A Little Friendly Competition

Alicia was having a bad case of déjà vu.

It was a drab, rainy Saturday morning and she was in a thinly-populated Friction gym, with the clock ticking down towards a training session.

This time though, she was the one standing in the ring and she knew the woman she’d be sparring with shortly. So it wasn’t quite the same as that first Saturday when she’d barely known where to go and certainly hadn’t had a clue who she’d be up against. But it was close enough to send that little shiver down her spine as she ran through her warmup routine in the ring dressed in sports bra and workout shorts.

No, today she wasn’t up against Valley. They didn’t spar much anymore anyway. No, Alicia was saving that fun for their rematch – whenever that came. Her time in the gym was more often spent with Cecilia or just the trainers, sometimes Mikayla. And, this time as they’d agreed back when they first met, Eka Guramishvili. Alicia’s fellow history enthusiast, she of the unfortunate losing streak who’d not exactly been pleased with that when last they met.

Alicia’s opinion on that matter hadn’t changed one bit, of course, but she doubted Eka’s had either. Not that it was why they were there; although she’d watched the Georgian girl’s matches since. Just out of curiosity.

Carefully, the big redhead let herself down into the splits, stretching out to reach first one foot and then the other. It was important her legs were flexible as well as strong. Power by itself wasn’t enough, she had to be able to deliver it to the right place. And they had to be able to take the pounding everyone she went up against seemed intent on throwing at them.

She didn’t necessarily expect that from Eka. What she’d seen of the other’s style didn’t seem to incline her that way, being more into the throws and submissions side of things. Alicia felt confident her striking ability would beat the Georgian’s and she knew that, if they went to the ground, she’d have to pick her moves carefully. Above all, use her advantages in height and weight and – as always – her legs, and she should be fine.

Not that it mattered. They were just going to spar, after all. So long as she had a good fight and a fun time, Alicia wasn’t that fussed.

She’d been glad to hear back from Eka, to be honest. The more sparring partners she had, the better. Plus she got the chance to chat with another history enthusiast and it had certainly sounded like Eka could use the company too. Everybody won, it had just taken a while to book – given Alicia’s life had gotten busy since they met.

Done with the split, she pulled herself out of it and rose to her feet, glancing at the doors before resuming her routine.

Eka was feeling overwhelmed. A quiet anxiety had pervaded her every thought. Increasingly, she wasn't feeling good enough for all the pressures of the world. Over the summer she had taken a light course load and still she couldn't escape the feeling that she was being overwhelmed. No one had booked her for any matches recently, which Eka took as an awful sign. Every day she checked her phone logs to see if anyone at AFW had even wanted her to show up, only to be disappointed. She had lost a few times sure. But did that mean her very presence was no longer necessary?

When Alicia contacted her, she jumped at the opportunity. The Georgian girl was beginning to fear she was getting out of shape for wrestling, given that the bookers at the fed were not blowing up her phone. And Alicia seemed talented and smart too, so hanging out with her seemed nice, as it distracted her from all her problems for a bit. The day was not as pleasant as it should have been, but Eka didn't really mind that much. On the way to the Friction gym, her bright blue eyes were focused dead ahead, and not even her backpack with all her books and her change of clothes could weigh her down too much.

Eka slipped in the side entrance of the gym. She had been to it a few times, but not very much recently. The Georgian girl was a little ashamed to show her face around there too much, with her losing streak and all. But that didn't matter now, as she changed into her gym gear: a pair of black yoga pants, a white sports bra, and Converse high tops. Eka threw the remnants of her things in a locker and shut it.

When the Georgian girl emerged from the locker room, her demeanor had brightened considerably. It didn't really matter if none of her other friends had called. She would be wrestling against someone who looked quite fierce and brave and talented. And that was enough. She spotted Alicia from a mile away and strode up to her. "You are doing well today, yes?" Her Georgian accent bounced as much as her dark hair did when she leaped into the ring. "And your research too I hope?"

”Eka!” There was definitely a pleased edge to Alicia’s tone as the big redhead turned to welcome the newcomer, ”Very well, thanks.”

And she was. Quite aside from what she regarded as a distinct pleasure – a fun, lighthearted sparring match against a new friend – she’d spent the previous afternoon with her nose firmly in one book after another, only breaking for regular cups of tea, her evening run and then gluing her eyes to the screen instead as she watched several of the Georgian’s matches in preparation for this morning.

In that sense, Eka’s question about research could be taken two ways but Alicia was pretty sure she knew which one the other historian had been asking about.

”And it’s going well. I won’t bore you with the details-“ She flashed a grin Eka’s way, remembering the lively exchange they’d had before about this, ”-But I’ve been getting some good work done, even if flying to Alaska and back definitely ate into my research time. How about you? Enjoying the summer?”

If she was entirely honest, Alicia would have to admit that Tokyo’s summer was a bit hot for her but, fortunately, all the AFW’s facilities were air conditioned and she was at least starting to get used to the heat. It wasn’t to the point she couldn’t cope, but it was just that little bit warmer than the British summers she was used to dealing with.

More immediately, she took the chance to cast a glance over Eka now that the brunette was in her training gear. While she’d got an idea of how her opponent was built, the big redhead hadn’t really got a chance to see that much. Now, she could appreciate that the Georgian wrestler was toned, muscular in a way shared by a lot of the MMA crowd she was familiar with – like Ronda Rousey with bigger boobs was a description she’d seen online and it seemed to fit.

She was also pleased to see Eka looking rather more cheerful than she had before. That was good.

Alicia interlocked her fingers and stretched her arms out with a groan.

”How do you want to do this? Best of three and loser buys lunch?”

Eka was happy for her friend. She was doing very well. What she had said about Alaska wasn't a personal assault on her, and the Georgian girl recognized that; still, the downtrodden feeling she had only intensified. "Uh, it has been ok. The course work is fairly light in the summer classes, and I don't have any matches to distract me from all of the important stuff." A lump formed in her throat. Maybe it was a Freudian slip, but it certainly didn't feel like it. Eka tried to keep going to shake it off. "But otherwise I have been doing well. Next weekend I am going to the mountains," Eka flashed a smile at that, as she was genuinely pretty excited about that, "and that should be fun, yes? But for right now, we have more interesting concerns."

Eka looked over Alicia. While in the little cafe, Eka recognized how thick the redhead's thighs really were. They were nearly preposterous. Eka didn't have a single muscle in her body that was nearly as big as that. A single leg of hers was assuredly bigger than Eka's waist. The Georgian girl began to notice that she was gawping at Alicia with her mouth open, and then closed her mouth and looked back up at Alicia's eyes.

"Hm. We can do this, yes? Best of three." She played with her hair a bit. Free lunch sounded pretty enticing, but she didn't know if she could win. Not anymore. But whatever. "And I will do this wager." She raised a finger and put on the goofiest smile she could muster. "But I will hear no complaining should you lose. Not even one peep."

She stretched one leg out, pulling her thigh a bit. "Regular wrestling rules? Call your own count outs and the like." Eka stretched the other one. "Unless you want to do anything else?"

It hadn’t even crossed Alicia’s mind that Eka might not be immediately overjoyed at her title shot, or perhaps how nonchalantly she regarded the opportunity and her loss. But that was just the way she was, even if she definitely registered the sarcasm in the comment about not being distracted by matches.

”I’m sure there’s something coming up,” the kickboxer assured her friend as confidently as she could manage, ”And you’ll have to tell me about the mountains when you get back. I’ve not been anywhere except Tokyo and Kyoto so far…”

She did notice the way the brunette’s eyes dwelt on her thighs but Alicia was seriously used to that. Her thighs had been drawing stares, admiring and shocked and scared by turns, for years and it was absolutely nothing new. She certainly wasn’t about to call the other wrestler on it, even if her smirk acquired a knowing curve as she watched.

That was followed by a laugh at the way Eka agreed to her impromptu wager, which the redhead was hoping would help get the brunette out of her funk a bit.

Playfully, taking her hint from Eka, Alicia raised her fingers to one corner of her mouth and mimed zipping it shut before throwing away the key.

”Not a peep,” She agreed with a wide grin, ”Scouts’ honour. Though I wasn’t in the Scouts so does that count? Whatever. Just remember I’m on the same salary as you are – have some mercy and don’t make me splurge on a five star restaurant.”

Alicia wasn’t hard off, she had enough money to live on and get the stuff she needed both as a wrestler and for her studies. But there were definite limits to how much she could fork out for meals. Not that Eka looked the type to insist on some overly fancy place but she’d wanted to keep the joke up a moment more.

Shaking out her own thighs as the Georgian stretched hers, the big redhead nodded in response.

”Let’s stick with standard rules. Pins or submissions only, three count for the pins, and all the rest. Next time we can mess around with points or whatever.”

With that done, Alicia stepped into the centre-ring, offering her hand to Eka.

”Let’s have fun.” A wry grin quirked her lips. ”And may the best woman win.”

Eka was smiling a little bit now. Alicia was getting in on the fun with a bunch of little jokes peppering her speech, and Eka enjoyed that side of Alicia. She hadn't really gotten to see it when they were back at the cafe, and the Georgian girl rarely got a chance to display it. But this was honest fun in its purest form. "There is this one sushi place next to campus. Not so expensive, so all the students go there, yes? It has become my favorite. Still not very good with chopsticks, so no making fun of me, ok?"

Then it came time to begin. All the rules seemed fair to her, and Eka was ready to go with it. She might have fared better were this a submissions only match, but she was not some haggling fishmonger at a market who could negotiate a deal all day. This was true wrestling, after all, the kind she would have to do if she ever managed to get back into the ring. Maybe Alicia was right- maybe there was something coming down the pipeline for her. All she could do was train and do her best and wait.

But for right now, there was a higher calling. Eka gladly shook hands with Alicia and nodded. "Good luck to you." She took a few steps back and made herself ready. Usually, before she went into a match, she studied her opponent. For most girls it was easy to find matches on matches on matches online, but this wasn't a real match. The redhead had told her of her fighting style- MMA, if she recalled correctly- but that was all she had to go on here.

The Georgian girl supposed it wouldn't have mattered if she had found every match of Alicia's, as her strategy was always going to be about the same. Chuck a girl on the ground, bind her up with all sorts of different submissions once she got there. Eka crouched into a typical Greco-Roman stance, one foot in front of the other, hands low and elbows to her hips. Her center of gravity was low. She was ready.

”You think I’m any good with chopsticks? Please.” Alicia’s grin was wry now, ”We can fail at chopsticks together and challenge anyone who makes fun of us to a match. That’ll scare them off soon enough.”

Chopsticks just hadn’t ever been her thing. They always slipped, and she’d never mastered the fine art of getting a grip on almost anything with them. Admittedly, that’d been back at home when Chinese takeaway had been the evening meal, so it’d been a lot of fun anyway. But no, she wasn’t about to make fun of Eka – unless it was a ‘who is the worst chopstick user of all time’ contest.

Just like any match, the red-haired kickboxer had put a bit of thought into her approach to this. From what she’d seen, Eka was at her most dangerous on the mat. Which wasn’t to say Alicia couldn’t catch her in a scissors or a joint lock, but she didn’t think it’d be easy and she’d be risking finding herself in something equally nasty along the way.

So. Fine. Where she did think she had Eka beat was in her striking game, something the Georgian had shown little to no interest in over the matches Alicia’d seen. In an actual match, if she’d been looking for the most efficient strategy, she’d be looking to keep them both on their feet and go for a knockout via a kick. The rules she’d suggested had effectively taken that off the table, handicapping Alicia every bit as much – if not more – than Eka.

So all she had to do was submit, because her pinning skills still sucked, someone who specialised in just that. And do that two out of three times. It was very definitely going to be an interesting session.

Still, she settled into her own stance after they shook hands and backed up, turning to present a smaller target with her hands ready to strike or defend as necessary.

”Ding, ding, ding.”

Alicia’s smile was vaguely self-mocking before she came hurtling towards Eka, feet ghosting over the mat before one came snapping up in the first kick of the match – this one aimed at the Georgian’s belly.

Eka analyzed Alicia. The chopsticks thing was kind of funny, but now it was time to get serious. Her stance was professional, and Alicia was giving her some distance initially. The mat was her natural home in the ring, given her background, and Eka recognized that she was going to have to slip past some strikes that would surely be coming her way early and often. Punches and kicks were always a means to an end for her, and she only stayed on her feet to feint for a bit before going for a takedown. Against some women, that would work, but against a woman who looked as dangerous as Alicia did, that was impractical to say the absolute least. The redhead had a slight height advantage, which meant a slight reach advantage, which meant Eka couldn't use her long arms as leverage.

Then Alicia figuratively rang the bell, and Eka charged as well. Like a modern day Becephalus, her legs churned with power and precision. A tail of raven hair flew behind her as Eka approached her opponent and the critical moment. The Georgian girl anticipated a punch, and when a strong leg came up, she was taken completely by surprise. Eka's belly had been hardened by long hours in the gym, but no amount of hardness would have mitigated the kick by that much. A wrecking ball slammed into her gut and Eka took a few more steps before collapsing onto her hands and knees on the canvas.

She got up as quickly as she could and wheeled around, clutching her stomach. Eka made a mental note: don't get hit with that ever again. "That was a good shot, yes?" She said, one eye half closed with pain. The pain in her gut would have to be ignored for now, as Eka didn't really have that many options. If the offensive side of the equation wasn't working, she would have to stick to defense for now. Eka knew a whole lot of tricky counters anyways, and perhaps it was time for Alicia to get a taste of them...

The ringing of the bell might not have been as inspiring as the real thing but both women were in motion instantly. They met in the middle of the ring, took a few steps past the point of contact, Alicia whirling around instantly to see what effect her kick had had.

A pretty good one, as it turned out. She’d put the Georgian wrestler down on her hands and knees and it was pretty clear her sparring partner was already feeling less than great.

Acknowledging Eka’s comment with a nod, the redhead’s lips curled into the unconscious but vicious slash of a grin her features naturally assumed when she was in a fight. Between their combined momentum and the power she could pack into her kicks, Eka had pretty much impaled her belly on Alicia’s foot. While it wasn’t the best result she’d had from a kick, it was pretty obvious that it had done a great deal of damage.

Not a bad start to the spar at all, at least from her point of view.

Given it was a friendly spar, Alicia didn’t chase right after Eka. If she’d stayed on the Georgian, she could probably have already been throwing her next strike. As it was, she gave her friend the space to recoup a bit, get back on her feet and take a breath. But that was all. Well before the shock of that first kick would have faded, the British woman was moving back in.

This time, she led with her fists, throwing a right-left-right combo of jabs which she followed with a sharp knee to the belly. It meant sacrificing her slight edge in reach but, well, it’d be boring to just stand off and throw kicks.

She liked to mix things up.

Eka's bright blue eyes brimmed with wetness. Tears of pain started welling up but she fought them back. If Alicia had pressed her advantage, Eka would have been buried under a deluge of attacks and almost certainly would have succumbed to it. But the redhead gave her a moment's respite and the Georgian girl made a note of that. Alicia wasn't one of those nasty women who sought to win all the time. She had a sense of honor to her. Eka hoped to be as magnanimous as her.

But she was so rarely in a situation where she could give anyone any mercy. Eka had found herself on the business end of a whole lot of nasty attacks more often than not, so she had no clemency to give. What she did have to provide was a fierce resistance to anything that came at her and a burning desire to claw her way back to the land of respected wrestlers. When Alicia came, she came fast and hard, throwing jab after jab at her. The first one connected with her shoulder, but the second one, a left, whiffed through the air as Eka leaned back enough to dodge it. The second right scored a glancing blow off of her arm.

Then it was crunch time. Eka didn't know a whole heck of a lot about MMA, but she recognized combos when she saw them. She guessed that something big would be coming after the three punches, but she didn't know where, and she didn't know how hard. Her instincts told her that Alicia's big thighs would help launch her heavy artillery, so Eka reckoned that the onslaught Alicia had just thrown at her would be capped off by something coming in down low.

And the Georgian girl was fortunate, in that she guessed right. She stepped to the side, and saw Alicia's knee slice upwards. Eka did not envy any women who were skewered on the end of that, but could not reflect on the raw brutality that Alicia could bring. She had to act, and her selected was a judo throw, that might toss the hopefully still off-balance Alicia to the ground and get Eka a ticket to the promised land that was ground game.