things Zuko wanted. There were several different areas which allowed for different types of training - building up strength or endurance, practicing techniques, working on aim or reaction time, improving focus, and more - all built from natural materials, by his hands alone. Zuko was here almost every day that he wasn't in a match, with only short breaks outside of the league year - it was part of the reason he was still able to keep up, never letting himself slack off or become complacent. Fuero was the first person who had been here in quite some time...it felt the tiniest bit awkward having a private space like this opened up to anyone else, but with any luck Fuero would be more intimidated so he'd still have the advantage.

And the initial impression seemed to be on that point, as the purple reptile was wide-eyed and awed at what he was seeing. "Whoa...this is way different from anywhere I've ever trained."

"Course it is, because this is MY training spot. You can go to any gym or battle center in the world and get some generic simple course, but none of that is enough if you want to really excel. Most Master-class fighters have private trainers who do advanced things, but they go for modern...I go for what our forebears did. Seems to have worked well enough for them."

"Yeah, this is...way different than any of the training facilities I've seen." Zuko wasn't sure if Fuero was in awe or in doubt, it was hard to tell. Either way, he was going to make sure that the younger dragon got a proper appreciation for his way of doing things. At least, he would have to if he wanted to stick on for any length of time, because there was no way in hell Zuko was going to train someone anywhere else - if this was good enough for him, it was good enough for anyone who wanted his tutelage. And if it drove Fuero off, well, that meant he didn't have the stuff and Zuko wouldn't have to deal with him anymore.

"You'll get to experience every bit of it before too long here. Today, we're starting with baselines. I can't measure whether you're making any progress without knowing where you are right now. So we're going to have you try out everything I have here and measure your performance on every piece, and then you'll be tasked with beating new ones each time. But the first thing I want to test is your technique and form." Zuko looked squarely at Fuero and folded his arms. "So get that bag off, and square up. Show me your stance."

"Uh? O-okay..." Fuero seemed oddly unprepared for that...Zuko wondered if his head was really in the game, or if he was still starry-eyed over him. But the purple 'Zard shook it off after a moment and put himself in position in front of Zuko. Hm...well, I probably should've had him get out of the street clothes, first, was Zuko's first thought, as Fuero looked very much not in the right dress for the battle, making it seem out of place. Wouldn't mind seeing more scale on the whelp...tch, not the time for thinking things like that.

Form-wise, though, it wasn't a bad start. A lot of novices had flashy poses that they thought looked cool, which were quickly beaten out of them if they tried to make it to the big time. Fuero's was much more thoughtful, shifted to the side a bit, left side of his body set forward while the right was reared back. Gives away that he's a righty, but anyone studying his dossier'll know that before they fight, so it doesn't matter that much. But it does put forth his 'blocking' side and ready his 'attacking' side for additional momentum. Not always the best stance, but one that circuit pros aren't unfamiliar with.

"Decent. We'll work on varying it up...you'll want to know more than one way to start in the pros, because they like to throw different opening moves at you." Stance was not the most important thing, since after the initial blows anything could happen, but a good start could get one out ahead in a hurry. "Now, then, let's see what you're packing. Throw a punch at me."

"Eh? Wait, right...right now?"

"I don't see any reason to wait."

"But...uh, Zuko, sir...shouldn't we put on force limiters first?"

Zuko raised an eye ridge at the younger 'Zard. "Put on what now?"

"Force limiters! You know! The bio-rigs that you put on to dial back the impact of physical blows? So that you get the actual feel of the swing but the hit's not as nasty to the recipient. They were required gear for any training session, to help keep training safe while not having to, y'know, just play-fight!"

Zuko snorted. "Well, I don't know what kinda pasny-ass outfit you were in, but out here, we do things the way they've always been done. None of that tech nonsense. Now come on, stop stalling and actually hit me."

Fuero's eyes widened. "But...but I could hurt you!"

"Whelp, you think way too much of yourself if you think you're going to hurt me. HIT ME."

Fuero winced, but took his stance again, and then came forward with a straight punch to the solar plexus on Zuko. He winced a bit as his fist hit the hard pack of muscle of Zuko's gut, and Zuko was surprised by how much he felt it as he took a step back; Fuero hadn't pulled the punch at all, even as nervous as he was. Still a far cry from actually doing anything serious, but the mild ache told him that he at least had someone with a bit of muscle behind him. "Hmph. Not too shabby. You won't get many like that in the arena, though, so you'll need to learn how to do it without so much wind-up."

"O...okay..." Fuero rubbed his eyes. "Sorry, I'm not...I'll get used to this. It's just...different, than what I expected."

"You're not in the cushy buildings anymore. You wanna be a champ, you gotta prove yourself over everything, including the elements. I train out here no matter what the weather is, in my battle wear. Not always fun, but if it's easy it's not helping you. Come on, let's get you testing your movement. The agility course is right over here."

"Right...uh, where are your bio-stabilizers?"

"Oh, for...what now?"

"...You don't use bio-stabilizers?" Fueros' jaw dropped. "They're standard everywhere! They create a protective field on the body machinery, reducing muscle, joint, and bone injuries and protecting against internal damage from blows! Everyone uses them, they let you train at full force more often!"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Well, I don't use any of that 'modern' mumbo-jumbo. Get this through your head, this is NATURAL training, which means you're going to get better NATURALLY. No shortcuts, no easy paths, no nonsense like that."

"But...that's not even a shortcut! It doesn't even enhance performance, it just-"

"'It just' doesn't matter because I don't have them, so get over it. Do you want to be trained or not?"

"...I...sorry...okay, let's...get to it..." Zuko's annoyance ticked up at the obvious reluctant concession, but he pushed it back down. He had to remember, this was a whelp who was used to everything being cushy and gentle, he wasn't going to be ready for the big leagues until he got over that. And the faster he could break him out of that, the better.

---

Fuero knew the training was going to be tougher than he'd been through before. He was ready for that, and he wasn't about to complain - you didn't get to the next level without stepping it up a few notches. But he was NOT prepared for just how grueling Zuko's brand of training would be.

His first session training under Zuko was an ordeal, to say the least. The red 'Zard had him doing just about everything he could think of, heedless of Fuero's stamina being sapped over the course of the day. It was a little of everything - strength, agility, endurance, evasiveness, awareness, persistence, all tested it multiple ways over the course of the day. Sometimes Zuko seemed to be mildly approving, other times he gave Fuero some hell for substandard performance, the latter getting more common as he run out of steam later on. It was giving Fuero a good idea just what he was in for, at least...other sessions were going to be more focused, though, so maybe only PART of his body would feel like it just went through hell.

The next morning might have been worse than the previous day, though. Fuero found himself so sore he could barely move from his bed, the aches and pains from the extremely taxing session overwhelming him. And he knew there was a reason for that...a normal body wasn't meant to go through all that punishment, it was the help of tech that let most people handle a session like that. It boggled his mind that Zuko could even stand at the end of the day if this was how he trained with no help whatsoever...Fuero was very certain he wouldn't be able to keep this up for long, his body would literally give out on him.

No equipment at all...how the hell does he do it? NO ONE goes equipmentless. Even the grittiest natural pros use the basics for training...not doing so is just begging for a training injury. The junior leagues REQUIRE it, you're actually not allowed to be part of competitions if you don't use the proper gear, those are developing bodies that could could suffer a lot more if they're injured badly early on. I never thought I'd see anyone who went all natural, much less at the top of things...it's amazing that he can do it, but if he thinks I can, he might just end my career before it can even start.

Fuero wasn't an idiot - he had no illusions that he was going to change how Zuko did things for himself. "Stubborn" was almost a mark of pride with the red 'Zard - he was known for being infamously hard to convince to do anything he didn't want to do. Interviews and promos could be like pulling teeth if Zuko didn't feel like it, and he was legendarily averse to any other sort of advertising, to the point where fire had actually flown more than a couple times from hawkers who didn't like to take no for an answer. Bryson seemed to be about the only one who managed to get him to do anything from time to time, and it wasn't terribly much - enough that he had been Zuko's agent for an age, at least, and Zuko seemed relatively happy with him nonetheless.

And Fuero knew he had Bryson to thank for even getting this rare opportunity. He hadn't let it on to Zuko, but he was already at least somewhat familiar with Bryson - the Alakazam had done some analytics work for his parents for their business, and he'd gotten to know him a bit through that. Of course, he'd known that Bryson was the agent for the legendary fighter, but that first time getting to know him was that period where he was struggling to fight his way back from being straight trash, so any sort of arrangement wasn't even on the radar then...only years later after there was no more company connection had he decided to try his luck. Heck, he hadn't even expected Bryson to agree to propose the offer to Zuko, much less for Zuko to take it - and he knew that he couldn't waste his incredible fortune of an opportunity on trying to make himself a pest.

But just because he didn't want to change Zuko didn't mean he didn't want to at least try to stand up for himself, either. And just because Zuko didn't want or need training gear didn't mean Fuero wanted to go without if he could help it. Just asking certainly wasn't going to have an impact...but Fuero could be known to be a bit stubborn himself. If he wanted to make something happen, he was going to push for it, and this seemed like both the right reason and the right time to push - before something preventable happened to ruin everything.

Being stiff and sore at least gave him an excuse to stay in, and work on his computer. Digging into the research, the statistics, the metrics, everything that he could to present a convincing argument to Zuko that allowing him to use the bare minimum training gear would be a good thing. He could bring his own, it wouldn't be on the red 'Zard to provide, and it'd just be for himself, nothing for him - if Zuko wanted to put himself at that risk, well, that was his choice to make. But he wanted to be sure he had as complete a case as he could before bringing it up...even if Zuko bought in, he wasn't likely to be happy about it, and if he didn't, then that could jeopardize everything. And that was NOT what Fuero wanted, for ANY reason. So until then he'd have to keep up with it...though he'd be disappointed if he spent all his post-session time too sore to work out that one part of him that was particularly responsive to Zuko's priming.

---

Three weeks had passed, and Zuko had to grudgingly admit, Fuero at least seemed to have the minimum requirements of gumption. A shame, I thought I could get him to ditch it and go back to normal. Well, at least maybe it's not a total waste of time, then.

He wasn't exactly going to go as far as to say the purple whelp impressed him, but for a novice fresh out of juniors, he wasn't half bad. At the very least, Zuko could see why he had blown through the last couple years there, he had the strength without question and his movement was decent as well. And Fuero definitely had that tenacity once he got past the starry eyes, enough bite and intensity to even remind Zuko a bit of himself. One thing he was definitely lacking, though, was the stamina...he definitely did not put up his peak performances for as long as Zuko pushed him, and he seemed not to be all the way back even by the start of the next session. We'll have to work on that, he's going to have a tough time if he can't keep up with me. Particularly if he wants to follow MY path, which he should.

Today he had Fuero doing agility drills, which he thought was a good way of working on stamina as well. They were in hour three, and the purple whelp was definitely not as sharp as he had been. The course he was on was designed to test a lot of aspects - hurrying through obstructive grounds, climbing and swinging from bars and rings, crawling and getting back upright, getting through narrow spaces, traveling along narrow platforms, and more. About the only thing it didn't test was flying, but Zuko trained flying in its own challenge course, it was simply too much to try to combine the two. Ground agility was just as important anyway - a lot of fighting took place on foot, the air was too risky for a lot of close combat.

He watched carefully as Fuero made his way through yet another repetition of the course, trying to get his time down - though at this point those times were going the wrong direction, and had been for a few runs. Fuero was at least in his battle outfit for this, though perhaps it was generous to call it an outfit - a tight speedo around his loins, and some somewhat ornate arm guards and leg guards, and that was about it. Pretty minimalist, though Zuko had seen less - there were always a few fighters who were trying to push the boundaries of outright nudity, which was frowned upon in the ACL because they felt it diminished the notion of 'professional.' Certain non-sanctioned leagues might not have cared so much, but typically one didn't go there to get better at the combat aspect.

If he actually gets in, he'll probably get someone designing something for him that covers a bit more, mused the red 'Zard as he watched Fuero. Though I suppose it WOULD be a bit of a shame to have to cover up that body...it's been a long time since I looked that good. Zuko was trying not to let envy eat at him, but it was hard not to feel a bit of longing for that form...Fuero didn't quite have the mass that Zuko had, at least not yet, but what was there was well-toned, quite amply-defined and prominent all throughout. Nicely cut pecs and abs, muscular arms and legs, powerful wings, he looked the image of a proud physical fighter...but he also had a very clean appearance to him, his body wasn't marked and scarred the way Zuko's was. To most anyone's face he wouldn't say a thing about them, but when he looked at younger fighters, he always felt a little self-conscious about it...like he gave off the impression of being damaged or something like that, something that wasn't appealing to look at. Though, perhaps it helped during those times he didn't want to be looked at, so maybe it wasn't a terrible thing...

He was a bit too caught up on ogling Fuero, failing to notice his actual performance on the run. That was changed in a hurry when it happened - Fuero's grab for a ring came up short, and his fatigued other hand slipped its grip, sending the purple 'Zard to the dirt. He landed hard on his right hand and arm, crying out in pain and grabbing his wrist, holding it tight as he rolled on the ground. Zuko stepped over, looking down at the pained dragon. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"Fuuuck..." Fuero was growling through clenched teeth. "I think it's sprained...hopefully not worse than that...dammit..."

"You can't lose your grip like that, it's not high enough for your wings to rescue you."

"I KNOW that!" Fuero snapped hotly, glaring up at Zuko. "I wasn't TRYING to let go! It's hard to keep a tight grip after eighteen fucking runs!"

Zuko shrugged. "Well, you'll have to work on that. We'll write this one off as DNC. Get back up there and set up for the next one."

"...What?" Fuero sat himself up, his expression one of angry shock. "Are you nuts? I'm INJURED! And not just a little, this is serious!"

"Oh, please. You got a little dinged up. You're gonna be fighting people out there, you're gonna hurt now and then, it's good to get used to fighting through the pain."

"Dammit, Zuko, this isn't just PAIN! Trying to just 'fight through this' could ruin everything! One of the junior league's coaches got canned for something like this, he told one of his players to suck it up and play through his knee injury, and it got damaged way worse and that player lost his chance at an actual career because his leg doesn't work right anymore! I'm not gonna risk everything for some stupid misguided machismo! I need to go see a doctor and get this treated so that it doesn't get worse!"

"Oh, come on, you can't be serious," growled Zuko. "You're not going to run to the hospital over a little tweak. Come on, we've still got another hour of your training session."

"What? No. I'm DONE today. And yeah, you bet your ass I'm going to the hospital. I want to actually have a career here, that means I need to take care of my body, not just ignore it and hope for the best!"

Fuero got to his feet, walking away from the course, when Zuko's snarl stopped him. The red 'Zard's ire flared up hearing that...perhaps it wasn't Fuero's intention, but he couldn't help but fell like that was a shot at his scarred up body. "Are you kidding me here? You wanted to be trained, but you're gonna skip out on the time I set aside for you just because you've got one little injury? And you want me to think you're taking this seriously?"

Fuero turned his head back, and even Zuko couldn't help but react to the harshness in the purple 'Zard's eyes. "I wouldn't even HAVE this 'one little injury' if you used the goddamned bio-stabilizers. If you don't want me 'skipping out,' let me use them...otherwise, shut the hell up and deal with the consequences like I have to now."

With that, Fuero stormed off, not looking back as he snatched up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. Zuko didn't respond further...he had a sense that he'd crossed a line of some sort, though he wasn't sure he entirely understood what or how. Why's he getting so upset over that? You get banged up all the time in matches. And more of that dreck about bio-stabilizers...tch, maybe the younglings are just soft these days. Annoyingly, though, he knew he couldn't clap back on that, because Fuero was probably right...still, maybe he needed to get used to having war wounds, rather than running away when they happened. With a sigh, he turned back to the agility course, figuring at least he could use the time for his own training, and perhaps provide the whelp with a better example if he got over himself and came back.

---

"Zuko?" Bryson was surprised to see Zuko in the lounge a couple days later. "I thought you had a session with Fuero today."

"Whelp bailed."

"...I have a hard time believing it was unprompted. What happened?"

Zuko shrugged. "He's being a little brat over an 'injury.' Took a tumble off the rings and then yapped at me about needing to see a doctor. Told me today he's got a wrist sprain and was told to rest it for a week...I think he's just trying to skip out because he feels like it."

Bryson blinked at Zuko. "You...what? Why on earth would you think that? Are you saying he didn't fall?"

"No, I saw him fall. But it wasn't bleeding, no bones were poking out, it couldn't have been that bad. I told him he should train through the pain, but I guess he's not tough enough for that."

"Zuko Cambrion! You can't try to force someone to put themselves at risk like that!" Zuko jumped a bit at Bryson's sharp reply - it was NOT often that the Alakazam actually got angry at him. "Are you TRYING to get yourself sued for negligence? You're a trainer, you need to be looking out for your trainees!"

"What? I WAS looking out for him! Since when is a little minor thing like that supposed to stop anyone?"

Bryson put a hand on his head. "Zuko. A wrist sprain is NOT minor. It's not an emergency, but it's a significant injury. Sprains are torn or damaged ligaments, and if they're stressed while they're injured, that can make the damage FAR worse. That can require surgery, long convalescence periods, or even permanent damage. You can't just write off something like that as trivial, because YOU'RE the one who's supposed to be responsible for him. You should have come to me immediately after it happened!"

"Why? I've never had to come to you about an injury before!"

"First off, this isn't YOUR injury, it's someone else's, and there's a whole lot of liability issues we need to cover if it's worse than it sounds. Particularly because I'm going to guess that you weren't letting him use bio-stabilizers."

Zuko scoffed. "Don't you start on me about that too. I'm showing him how to ACTUALLY train, without those tech garbage shortcuts. You wanted me to do this, I'm not gonna half-ass it if I'm actually doing it."

"Then you have to be VERY careful about injuries, Zuko. The whole point of bio-stabilizers is that they greatly reduce training injuries. If you're going to demand that Fuero not use them...I can't legitimately stop you, but I CAN tell you that under no circumstances are you to EVER try to downplay an injury he gets again. Because that's on your head, and I can say that if Fuero chooses to train under you, he chooses to run that risk, but I CANNOT defend you if you harm him because he was hurt and you made it worse."

Zuko hated when Bryson lectured him...mostly because when he did, it was usually something that he had to accept he was wrong on. Especially when he issued an actual ultimatum, which was uncommon to say the least. "Fine...but I still don't see what the big deal is. I've had plenty of times where I banged something or got gimpy and it was never a big deal."

The hand returned to Bryson's head, now rubbing over his eyes. "Zuko...I try not to make a point about emphasizing things like this, but...do you honestly think that's NORMAL?"

Zuko blinked, staring blankly at Bryson. "Huh?"

"You are an anomaly, Zuko. Your resilience is virtually unprecedented. I can count on one hand the number of fighters I've heard of who hadn't missed at least one season due to an injury suffered during training or a match of the ones like you who never used bio-stabilizers during training. Even then, in-match injuries costing a fighter a match or even a season are far from unheard of, and there are still training mishaps here and there even with the tech, most fighters who use bio-stabilizers still have missed time to injury, just significantly less of it. The fact that you not only haven't missed a season, you haven't even missed a single match due to injury in your career is beyond extraordinary. Are you seriously going to tell me you've never noticed your peers griping about missing matches due to injury?"

"Well, I mean, yeah, of course I have...I mean, I know injuries happen." Zuko was starting to feel an awkwardness that he didn't like. "And I know no one likes it. But that's actual matches, though, not just...they're still training and everything..."

"No, Zuko, they're not. They're often unable to train, or have to be very limited, or have to focus only on the parts that aren't injured - or if it's serious and they're doing rehab, only the parts that WERE injured. Sometimes it can cost them seasons, sometimes it can cost them careers, even if they do everything right. You're the only one who's had a career of any note who hasn't had to skip training or miss matches due to injuries. And you need to be aware of that because ANYONE you train, whether it stops at Fuero or not, isn't going to be the same way. And you CANNOT treat them the same way, because you WILL cost someone their career, and no settlement is going to undo that."

If there was one way to get the point through to Zuko, it was that - he'd seen a couple of his friends devastated at injuries that took them out of the game for good in his years, and it felt almost like a funeral. "...Fine...but how do I know he's not just skiving off?"

"Don't think that way, Zuko. Seriously, if you want to be a trainer-"

"Are you seriously trying to pin this as MY idea? YOU set this nonsense up, Bryson."

"And you're taking it seriously enough that you clearly are at least somewhat invested in the idea, if you're complaining that Fuero ISN'T showing up." Zuko shut his mouth, growling a bit - it was SUCH a frustrating thing to have a Psychic as your manager sometimes, they could know things about you that you didn't even realize until they pointed it out. "And if you want to keep taking it seriously, you need to presume, barring any major evidence to the contrary, that someone who's paying you to take lessons from you WANTS to be there and WANTS to put in the effort. And unless you can give me a GOOD reason that Fuero isn't doing that, I'm not even going to consider investigating further. If you want respect as an authority, you need to give respect as an authority, and that means not presuming the worst about your students. Would you have even given me the time of day as a manager for you if I'd treated you like you're treating Fuero right now?"

"...Hmph. No, I guess not."

"Exactly. Your methods are your own decision, I'm not going to get involved in that, but you have a responsibility, Zuko, and I WILL get involved with that if I have to. But I hope that I don't have to. This is part of the purpose of this - you have to see things from the perspective of others, understand their thoughts and feelings, and maybe, just maybe, gain a little bit of cognitive flexibility so that you can trip up other people who think they have you pegged. This is your one real weakness, Zuko, and I don't expect the process to always go smoothly, but it can't come at the expense of others."

"Right...fine, okay. I'll back off on the whelp." It was a grudging acceptance, but one Zuko wasn't going to blow off. If he had to give Fuero the benefit of the doubt when it came to injury, for whatever reason, then he was just going to have to do that, even if he still struggled to understand why it was such a big deal, at least the one Fuero had had. But then again, he hadn't seen all the marks of injury on everyone he knew who'd had to hang it up...and maybe breaking that handsome body was a bad idea even if it wasn't on the outside. He'd just have to work on getting Fuero toughened up first.

---

Fuero had been expecting another week away from Zuko's training. He was doing his own workouts at the time, avoiding anything involving the wrist but trying to keep the rest of himself from getting too complacent...if he could've trusted Zuko not to try to rope him into something that would put him at more risk, he would've gone to train, but at the moment he didn't feel confident about that. And that was the frustrating thing...he didn't and couldn't expect Zuko to change everything he did for Fuero's sake, but the red 'Zard didn't seem to care at ALL about his health. And he didn't know if it was just obtuseness or if Zuko was trying to get Fuero to quit...he was really hoping it wasn't the latter, not just because it would have been kind of a disaster for his training prospects but because that would've made Zuko a really shitty person.

But if the latter was the case, then Zuko had an odd way of showing it, given that he called up Fuero and told him, in relatively short manner, to come to the training as scheduled tomorrow and not to worry about dressing up or hurting anything. Fuero only got out a "Huh?" before Zuko hung up, leaving him mystified...but, if Zuko was actually asking for him, he wasn't going to not go. If Zuko tried to push anything, Fuero was good at standing up for himself, or at least that was what he liked to think.

He was in his casual dress when he got to the training ground the next day. Zuko was on one of his structures, training himself until he saw Fuero approaching, at which point he got off and headed over, looking both like he'd been at it a while and like he'd barely broken a sweat. His eyes clearly darted to Fuero's wrapped wrist. "Still?"

"It'll be another week," Fuero replied, somewhat tensely.

"Hmph. Well, sorry about that."

The purple Charizard was not mollified by that. "That's how you're going to react to that? You don't even sound sorry. Did you want me to get hurt so you wouldn't have to do this anymore or something?"

That charge rankled Zuko. Maybe he wasn't the most enthusiastic about this, but being accused of THAT... "Of course not! It's not like I WANT you to be injured! And if I didn't want to train you, I just wouldn't train you. Why would you think I'd want to do something like that?"

"I don't know, but what else should I think when you don't take me getting hurt seriously? It's not like I want to be hurt, either! And I don't appreciate being treated like I'm slacking off because I want to make sure I can actually do what you want me to do without ruining myself."

To Zuko, it sounded a bit over the top to put it like that...but he remembered what Bryson told him, that maybe his perspective was a bit skewed. And, well, Fuero HAD shown up reliably until then...and while the whelp may have had some issues with stamina, Zuko didn't have any good reason to doubt his dedication. His features softened a bit as he looked away somewhat awkwardly. "...I shouldn't have doubted your work ethic. I regret saying or implying that...I've been told I'm not...exactly the usual story when it comes to injuries, so I suppose perhaps I don't understand what makes one worse than another."

"Well, that's all well and good if it's your body," replied Fuero. "But if you're gonna train someone, you have to be watching out for them, too. Look, I know the old coaching style was to just tell people to suck it up and move on, and you probably weren't taught any better. So I guess I should've found a better way to approach you about it, rather than trying to bite your head off. But you can't be pushing that same thing. I've seen careers ended, I've seen people sued over this, and there's been at least two high-profile cases where a fighter won those suits. I get that I need to toughen up, but ruining my body isn't going to toughen it up, it's going to break it down."

"Hm. I suppose I'll have to be more aware of that." It wasn't exactly the most full-throated apology, but even a bit of give from the notoriously stubborn Charizard was apology enough in Fuero's eyes. At least it felt like he cared, even if he had a bit too much tough-guy-ism to come out and say it. "Anyway, we're going to do another part of training today. Since your body isn't...cooperating, we're going to have a mental training day."

"...Mental training day?"

"Of course. These fights aren't just about the body, they're also about how well you can focus, concentrate, and think. No one ever won a match by blindly throwing out attacks and hoping they stuck. You need to be able to hone your mind as well as your body. And that's something most trainers out there wouldn't try to teach you, so consider this a bonus, whelp. Today it's focus, clarity, and distraction filtering. Follow me, we're going to my training spot."

"Uh, yeah, okay." Fuero followed Zuko in silence, a bit lost but not wanting to let that on too much. It certainly wasn't something he was expecting from Zuko, but, well, it was non-physical training and it wouldn't put his wrist at risk, so he couldn't really complain. Mental training, though...it wasn't like people didn't know there was a mental component to the ACL battles, but rarely did one actually TRAIN on anything like that, it was more something you were just expected to be able to do. Maybe there was a secret he was missing to Zuko's success...although, he couldn't help but feel that any time tech was brought into the mix, Zuko's mental discipline seemed to take a nose dive. Like that match not that long ago against Gord, he seemed entirely flummoxed by a basic targeting system...Fuero had defeated a dozen of those in his junior league. Hopefully this 'training' wasn't going to give him a hole in that ability...

It was a bit of a walk, but the payoff was actually pretty neat - a natural waterfall by a robust stream, creating a fresh mist in the air that felt pretty nice even for a Fire-type. Zuko motioned towards some flat rocks in the water near the falls. "This is an ideal place for practicing focus. Our kind are poorly suited for the water, so being around it makes us respond in natural ways that can disrupt our thoughts. And the roar of the waterfall is a constant noise that's hard to block out - just the the sound of a crowd all around you in the stadium. If you can keep your emotions settled and your mind locked in, you can perform far better under pressure."

"I...see." Bryson totally taught him all that, Fuero couldn't help but think. Zuko didn't strike him as exactly the cerebral sort, and Fuero could buy Bryson teaching him a few things to help keep him reined in. Then again, it wasn't like it didn't make sense, so even if it had really come from Bryson, Zuko seemed to at least have absorbed it. "So, what am I supposed to do?"

"You're going to get onto one of those rocks, and then sit there. While you're sitting there, you're going to try to empty your head of all thoughts and feelings. Focus on being calm, focus on visualizing a target. Imagine someone from your junior league days who gave you a good fight. I want you to focus on them like they're the only things there. Forget the water around you, forget the roar of the waterfall behind you. I want you to FEEL like you're in an utterly dry and empty stadium with nothing in front of you except whoever it is you want to think about. You think you can do that, whelp?"

"I can sure try it," Fuero replied boldly.

"Trying it doesn't mean much if you don't do it. I'll be grilling you on how well you did." Zuko flapped his wings and lofted himself to one of the rocks, setting down on it with a practiced motion. It wasn't long before he was sitting in position, cross-legged with his back to the waterfall. Fuero followed suit, though he looked a bit before landing, trying to figure out where he wanted to go; eventually he settled on a rock that was behind Zuko and off to the side, out of a direct line of sight of the red 'Zard - he had a feeling that it would be a lot harder to do anything if he was always paranoid about Zuko looking at him and judging him. He did his best to emulate the position Zuko was in - cross-legged, hands on knees, eyes closed. It wasn't precisely the same, but close enough, and he doubted that was as important as what was going on in his head.

He tried to take slow, deep breaths, tried to shut out the world around him, tried to envision what he was meant to envision. And it was harder than he thought...the water around him was making him just the slightest bit nervous, that natural reaction that Zuko had been talking about. Even though he wasn't going on it, even though it wouldn't hurt him even if he did, it was natural to feel a little anxiety over it when it was just SO close...kind of ironic, being close without being in it created more anxiety than actually being in it. And that waterfall was LOUD, louder than he had anticipated...well, they were pretty close to it, close enough that Fuero could feel the spray of mist acutely against his wings. How was he supposed to just block that out? He couldn't NOT hear it, right? Or maybe it was about tuning it out more than not hearing it...but there wasn't much else for him to focus ON, which made it harder to focus OFF of that.

Fuero was still trying. Trying to picture someone in front of him...but his mind wouldn't settle on someone. Who was he supposed to think about? Old rivals...maybe Chavez, a Hakamo-o from his second year in the junior leagues, someone who made a lot of noise, quite literally...but it wouldn't feel right if he wasn't hearing those clanging scales of his. Or he could go with Doryan, the Infernape that had tossed him around like a rag doll during his ignominious first year...well, maybe focusing on someone more recent and less embarrassing would be better. There was Kennett, the Quilladin from his third year who had been probably the toughest fight he'd won, even though he should have had the natural edge, he was GOOD...but he'd quit after that season because of his abusive coach, so that kind of soured the memory.

Argh. This isn't even supposed to be the hard part... Fuero couldn't help but peek an eye open, checking on Zuko. The red 'Zard looked almost like a statue except for gentle breathing motions and slight steam rising from his snout. The picture of serenity...and sexual desire, too, but that was true pretty much all the time. He made it look so easy, Fuero envied him that a bit, but he'd probably had to work at it a long time himself. He made a lot of stuff look easy, with a body like that that was capable of so much...though, there were the scars on him, too, that spoke of not-easy experiences. It gave Zuko a more rugged countenance in Fuero's eyes, though...the marks of struggle, survival, success. His own body was free of that, which was probably seen as good in its own way, but he felt sometimes like it made him look...pampered. Too clean, too underchallenged, like he didn't work for anything. Too 'rich kid.' Yes, that was what it boiled down to. His life was too easy, he didn't look or feel like he'd earned anything. He wanted to earn something, for himself, for his own hard work. Maybe some would say he trained with the best, but...well, given what training with Zuko had been like thus far, he was DEFINITELY not getting any easy path upwards.

He gave his head a little shake and closed his eyes again. Right, he was supposed to be trying to focus...he tried to picture the arena in front of him, wide open and empty...the feel of water nearby wasn't easily leaving his mind. He really needed a person to focus on...his mental image formed a fuzzy blob, and then a more distinct one as he tried to conjure someone up. And then...there it was. But not someone from the past...it was Zuko. Fuero wasn't sure why, but he wasn't going to question it, it was someone and that was a step further than he had been. He tried to keep his eyes on Zuko, to ignore everything else except the red Charizard he was envisioning in front of him. Well, that body HAD held his attention for a while, maybe it could do so like this...

Maybe a little TOO well. The more Fuero focused, the more scale Zuko was showing. Not clad in anything, standing quite freely in the middle of a wide-open battleground, posing for Fuero, showing off those muscles, those scars, everything that made Zuko Zuko. Eyes focused on Fuero, maybe a salacious little smile and growl, he knew exactly what he was doing to the purple 'Zard...and those thick legs, those muscle-stacked arms, those firm pecs and abs, all that power packed into one package...and speaking of package, Zuko's groin was starting to show some peekage, a hint of that scandalous underneath that had rarely been seen, despite so many clamoring for such a coveted photograph. How many ACL performers were more than happy to do gratuitous pin-ups with everything showing, yet the most wanted was one of the few who flat-out refused? He was doing it in Fuero's head, though, putting all the confidence he had in battle into his display now...

Fuero's jaw clenched as he felt a tightening in his groin. He was getting hard himself...but he really did NOT want that to become evident to Zuko, there was no way the red would approve of that. His breathing picked up a bit as he fought to compose himself, keeping a tight hold so that his slit wouldn't let out that embarrassing staff. He opened his eye again, nervously checking to see if Zuko had noticed anything...no, still silent, still lost in himself. Good, maybe he could rein himself back in without alerting him after all...he tried to settle down his breaths, tried to depress the feelings of lust, get back into that state he was supposed to be in...his eye closed again, and he tried to get to that visualization once more, aiming to try to get the image he was supposed to...

It didn't quite go according to plan yet again. There was that image of Zuko in front of him again, just as naked and now fully erect, stroking himself a little bit in full view of the purple 'Zard, tongue licking his chops as he made such a tawdry display to Fuero, wildly out of character yet very much to the desire of Fuero's fantasies. But it got better, oh did it get better, as Zuko then turned around, leaning over and lifting his tail, exposing his hot, tight pucker to Fuero, that look in his eyes beckoning the purple to come over and take what was being offered. That tail swaying almost hypnotically, the flame flaring up nice and full, showing how hot Zuko was for him...

Fuero opened his eyes again, hoping he wasn't being too obvious about it. Zuko was still in his own little world - he really WAS good at this stuff, it seemed, and that was working to Fuero's advantage as he desperately tried to keep his cool. His erection was painfully stiff within his slit, it was taking all he had to keep it deep inside, to not reveal what was really going on in his head during this supposed head-clearing exercise. If he could just slip a hand inside and finger himself until he got his release...but there was no way that wouldn't be discovered, particularly not with how much he was wearing. Well, maybe blueballing himself was a good test of how well he could focus, too, right? Not giving into the temptation, to just focus on his thoughts rather than on the physical act of pleasures...it surely wasn't the point of this exercise, but at the moment it was all he could salvage from it.

Eyes closed again, and once again there was Zuko...they weren't on stadium grounds anymore, but Zuko was laying on a bed that bore a resemblance to them, on his back, legs spread wide open to show off all the good, a cheeky smirk on his face, like he KNEW he was hot shit and how much Fuero wanted him, beckoning to Fuero with one clawed finger. The sky was the limit for Fuero like this, he could surround that luscious cock with his maw, spear his tongue into that tailhole, pounce and rut Zuko like an animal, climb on and ride the red 'Zard to the finish...the paralysis of choice when one was a fervent switch, one which some partners had called 'obnoxiously versatile', an accusation so slanderous and appalling that he had immediately put it on all his profiles. He somewhat doubted the actual Zuko was quite so flexible, but his fantasy, he could do what he wanted with it, right?

Indeed, the hardest part was that, despite what he would have loved to imagine doing, right now he was sworn to controlling himself...keeping his stubborn erection safely locked away, out of sight and out of suspicion, remaining as still in real life as he could manage while fighting the temptation to do whatever he wanted to the imaginary Zuko in his head. He had the motivation of not wanting to let the real Zuko know what was going on, or he might meet a very messy end...he wasn't fool enough to believe that Zuko thought of him the same way he thought of Zuko, the red 'Zard's tastes weren't exactly known but Fuero doubted they included whelps like him. Still...he had to know that people fantasized about him in that way, right? There were plenty of fictionalized works that included him, as there were with many other famous folks...just because Zuko didn't indulge them didn't mean they wouldn't be out there. Maybe he was just one of those ones who tried to avoid thinking about it as much as possible...and far be it from Fuero to intrude on that, he could keep it to fantasy, for sure...just drooling over that sexy marked-up body, so muscular, so handsome, so attractive...

"Whelp! Don't make me call you again!" Fuero started at the voice, eyes shooting open and jumping a bit from his position. Zuko was looking back at him, one eye ridge raised. "Finally. Fourth time I had to get your attention. I don't know what you had going on in there but you shouldn't have had that hard a time picking up on me calling to you."

Fuero flushed a bit, clearing his throat. "Er...sorry, probably not. I, uh...I was definitely focused, pretty intensely...I was definitely focused enough that I forgot where I was..."

"Hmph. Focus is one thing, but mind-clearing is more than that. If you're so focused on something that you're unaware of absolutely everything else, then you're TOO focused. The goal is to imagine yourself somewhere else and avoid the things that tell you you're not there, but if you go too far, you block out the important things as well. And when you do that, it usually means you're thinking about things that are interfering with the goal of clearing out your head."

"Oh...I see...yeah, I, uh, I think you're right about that, I was pretty, uh, focused on something..."

"Hmph. Well, I suppose it's something that takes practice, and at least you DID seem to be blocking out the water. We'll have to have more sessions so you can tune it better. Still, an acceptable first effort, whelp."

"Er...thanks..." Fuero wasn't sure how high of praise that was really supposed to be, but it was at least something somewhat positive, and he would take what he could get. More of those mental training sessions would probably be good for him, though...he probably wanted to figure out how to not be mentally drooling over Zuko during those at some point. Though at least he was getting practice on some aspects of control in the meantime.