"O-Of course I care! I care about every one of our friends!" Takeshi said defensively, ducking hastily under a punch and pushing another incoming fist away, "Hell, I've done nothing but worry about how you're doing! I've worried about Shu, about T'charrl, about everyone!" He just didn't know how to show it was all. More than that he didn't know how he could help, something that only fed the worry he was already experiencing. Not being able to help his friends was one thing, not being able to make a difference for Shu was twice as bad. It wasn't fair for Viral to say that, he wasn't completely heartless. Stopping a punch with one of his own he gritted his teeth, growing slightly frustrated at how the Beastman wasn't listening to him. He was glad the guy was doing better, why couldn't he just see that?

Focusing on fighting and chatting was proving to be difficult now that he was trying to be mindful of how he fought. Moving around and dodging incoming blows as best he could he tried to find an opening for himself, the strikes coming in too quickly to allow for one. "That's not true at all! I care about way more than that!" Viral complained about being powerless right? Not being able to do anything and feeling like he wasn't up to par? Well he wasn't the only one, that's how he felt every time he saw someone who wasn't well. Having this many friends, or any for that matter was a wholly new experience for him, he wanted nothing more than to be able be useful to them. All he knew was fighting though, if he couldn't be useful through that then what more could he do? 

Taking a shot right to the nose Takeshi backed off and covered his face, tears welling up in his eyes on reflex as he rubbed at it gingerly. "I'm moaning because you socked me right in the nose! That hurts you know!" Again Viral didn't miss a beat and came right in with more attacks, this time he tried to retaliate with some of his own. Getting one shot through on Viral's chest he got one in return on the stomach, and then one on Viral's side for one in his shoulder, nearly spinning him around from the force of it. Finding himself losing ground he threw his arms up to guard only to find it pointless as a strong punch broke through, and a final one caught him in the jaw and sent him onto his back in the dirt. Coughing in protest Takeshi lifted up his head and spit out the blood leaking from his split lip, looking at Viral exasperatedly. "You're not the enemy though! I've never thought of you as the enemy, not since we first met!" Takeshi shouted, pushing himself back up to his feet, "You're my friend dammit, I'm not going to treat you like an enemy, that's impossible!"