Friends Like You

There’d be no tricks this time. Not that Kaede didn’t want to do something, but frankly, the idea with the lights was the best she could come up with, and she knew damn well that Yuki wouldn’t fall for that twice.. She had a whole week - not counting the day that she spent recovering from getting her skull nearly caved in - to think of some way to approach Yuki, some way to take her down, and she couldn’t come up with anything useful. In the physical universe in which she lived, there was no human way that she could beat this woman in anything resembling an even contest.

In all likelihood, her destiny was to be Yuki’s next punching bag. That was reality. She didn’t like it. But she wouldn’t run from it, either.

When Yuki opened the door this time, she would find Kaede sitting the middle of the ring, eyes closed, breathing in deep to calm herself. She was dressed for war, just as much as before - the mouthguard, the tapped fists and feet, even gloves to go along with it. She was even wearing black shorts with a matching sports bra, all with a light pink trim on it - any other color tended to look weird with her hair when she wore black. She’d actually cut her hair itself so it didn’t need to be tied up, getting it short enough that no hair would be coming near her eyes.

Only a second passed after the door opened before Kaede rose to her feet and got into her stance, fists raised tight, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Her gaze locked on Yuki, never faltered, tracking her every moment. It was a reflection of the focus in her mind, as she tried to do away with every thought or worry that was directly related to putting Yuki down.

Don’t think about what happens after, don’t focus on the punishment. All that matters is this moment. This fight.

Fly or die, sink or swim, she was ready.

Once more unto the breach.

Yuki didn’t bring her gym bag today. Didn’t go on her run, didn’t do any pull-ups, didn’t ask Fumika to throw some kicks her way. All she did were her usual stretches before making her way to the room. There wasn’t going to be any need for the usual training routine. Kaede was going to be her workout today.

If someone said that to her five weeks ago, she likely would have punched that person in their throat and kick them senseless. Now, though, she had to admit that things were picking up apace. The punkette seemed to step up a pace each time she walked into that room. She could have just run away this time, but Yuki seriously doubted that. Kaede wasn’t dumb. Not when she didn’t want to be. For the first time, the wolf was eager to see just what her pupil had in store, and whether or not she would make it count.

This was the last time. Stipulations aside, this was going to be the real test. The culmination of a month of effort and Manami didn’t appreciate any wasted time. If she didn’t hit the mark today, Kaede’s time on this Earth was about to be cut very short.

She stopped in front of the door and turned the knob. Taking a second to try and sense anything beyond it, she quickly threw it open and jumped a step back all at once. Seeing that the lights were on, she lowered her guard the next moment. Then she saw the punkette, sitting in the middle of the ring all calm. Ready to go. Full speed ahead. The corner of Yuki’s mouth crooked into a half-smile.

She closed the door behind her as she stepped into the room. Grasping the middle rope, she climbed up and stepped into the ring, giving her knuckles a couple cracks as she met the pinkette in the center. All she had to offer this time was an upturned nod before raising her fists and starting to circle the girl step by step.

Kaede could fill in the blanks.

Despite herself, despite the position she was in, despite the pain that was about to be coming her way and the mountains of pain that would be coming her way if she failed, Kaede couldn’t help but laugh when Yuki opened the door and jumped back.

It wasn’t much of a laugh, really. More of a snicker, and she did a good job of smothering it before it could become anything more than that. Just a moment of levity, her last happy thought of the evening.

She rose to her feet when Yuki came into the ring, rising to meet her. It was weird, in a way - while she’d undoubtedly toned up a bit in the past few weeks, the size difference between them shouldn’t have been noticeable. All the same, Kaede felt bigger than she had been when this all started.

She stood straighter. Her shoulders were straight. Yuki was still an intimidating presence, but she wasn’t as outright terrifying as before. She wasn’t this woman’s equal, but she was much less unequal. Even though she knew where this was all likely to lead, it somehow didn’t matter.

Maybe she was going crazy.

Whatever. Kaede returned the nod and began to circle Yuki, right after the silent bell rang. She moved in tandem with her foe, making sure to never lose pace, never go too far, too fast, never get too close...until she was ready.

After a couple of tense moments, Kaede closed the distance and stepped into the danger zone, taking her head on. She threw out a punch first, going for Yuki’s head with a right cross - one that she didn’t care too much whether it landed or not. Regardless, she’d follow it up right away with a low kick, swinging the tip of her foot at her opponent’s knee, trying to start early and cut down on her mobility.

Curious. That would sum up Yuki’s feelings on this spar pretty well.

She was looking to see a lot of things today.

Whether or not she liked to admit it, the two of them had come a long way. She’d dragged Kaede through the muck in the hope that all of her training would bear fruit. Forget all of the other weeks. This was the session that would separate the wheat from the chaff. Whether her “pupil” actually possessed the intuition to rise above herself.

If the punkette hadn’t come to terms with herself after a month of being hammered with the same truth over and over again, there honestly wasn’t any hope left. She could stay the way she was. That was a curse as bad as any.

Prospects seemed bright at the very least. Kaede was actually looking her in the eye for once and, when she did, it wasn’t a look that she’d be giving to the executioner's axe swinging down on her. It was resolute. Calm. Collected. Determined. Traits that had long escaped this girl and Yuki honestly thought she would never see. So that was a start.

But how about the approach?

Not bad on that end either. She could tell the first had some nice power to it, even if it didn’t hit her. Yuki evaded it with a When the kick came her way, she anticipated it and brought her leg up to block it, letting the tip of the punkette’s foot hit on the bone of her shin. Stung like a bitch, but something told her it was better than the alternative.

As she kept on one foot, she’d kick that same leg forward towards Kaede’s stomach with a push kick. Planting it forward, she’d then shoot forward and move to flatten the punkette with a quick lariat.

Something was different this time, and Kaede could sense it wasn’t just on her end. Sure, she felt more ready for this than she ever had before. She was more focused, more honed, and less concerned about what would happen after this than ever before.

But she could see a difference in Yuki, too. When they’d started, the woman looked at her with blatant contempt, used every word and stare to show just how much she hated the pinkette. After four weeks of knocking her unconscious, however, they’d graduated to what? Equals? No, Kaede wouldn’t go that far. She wasn’t a bug on the blonde’s boot anymore, though.

All of which didn’t mean she would be holding back, or that she’d forego the punishment if Kaede didn’t make it work this time. But then, Kaede would’ve been oddly insulted if she went that way. For whatever reason. Maybe she was going crazy.

Didn’t matter. What did matter was the attack coming her way, as Yuki came her way and closed the distance in stark fashion, launching her leg out. While her legs weren’t as thick and impressive as Fuuma’s, they still had more than enough strength to send her smaller form staggering back. She wound up hitting the ropes and their bounce made her run forward, heading straight for a decapitating lariat.

That blow alone would’ve knocked Kaede clean out if she didn’t dodge. Thankfully, that was exactly what she managed to do, narrowly ducking in time to let it sail overhead. But she didn’t stop there, however. As the lariat swung over, she reached up and grabbed Yuki by the shoulder, holding and leaping to swing her way over to her foe’s backside. One quick, swift maneuver that instantly put her in the woman’s blindspot. The danger zone was all hers. What to do with it?

Kaede just went with the first thing that came to mind. She reeled back, swung her arm forward, and hit Yuki in the back of the head with the stiffest elbow shot she could manage.

Alright, color her impressed. She hadn’t actually expected Kaede to dodge that.

The pinkette had been getting quicker. That much she picked up on as their sessions went on. Her footing was getting well out of the amateur range and she stepped like she was actually getting comfortable with her opponent. Like she wasn’t afraid to brush shoulders here and there. Her strikes could have used more work, but that’s what training was for.

This? This was the test. To see what she could really do.

So when she not only ducked Yuki’s fist but managed to get a grip on that same arm, Yuki could almost felt a bit of pride hit her. But she didn’t intend to just ease up on her. Not for a second. The blonde had already reeled her leg back, ready to kick Kaede away from her.

That’s when she was impressed.

An elbow clipped her right in the back of the head, sending her stumbling forward a couple steps as she hunched her back forward and held tightly onto the damaged region, pinching her fingers and trying to realign her vision. She hunched forward as she faced the canvas, feeling like her eyes were about to fall out.

Yuki let out a snicker. This was probably the worst possible time for her to have a smile on her face, and Manami would have most certainly given her two cents on the whole thing in that degrading tone of hers if she were here, but Yuki honestly couldn’t bring herself to care. Something was starting to grow inside of Kaede, building up from underneath the skin. Something wild. Something powerful. Something dangerous.

And she was so ready for it.

Kaede was on the razor’s edge, more so than ever. There was something different about Yuki tonight, she was sure of that. Nothing cosmetic, either, but something that you could only notice if you’d been paying attention right from the start, like she had. The woman who’d scoffed at her when they first started this was gone. The woman she was fighting now was a feral predator, a beast that would rip her to shreds if she made too many mistakes or if she dared to hold anything back.

Five weeks ago, this Yuki would’ve terrified her. Today, she excited her. A raw thrill ran through Kaede’s blood like electricity, a strange high that was better than any drug. She wanted more, so much more, and she knew that Yuki would gladly give it to her.

It was that thrill that spurred her on, and made a crazy move like the one she’d just pulled off work and work so well. Not only did it crash into Yuki’s skull, but it sent her staggering forward, made a great open to capitalize on. She had her foe’s back, for a precious couple of seconds. How would she use them?

She had an idea. A wild, crazy idea, but if it worked…

When Yuki leaned forward, Kaede broke into a full run, sprinting towards her foe’s side. As soon as she was close enough, she leaped towards the elder wolf’s side, grabbed the back of her head with a rough slap, and tried to drive her face first into the canvas with her full weight, executing a sharp a bulldog.

Now that they both seemed to be going at this one-hundred percent, Yuki was starting to see some of the danger signals the punkette was broadcasting.

It wouldn’t be something that anyone would have picked up on before, but Kaede was fast. She was always like that, to a degree, but she was also a shell of it what it could have been. Her movement never had purpose behind it. Her body wasn’t trained and her footing was sloppy at best. As big of a brawler as she liked to chalk herself up to be, her punches were more reminiscent of an irate infant than anyone Yuki could stand sharing the same ring with.

But now that the chips were down, she was moving as if her life was on the line. And it very well may have. Kaede zipped around her and was quick on the follow-up, getting in and out before the wolf could get her bearings. Speed like that was what kept you alive in the heat of battle. Fast enough to make the difference in matches when push came to shove. If there was some actual technique behind it, she may have even had some chance in the underground. It all gave Yuki a glimpse of what this cub could be capable of in due time.

As if to prove that point, Kaede put that skill to the test.

With a shake of her head, Yuki was just starting to stand upright when she heard the punkette moving behind her. At first in the opposite direction, then straight back and gaining speed. She only caught a glimpse of her before the wolf was taken by the head and slammed face first int other canvas. The force bounced her off the ground and put her on her back, bringing a pair of hands up to cover her face with a groan.

When it doubt, move.

Don’t attack from the front when you can attack from behind.

When you have an opponent down, make sure she stays down.

The ring can be a weapon by itself, if used properly.

These were all lessons that Kaede had picked up over the past few weeks, words that rang like a mantra in her head now that she was in the crucial moment. She could run the mistakes she’d made in her head, knew what not to do now, could sense what she had to do and when she had to do it.

For instance, she’d chosen the bulldog, out of all the moves she could’ve done, because it involved slamming Yuki’s face into the floor. Aside from that being damn fun all by itself, it worked to a larger purpose: Head trauma. Lots and lots of head trauma.

So far she was on the right track, it seemed. The bulldog couldn’t have worked out better, smashing Yuki’s face into the canvas and making her roll over. She was down now, hurting, and Kaede’s first instinct was to just kick her in the head a lot until she got knocked out. Crude, but it could work.

That thought was replaced, quick and swift, by a better one. A more fitting one. Something she’d wanted to do to Yuki in some form for the past seven days.

Kaede hopped back to her feet and reached down, grabbing one of Yuki’s wrists with both hands and pulling it away from her face. She gave the bleached blonde a hard kick in the side of her head, a nasty blow, but one that wouldn’t keep a woman like her stunned for more than a second or two. That was fine, however, because Kaede only needed a second or two.

”Come here!”

She pulled Yuki’s arm between her thighs, fell to her back, placed her legs over Yuki’s face and chest, and attempted to wrench the limb back with all her might, putting her opponent into an armbar. Simple. Effective. Vindictive. Spiteful.

Yuki was going to have to break those legs. At least one of them. Tough compromise, but that was at least one of the more effective plans she had for dealing with Kaede’s nimbleness.

Important thing to remember that this wasn’t a spar. It may have been set up like one, but the reality of things was far from that. This was the most dangerous, yet best environment to grow. Not taking advantage of everything at your disposal was how you lost when you stepped into the ring. It was how careers ended in a heartbeat.

Which was why she had no problems with taking her opponent’s limb if need be. Not like it would be anything serious. It would grow back. She’d be able to get back in the fight after a while. It was all about coming out on top in the end.

Too bad for her, it looked like Kaede was thinking along the same lines.

Yuki was bringing her hands away from her face to push herself back up when she realized one of them was moving all on its own. Her momentary belief in the paranormal was quickly dispelled when she realized it was just the punkette snapping her lightning-quick into an armbar. In the next moment, Yuki almost wished it actually was just ghosts.

The karate kid locked it in tight. Way tighter than she was expecting. Yuki grit her teeth and clenched her fists, kicking her feet around to kill even the slightest scream before it could leap from her mouth. She’d been in this position more times than she cared to count. Got trapped by people a bit too quick or just a bit too good. So she had some authority on the matter when she said that Kaede had it locked in like a pro. Got the angle down, had the legs tight, didn’t neglect the rest of the hold just because she had a tight lock on the wrist. If she had a bit more muscle on her, Yuki may have been convinced she was about to lose an arm. All the same, it hurt like a bitch. This may not have been a submission match, but the strategy spoke for itself. She needed out of this.

Pumping whatever energy she could spare, Yuki would roll herself sideways, attempting to curl up Kaede beneath her. Managing that, she’d tightly grip her arm and move into a crouched position to hoist herself and the punkette off the ground before raising her arms slightly to slam Kaede unforgivingly into the canvas.