front and center

It was clear to see that Keito indeed was out of practice, but it would not take him long to get back to where he ought to be. Hattori's were talented fighters, always had been, so the stories went. His hit did not land quite as solidly as he would have liked, but perhaps that was for the best, Kaizen did not have the reinforced bones their sire had, a thudding collision like that would hurt and quite badly too. A leg whipped out, whip quick and though it didn't sweep Kaizen off his feet it was enough to make him grunt, his posture faulting as he recoiled in response. He was not as stoic as he would have liked, wanted to be cold and unfeeling, to just...shrug off wounds that naturally would have had him limping off to seek Fuji's aid.

Gritting his teeth, his ears flicked at his brother's words. That was good, Hattori would have been disappointed if he had.

In retaliation, he kicked forward again, angling his body to the side to protect himself from any more sneaky leg swipes, and moved to lunge at his brother's muzzle. Kaizen didn't even have a hard or bruising bite planned, his jaw muscles ready but not intent on hurting. Just enough to secure a hold, to try and clamp his mouth shut to claim victory over their little spar.