Hammer and Tongs

When Carmen was looking for a building to start up her new gym, she’d considered a few things. The current location was so attractive because it had actually been a boxing gym before, a failed one that went down over a decade ago. It was dilapidated, needed serious fixing up, but it was already suited to her needs, so it was mostly just a matter of fixing old things, not bringing in the new. It required polish. Lots and lots of polish.

But the location made it attractive, too. Kyoto was a big, bustling city, and there weren’t too many places you could set something like this up without having it get lost in the shuffle, but this area of town was one of them. It was a more quiet, serene part of Japan, where you could move unnoticed and make some noise without attracting too much attention, at least after the sun was done setting. So long as you didn’t blow anything up, people kept to their own.

That was good news for Army. He doubted things would get explosive with him and Alicia, but it wasn’t going to be a quiet evening. No question there.

He sat in the middle of a ring in his sister’s gym, putting the finishing touches on his fists, getting them wrapped up tight with black tape. Everything else on his body was in order - the black boxing shoes coming up just below the knee, his wrestling pads, the black and red trunks fitting loose around his waist. Everything was ready. Externally.

Internally, he was fine for the most part, though there was still a little lingering pain around his ribs from where Alicia had worked him over. Nothing that would stop him or even slow him down, but it was a lingering reminder of what the girl - no, woman could do and what he needed to watch out for if he intended on being able to breathe normally.

He looked over his shoulder and tapped his phone, bringing the clock up. Just a few more minutes until it was time for her to show up, not that he had any doubts that she would. He could tell right away - Alicia loved to fight, just as much as he did. She wouldn’t miss out on a good challenge, and he’d give her all she could handle. And more.

Ten honestly couldn’t come fast enough. Alicia’s day had gone on pretty boringly – she’d gone home, rested her back to soothe the aches of the match, worked out a bit to keep herself loose, done some strategizing for how she was going to deal with Army this time around, tried to do some work and found herself thoroughly distracted…

Yes. Not much had got done but, at the least, she had a battle plan going into their rematch.

She’d eaten, washed up, picked her outfit and- yeah, this was basically a date. Hopefully, Dmitri wouldn’t mind too much. She’d chuckled at that thought.

A taxi dropped her off outside the gym a few minutes before ten but Alicia didn’t think Army would mind at all.

The door, as promised, was unlocked and she slipped through it to find the gym almost the same as she remembered it. Except for it being completely empty now, and deathly silent, with the only sign of life as she approached being the figure of Army waiting for her in the middle of the ring.

No surprise there. There were guys – and girls – who might throw down a challenge to her and then wimp out before crunch time. Admittedly, in most situations where someone did that, it was probably a good idea because ‘crunch time’ might have a more literal meaning than they’d like. But Armando Rodriguez?

No, Alicia’d known he’d be there.

She didn’t say a word as she walked through the gym to the ring, pausing to kick off her trainers and slip on the wrestling boots she’d brought with her in a bag. Her MMA gloves were, naturally, already on and she slipped off her coat, folding it neatly on the trainers. Then she rolled into the ring to join him, rising up to her full five-feet-ten-inches. Under her coat, the redhead was wearing a loose t-shirt and looser skirt over her MMA gear – she had the urge to put on a bit of a show to pay him back for earlier.

So, she got into the ring and leant against the ropes, still not having said a word, waiting to see his reaction.

Alicia was few minutes early, but Army didn't much mind. Somehow, he knew she'd be, and it just meant they'd have that much more time to work.

What surprised him, though, was the skirt. He'd known Alicia for ten minutes at the most, but in that brief span of time, he could already tell she wasn't the type of woman to regularly walk around in long, flowing skirts. There were some women in the AFW who fought in much sillier things, but she wouldn't be one of them, not with the training she had and the intensity she employed it with. Interesting choice. Weird choice.

Army stared at it for a moments with a raised eyebrow, then slid his phone to the apron and stood up to meet her. He couldn't help but smirk at the clothing choice - not that it looked bad on her, it just seemed like an odd little touch. If she wore it to mess with him a little bit, well, it worked it.

”Nice skirt.” He patted his knuckles, getting the tape nice and compact. "Getting all dressed up for me and everyting. I'm flattered."

Army kept the little knowing smile on as he hung back on the ropes opposite to Alicia and stretched on the ropes, not moving forward just yet. She was getting at soemthing. He wanted to see if she'd show her hand before they got thinngs started for real.

She’d thought he’d be surprised at the skirt. She’d been vaguely surprised she owned one, given Alicia’s usual wear was considerably more fitted both by choice and because it was really hard finding stuff that properly fit her body type. Go figure.

And if he thought he knew what was coming, well, she doubted it. She really did doubt it.

But he was about to find out.

Still not saying a word, Alicia just flashed a grin before she straightened up from the ropes. Being coy or seductive wasn’t really something she thought she was good at, so she didn’t bother with anything along those lines. Instead, she reached down, curling her fingers around the bottom of the sweatshirt she’d worn and peeling it up over her head in a single motion. Underneath, a simple black sports bra enclosed her assets, her movements doing interesting things to her chest as she pulled the top off.

Nothing he hadn’t seen before. But the best was yet to come.

The redhead turned and folded it, dropping it over the ropes onto her coat. Then she half-turned back, so she was side on to Army. And then she bent slightly. Undid the fastenings that held her skirt up and shimmied it down over those wide, curvy hips and big ass of hers before letting it drop. Underneath, Alicia wore her usual Stygian-hued compression shorts, giving her adversary an excellent view of her lower body. That was particularly true as she took her time bending to scoop up the skirt, fold it and drop it over the ropes, a series of motions that had the powerful muscles of her thick thighs shifting under her smooth skin.

She didn’t think it’d intimidate Army. But she did think it’d impress him and, well, if she could put him off his game a bit, she’d take it. So she gave him plenty of time to take it in.

Now done, the British Amazon slowly turned back to face him, eyes alight with battle-lust. Hips cocked to one side, weight braced on one foot with her arms at her side, she raised her eyebrows at Army challengingly.

Your move, she seemed to be declaring silently.

Army thought he had a good handle on this situation. Was reasonably sure he understood what the rules were, where things were going. He and Alicia had an understanding - they wanted to fight and determine who was better. Standard stuff.

And then Alicia started taking her clothes off, and he wasn’t quite sure what to make of that.

He cocked his head to the side as she peeled off the shirt, not even sure why she’d bothered putting it on in the first place. Oh, she certainly had plenty to show off - firm body, good figure, chest that was on the larger size without reaching the gag levels some AFW women had - but he’d seen it already. He’d got an up-close view when they were squeezing each other like empty tubes of toothpaste. If she was trying to get in his head, she’d have to do better.

It seemed like she realized that, too. Almost as soon as he’d thought the thought, she started doing better. Much better.

Army knew Alicia had an impressive pair of legs. He’d felt them. They’d damn near crushed him. But seeing and feeling were two different things, and laying eyes on them was quite an experience. Her thighs rippled with power, raw, finely hewn strength. Muscles that were barely noticeable on most people stood pronounced along her legs, and every movement showcased something new.

It was a thing of beauty. Maybe she was trying to mess with him - okay, she was definitely trying to mess with him, based off the challenging pose she took - but he couldn’t help it. He was impressed.

”Wow.” Army bounced off the ropes and forced his gaze to look upwards as he approached the center of the ring. ”I’ll keep the Chun Li jokes to myself. But. Wow.” No sense in hiding how he felt. Especially since he sucked at hiding.

”Won’t make a difference, though. Super legs or not, I’m still taking it.” He brought his confidence out, raised his fists up, and started bouncing around the center of the ring, ”Ding dng.”

More eager than ever to test himself out against Alicia, Army darted forward and led it, throwing a jab towards Alicia’s face and following up with a low right hook towards her midsection. Starting things off hard and fast, but he didn’t worry about her getting ready or not.

She would be. He knew she would be.

Well, she’d definitely impressed him. Given he’d been staring at her legs since she got the skirt off, that was a safe bet to make. Alicia shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

Remember these, Army, she thought to herself. Well, this time there wouldn’t be any escape for you. Not until you tap or you nap.

”Heard them all,” Was her only answer to his Chun Li comment.

As Army began his bouncing around, Alicia calmly and purposefully slid into her familiar stance without answering his banter further. She didn’t bounce or move, except for her forward hand which she raised palm upwards. And then she crooked her fingers in twice, beckoning the boxer on Matrix style with a decidedly sinister smirk quirking her lips upwards.

She really wasn’t in the mood for talking. Cliché perhaps, but everything she wanted to say could be said with her fists. Or, in this case, her feet.

Then, as soon as Army ‘rang the bell’ as it were, Alicia was moving too – her feet whisking over the mat silently as she raced towards him. It wasn’t her style to stand back and wait, and she was as eager to get this going as he was. Then they met and the fight was on.

Army had led with a jab at her head, but Alicia twisted to avoid it, turning the movement into a kick seemingly aimed at his ribs – although the arc would actually lead to his upper arm. But that was alright. She had a plan. It did mean she took his right hook with only a slight deflection, her smirk tightening as pain flashed through her body, but she still followed through with the kick in the expectation of some swift retribution.

Alicia kept things nice and quiet as they started. He could tell she was thinking plenty - maybe working on some strategies, trying to break him down, or just anticipating the beatdown she probably thought was going to happen, here - but that was all internal. Inside, everything was quiet. The only way you’d even tell there were people in the room was the steady bouncing of feet on the canvas, the occasional huffed breath carrying across the room.

That was fine with Army. He liked a little smack talk, and being able to handle a verbal fight before the real one went down was a requirement back home. But he could be serious and focus when the time came. Easy.

Besides, she’d be making plenty of noise soon enough.

Not right away, though. The hook he landed was solid enough, but it didn’t get much more than an unsatisfying twinge out of her. Still, the retaliation he took for it - a kick on his arm, not fun, but nowhere near as bad as some of her worse hits - made it more than worth the price. He was feeling more effective on the inside than she was. He could work with this.

Army shook his arm, getting some feeling back into it after the kick, then moved in again. He stepped to the side a bit, trying to put her between him and the corner, and then he went right back on the attack. This time, he tried something fancier than the typical combinations, and came at her with a flurry of punches, a rapid fire burst of blows, jackhammering into her. None of the strikes had all that much power by themselves, but he was going for speed more than anything, quantity over quality.

The idea was to drive Alica back towards the turnbuckle and get her in the danger zone, something he’d tried to do before, but couldn’t pull off. This time, he was liking his chances more.

Whatever Army might think, Alicia’s head was fully in the game and she wasn’t such a newbie that she couldn’t see what he was trying to do. And she had no intention of letting him corner her, not when her slight edge in speed was her only physical advantage. Getting trapped there, with him right up in her face, would be asking to get trapped and pounded to a fine pulp. She’d done that enough in matches and it’d work even better with these rapid fire punches he was hurling at her.

So she’d sidestepped with him, trying to keep her back to the ropes where she had an escape route at least. And then he’d unloaded on her with this hail of attacks.

Grimly, the kickboxer dug her heels in and fought back, taking advantage of his quantity over quality attack to batter away the ones she could and absorbing the ones she couldn’t on her own guard. Each stung, but sooner or later something was going to give. Side on to him and unwilling to back up, which meant giving him what he wanted, Alicia snapped one leg up, trying to deliver a sidekick to his kneecap in the hopes of getting him to back up.

If that worked, she’d turn it straight into another kick aimed at the same arm she’d just hit. If not, she was going to have to take a step back. And the redhead knew that could very well be the first slip on her part.

Army snapped his teeth as Alicia outmaneuvered him and avoided the corner.
One of the disadvantages that came with working against a quick opponent. He was trained to handle guys around his size, big dudes he could box in easy. Alicia wasn't small, but she had the edge on footwork all the same. Those legs were good for more than just battered him around and pulverizing his rib cage.

But it was a puzzle he was willing to solve. He'd get her there, sooner or later. And when he did? Oh, they'd have a fun time.

It was just a passing thought as he rattled off his machine gun punches, keeping pressure on her but not gaining the ground he craved. Instead, he wound up taking a shot in the kneecap, forcing him to back up, and a shot on his arm - the same arm - followed.

”’Kay, then.” Annoyed but undeterred, Army shook the feeling back into his arm once more and moved back in, retaking the offensive. This time he came in low, keeping his guard tight as her bobbed and weaved. Left, then right, only to burst out from the crouch as soon as he had solid footing, coming at her with a powerful right hook, getting a good deal of his weight behind the blow and sending it toward her side. Time to see how well those ribs were doing...

Luckily for Alicia, the kick landed. Both kicks landed, gaining her space and continuing her plan of punishing that arm. Unfortunately, she couldn’t follow up again before Army was coming right back at her, visibly annoyed. For a big guy, he was pretty light on his feet, ducking down and moving from side to side. Tempted to try her luck, the kickboxer resisted the urge – if she tried and failed, she’d just be setting herself up for a counter.

Instead, she waited and let him make the first move.

Her eyes followed him, Alicia shifting her weight from side to side, shifting her guard as she tried to predict where he was coming from. Left, right, left again-

It was probably fair to say that Alicia’s ribs were in a better state than Army’s. It’d been her back that had taken the worst of it and, while the bear hug hadn’t been fun, it hadn’t been on for as long as the body scissors she’d had on his.

That didn’t mean that the right hook that Army promptly slammed into her lower ribcage felt anything other than extremely painful. Alicia’s guard had abraded the effectiveness a little, but it blew through her attempt at a block and hammered home hard enough to draw a gasp of pain from the redhead.

She staggered back, twisting back in an attempt to keep Army from immediately following it up, her right side aflame with agony.