Nature and Glory

Tokyo was always booming in the afternoon. Though fall was finally here, the sunlight that soaked the busy streets and kissed the edifices of glass shone just as bright in the cool city air. Leaves lost their color and withered against the wind, the sky seemed to fall closer and grew a shade darker. Nevertheless, people kept to their routine and paid as much mind to the shifting seasons as the gravel treaded beneath their Union Royals. Cars stalled from end to end on this particular street. It was easy to brush arms with just about everyone on the sidewalk and even easier to lose a friend if you didn’t keep shoulder to shoulder. A flowing river of loose ties, stuffed backpacks, and glazed eyes formed the beating heart of Shibuya.

Masuyo Ai:

As she felt another cold breeze come on, Masuyo tucked the collar on her jean jacket closer to her neck. A plastic bag jostled in her hand with each step as she made her way down one of Shibuya’s main arteries. She had no matches today, no activity at all for a while, and all for good reason. Her Ironman bout with Kyoko was without a doubt the toughest fight of her career and, as it turned out, one of the most popular, nearly breaking the count of her Summer Splash appearance. Of course, numbers didn’t mean all that much to someone like her, but it meant that in addition to recovery, management had to find something good to follow up with. It meant an extended hiatus, but, truth be told, Masuyo was fine with it. Kyoko herself was a worthy opponent - no, more than that. The Belly Queen had gone blow for a blow from beginning to end, didn’t give an inch until the final bell, but there was one nagging detail that pricked at the back of the MMA maven’s head every time she thought back on it.

Kyoko had scored the first fall. They’d drawn, but only because of the rules. If it were a straight fight, even on her terms, Kyoko would have beaten her. Clean. And she very much doubted she was the only one to reach that conclusion. It brought a tightness to her gut to think about, shortened her breathing with a mix of anxiety...and excitement. She smiled from ear to ear every time she thought back to it as a surge of euphoria tore through her. This was what she’d been waiting for. She was in the big leagues now. World contenders, champions, the strongest fighters in the world that could dust her without a second thought. Where other people may have been dejected, overwhelmed with doubt and unsure of how to go on, Masuyo knew what she had to do.

Train.

She turned the corner off the main road into the sidestreet she’d become increasingly familiar with these past few years, taking in the sights and sounds as she made her way up the slight incline of this winding road. One familiar alley came into view as she continued to walk, noticing a young child with headphones on and his eyes glued to his phone wandering ever closer to it.

Masuyo hurried along and reached her hand out to stop him, meeting his perplexed gaze as he suddenly looked over to see the thin smile on her face. She stepped ahead of him and out in front the alleyway, craning her neck to where two men in baggy wear stood with their backs to the wall, hands tucked deeply in their pockets and fresh bandages dotting their faces. The veneer of confidence on their faces cracked instantly. All it took was one, toothy grin for the fresh wounds to flare up all over again. They filed out one after another into the sidestreet, fast walking their way down the path and around the nearest corner. Masuyo watched them as they left before turning her attention back to the boy. A warmer, pensive smile giving way as she nodded his way before she turned around and kept walking.

‘Demon of Shibuya’. She never thought that title would mean much outside of the octagon. Part of her probably would have liked it to stay that way, but another, bigger part of herself found comfort in the recognition. She liked the smiles it brought her way, the encouragement in the slight nods and soft-spoken words, the hopes she sewed as she shined ever brighter. It seemed like fighting and the rest of her was just inseparable at every turn. It pushed her on, a subtle reminder of what she was working for and what she couldn’t afford to back down from. She was going to get stronger, no matter what.

She wasn’t going to AFW, though. There was no one there that could help her. Her gym was the next street over, but she wasn’t going there either. Yet. The Japanese girl roamed the street a moment longer, dipping off the next corner until she came close to a side alley beside a 24/7 store. At its edge, hugging just enough of the daylight to catch his right side, sat a man with his back to the concrete wall. His silver curls shifted lightly against the breeze of cold air, but he didn’t shift even an inch. Masuyo walked up to his side and looked down at him for a moment as her shadow covered him, canting her head to the side. She brought her leg back and kicked him a couple times in the side.

“Wake up, shishō.”

“Who are you shishōing?” The man kept his eyes closed, only furrowing his brows slightly from the kick. It was only after a scent made his nose wrinkle that he peered his narrow slits open and exposed his cerulean orbs to the midday rays. He squinted and raised one hand to block the light, letting the young woman’s silhouette come into focus, revealing her soft and defined features as well as the bag in her hand. “Did you bring anpan?”

Gin:

Masuyo held that bag up and snickered with a toothy grin, jostling the bag up and down as she looked down at him. “Homemade.”

“Wow. Special occasion?”

She shrugged. “Just a present for the world's best mentor.” She shook it in front of his face. "And maybe a bribe to train some more?"

He stared for a moment before he snickered at her and tucked his legs in, slowly pushing his way up against surprisingly sturdy legs. “I’d feel better if you didn’t do this, but if you’re just gonna go and do it anyway…” He took the bag and turned to walk back down the street with her, resisting the urge to gasp as he looked inside.

“You sure you don’t wanna just settle for best chef in Japan? You’ve only got another ten years or so on this whole MMA thing.”

Masuyo chuckled, putting up a quick fight pose as she walked. “But fighting’s such a good way to spend your youth! All of that raw energy and passion, it's something you can practically taste when you step in the cage. There’s nothing more fun in the world! A good, honest match can make anyone’s heart sour!”

“Ehhh, I wouldn’t know much ‘bout that.” His eyes glazed off to the side as his hand shifted through the bag, letting his mind wander in the brief silence between them. They took advantage of a relative gap in the traffic to cross the street and continue down towards the gym. This street was a little bit busier, filled with shops and vendors that couldn’t find property closer to the crossing.

“Heard around that you had a big match with the Jelly Queen.”

“Belly Queen.”

“I liked mine better.” He muttered, stuffing one of the bean cakes in his mouth. “So how’d you do?”

“...well uh-”

Gin threw his head back and groaned. “You lost, didn’t you?!”

She threw her hands up in the air in an immediate defense. “A tie! Technically! You should have seen it! I nailed her with this kick at the last second and-!” Gin’s fist clocked her upside the head, snapping her gaze down to her feet at a breakneck pace, stunning her for a second.

“Ties don’t count! I didn’t train some second-rate wimp gunnin’ for silver! You know how bad you're making me look?"

“Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez....” She rubbed her scalp madly as she slowly raised her head back up, peering at the road ahead through one eye. He shook his hand out and eyed her with a sidelong glance before he focused ahead the same as her.

"Forget about it.” He reached back into the bag for another snack. “You were up against someone with years of experience on you in the best league in the world. Kyoko Akan is a world contender and she’s supposedly been making moves against the ex-champ, your old target. I wouldn’t be surprised if it seemed like she was getting into their prime right about now. A betting man wouldn’t have put much on you either, but the important thing is you’ve got more time to grow. At least you know where you stand now.”

“No. It was more than that.” She gave her head one last rub before she buried her hand into her jacket pockets. He looked back to her as he dug into his second cake. “She matched me in terms of endurance, easily. She had no problem sticking with me until the last round. But it was like the way she hit me - how she kept building on the pain she was dishing out and the progress she was making - that drained my stamina first. It was almost like my debut all over again” Her eyes cast toward the ground, furrowing her brows slightly as she thought back on it. “I don’t know, Gin. I have to wonder how much I’m really growing. I’ve been winning and losing, more or less, but am I really learning anything from it? I thought I was, but maybe there’s something there I just can’t see.”

The next couple of moments were filled with a brief silence. The silver-haired man didn’t cast much distress behind his one visible eye. He’d seen this kind of frustration on her before. Not quite to this extent, but he understood. She was facing greater challenges, getting smaller returns for her troubles. She’d finally found her ceiling in AFW.

"Only thing I know is you're the most tenacious kid I’ve ever met. If there are more people like you out there, we're all screwed." He took another bite of his bean cake. His lazy eyes lulled on the sky as he chewed slowly, losing part of himself in the endless blue. Masuyo looked at him with curious eyes filled to the brim with anticipation. “Hm. Guess I’ll just have to teach you something new.”

Her eyes lit up at that and he didn’t even have to look her way to know that was the case. “Really?! Are you for real? It’s been so long! You can’t be real!”

“How many times are you gonna say 'real'?”

“You are for real!”

“Don’t do this here. Want me to slug you again?”

“Alriiiiiiiiiiiiiight!” The Demon jumped for joy like a five-year-old out of a candy store. He sighed again and finished off the second anpan with a bigger bite that stuffed his cheeks. The gym’s sign had come into view past all the others and Masuyo ran ahead to enter the doors first. Gin continued his walk but didn’t make it obvious he was speed walking to keep pace with her as they entered the front door together.

Koudoukan MMA was at half capacity today. Pairs partnered across the large, matted sections of the floor at either end, holding targets for others to hit as their blows sent tiny thunderclaps from throughout the gym. Training equipment lined the far ends; punching bags, dumbells, exercise balls. Anything the traveling enthusiast could need. In the center was the octagon, a sturdy if aged monument dedicated to the passion of countless fighters that rose and fell together in its shared space. Space where only one fighter had yet to fall.

“I’m gonna go change!” She waved back as she ran. “I left some clothes behind when I was here!”

“Go for it, kid. I’ll set us up.” Masuyo grew the biggest grin he’d seen in months and watched as she dashed off into the locker room with a thumbs-up his way. The scruffy silver man stood scratching the back of his head, unable to resist the tired smile that grew on his lips. Her energy was almost as infectious as it was boundless. Gin could only imagine what he could have done with even half of it when he was her age. She was a wonder to him in more ways than one. He stepped toward the cage and opened his chest, rummaging through to find some ideal equipment for what he had in mind.

A boring day to say the least, Roxy was in a bit of a foul mood, despite having come off of a fight with Raiye Amikura as the deceive winner, Roxy was still filled with a bitter taste in her mouth, as the sting of defeat still lingered from Jackal Tojo and Alison Seong. She'd surely get back at the two, at least she had the solace of having defeated someone who had bested both of them. Also having defeated a tough girl like Raiye.

Though, Roxy needed to do something to wash the taste out of her mouth, she needed a pallet-cleanser. She would nod her head as she stepped up to door of a gym, a dojo maybe? She didn't know if that sort of thing still existed. However, Roxy had very much decided that she'd try and do some of that which she'd seen in some animes and movies as of late, during her lazy days off Roxy spent her time just lounging around. Dojo breaking....

Stepping into the gym, she wore a black hoodie with a simple logo over the right side of her chest. Seemingly an Adidas sweater, along with a pair of black pants and boots, her hair was tied up into their usual pig tails. Hood down, as she walked into the gym and saw a young raven haired woman dart off into the area of the locker rooms.

Roxy would drop her heavy dufflebag down right as she entered, making a bit of a thud as she'd most likely draw some attention. "Okay then, now look here everybody. I'm looking for the head of this place? Dojo master or whatever you call it." Roxy said in a loud and brash tone of voice.

Dark green pigtails.

That was the first thing to catch Gin’s attention out of the corner of his vision and he honestly had to do a double-take to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. Kind of hard to believe anyone that walked in here would purposely do that to their head. That didn’t take away from the pretty face and matching eyes underneath it all. People went with a lot of odd fashion statements when they stepped into the octagon, but that was something he hadn’t seen around the Japanese circuit in a while.

Granted, there wasn’t much else to take in with that baggy attire she was rocking. She was foreign, taller than most of the female competition from what he could peek halfway across the room. Interesting woman.

If Gin seemed more focused on her appearance than what she was saying, that was because he was. The Demon of Shibuya had gotten no shortage of challengers after she made herself a local name. Usually, riff-raff trying to make a quick name on the back of hers or score some points with whatever cut-rate gym they’d hung around. It was cute at first, but didn’t take long to get annoying. His pupil never seemed to mind though. The way she jumped at a challenge, it was like he was watching a younger version of himself.

He wasn’t feeling so generous this time. His eyes looked off to the side, noticing the other fighters had stopped their practice and were starting to turn their attention from the woman to him. Gin sighed and pushed himself up by the knees, strapping on a pair of fingerless gloves as he turned to face the woman. She didn’t look like much. Push came to shove, he could use the warm-up before their spar. Masuyo was always a pain with those jabs when she was excited.

“Oi. Piggy. Don’t go throwing shit on the floor this early in the morning. It makes some of us real cranky.” The silver-haired man walked over slow and steady, stuffing his hands in his pockets and letting his eyes rove down her figure. He gave his cheek a quick scratch his opposite hands, pondering if it was long enough to shave as he stopped in front of her, eye to eye. “You looking for something? We don’t got that much attention to go around.”

Roxy was not too surprised that people didn't jump at the whole call out thing, from her experience so far the Japanese people weren't as quick to jump at the first insult, or challenge. They were a bit more restrained. Though as she looked out at the crowd in the gym, training and working out and doing all sort of things but they had all stopped now and their attention seemed to turn towards a silver haired old gent.

That dude soon enough rose up and started to walk towards hers, Roxy would raise an eyebrow at his words as she would simply roll her eyes a bit. " I haven't thrown any shit on the floor yet, you're still standing old man." Roxy joked as she would roll her shoulders a bit.

" I take it since you decided to step up that you're the dojo master or whatever it's called?" Roxy let out as she would place her hands on her hips. A smirk on her face as she would stare down the silver haired old man.

Yeah. Figured.

When Gin went with his gut, he was rarely wrong when it came to these kinds of things. It wasn’t hard to tell that Green was up to no good, but it was that hungry look in her eyes that told him everything that roll of her shoulders confirmed seconds after. That look he’d seen too many times at the cage corner and in his younger years, that quirk of the eyes he could catch from the other side of the room. Someone was itching for a fight.

He couldn’t tell why, per se. Maybe Green was trying to prove a point, settle a bet. He didn’t dwell on it long since he was faced with a bigger problem: fighting a woman. Can’t say he’d never done it before, but nowhere this public or this clean, and she looked younger than the age range he usually paired off with nowadays. Not really the kind of baggage he felt like dealing with for now. He was tempted to just let Masuyo handle this. Maybe he could have thrown it as an improvised warm-up. Hell, that little spitfire would be all over it regardless of the excuse he gave.

Could have worked. Could have not. It wasn’t the route he was going down either way. If it were up to his pupil, she’d drag this out for as long as possible. Turn a three-minute a match into a whole afternoon. Not that he could see her getting along with this particular opponent all that well, but he’d seen crazier things from the raven rookie. Besides, it seemed like Green had her eyes fixed on him for the time being. Might as well pay her back for the ‘shit’ comment.

And she wouldn’t quit with the dojo crap. The place looked a little more traditional than most, sure, but he’d figured foreigners were a little more in the know than they used to be. Kids these days.

“Or whatever." He gave the back of his head a quick scratch and took a step forward closer into her personal space. "Training isn’t really my forte. I just have a hard time standing pain-in-the-ass brats with zero table manners. I bet you’re the kind of relative that only shows at the holidays when you know the foods all served. Have some etiquette. At least bring some wine over now and then.” The silver man canted his head slightly to one side as he kept on looking Roxy dead in the eye. He slipped one hand from his pocket and jabbed a finger into her ample chest. "Well not this year, missy. I see you’ve been eating plenty already. Take your bag of crap presents and go think about what Christmas really means.”

Roxy would tilt her head a little as the old man started to move up towards her, getting into her personal space as he would then also be so bold as to jab his finger against her generous chest underneath that baggy hoodie she was wearing. Though, a poke at it would of course show that it wasn't so baggy at the chest area, it was simply that Roxy was rather stacked up there.

Listening on to what he had to say, she would roll her eyes a little and soon after he was done she'd bring her hand up to cover her mouth a little as she would yawn out rather loudly. " Blah blah blah...why do all you Japs yammer on so much?" Roxy let out as she would push his finger away from her chest and lean in a bit more.

" It's okay gramps, I'll go easy on you if you want ~ I understand that you need to keep a good face and a strong facade to have these sheeple listen to whatever fucked up excuse for fighting you're teaching them." Roxy whispered to the old man before she would lean back and place her arms in her hoodies pocket. " As for bringing wine?...feels a bit dumb don't it. Guests should be taken care of, hospitality and all that. Maybe it's you who have rather poor manners?" Roxy mocked even further as she threw on a cocky little smirk on her face.

‘Gramps.’ Did he really look that bad for 38?

Gin let a slight gasp pass and felt his hand reach for his face, rubbing over some of the rougher patches he’d felt coming on. He always thought he looked alright now that he was getting closer to that time in his life. He’d lasted in this game longer than most people, after all. He kept to a routine. Maybe the sake wasn’t helping all that much, but even still…

Green’s less than comforting words didn’t seem to get deep in Gin’s skin beyond that passing comment. Partly because it was bullshit, mostly because she was young. Just another young idiot looking for attention. That’s all they were always after and he was fine with just letting things be that way and sending her on her way. That was the idea at first. Playing the wiser elder for the younger types that couldn’t make heads or tails of what this woman’s deal was.

He put more effort into that facade than he did into looking strong, mostly because he didn’t need to act with the latter. She was annoying as all hell. Foreigners usually were. But he’d dealt with annoying people before. And there was only ever one way to deal with them. He couldn’t care that much for what she thought, but Masuyo was probably going to slip out any second now. If she caught even a bit of this nonsense…

Ah, screw it. Warm-up it was.

“Kids these days. Always looking for the hard road huh? I used to respect guts like that.” He reached behind and scratched at the back of his head. He spoke lower this time, closer to Roxy’s volume in this intimate conversation of there’s. “Now I just think you’re all just as dumb as the next.”

He pointed his thumb over his shoulder to the empty cage behind them, the door wide open and the mat freshly cleaned. “Wanna see how nasty these manners can really get, Green Eggs and Ham? I’ll take care of ya here and now.”

"Wow not only do you look old you talk old, you must be reaching sixty right? " Roxy joked as she heard him try and talk down to her as if she was just some kiddo who'd walked int demanding a match, though Gin wasn't wrong on that front, after all she was young but she was no kid, Roxy was confident that she could deal with the old guy in front of her, if the weak punches and kicks she'd seen people around her throw in practice was any indication on the level here than yeah, she'd be fine.

Seeing Gin point towards the cage, Roxy would simply shrug her shoulders. " So looks like I'm getting my way then." Roxy said with a teasing smirk on her face, after all she'd come in here with the purpose of kicking the butt off who ever was considered the head honcho around here and now that looked to be clearly what was going to happen.

Removing her black hoodie, tossing it to the side and revealing her rather amazing physique, and that black sports bra underneath. Reaching to her back pocket, Roxy would pull out a pair of black gloves and then saunter her way into the cage. Looking to take her position in the center of it and roll her shoulders a bit, making her heavy chest heave a bit with each chest roll.

Spoiler:

…

Okay! She was all set.

Masuyo stepped out of the locker room with a clear spring in her step. Her pink top and shorts brightened in the light and only made the eager grin on her face stand out all the more. It wasn’t every day that she had the chance to do something other than sparring with Gin. Ever since she graduated from his particular school, he’d seemed to have less time for her, always disappearing to places unknown with agendas kept well outside of her knowledge. Probably for the best.

But when he was here, she made sure not to waste a second standing still. As far as Masuyo was convinced, Gin was the only one who could honestly train her. Honing in on her weaknesses and correcting errors were like second nature to him. She’d never had the chance to go one-on-one with him in the ring, and while he was retired, there were chances for her to sneak in on some private sessions with his old buddies. The way the silver flash moved, you’d think he was still in his prime. It fed her curiosity as much as her spirit. Maybe if she trained fast enough, grew beyond herself, she could share the same corners with him.

She knocked her gloves together, still sporting that bright smile across her face as she stayed lost in her imagination. Her eyes were off somewhere else, but it was her ears that brought her attention back to reality. There wasn’t the usual sound of fists meeting leather or trainers barking orders. There was commotion. The kind of noise that never left anything good behind when it was gone.

She looked to her side and noticed someone breaking open the medkit. Masuyo moved forward quickly now, nearly breaking into a sprint as she pushed through a small crowd that had started to form around the center of the room. She pushed one man’s shoulder to the side and pressed her other hand to the cage. There was only one person inside. A woman she didn’t recognize dressed all in black.

“Hey, kid...” A familiar voice made the Japanese girl turn to her side and the sight nearly made her jump out of her skin. Her mentor looked like a tormented spirit. Thick trails of blood lined his discolored face. His shirt had been removed, revealing the harsh bruises and scratches lining his toned, weathered torso. Even his complexion had seemed to fail, looking pale as a ghost. “Don’t be mad, but...maybe we should do this tomorrow...”

“Gin!” She’d barely uttered his name before he fell forward, just barely catching him in her arms. She knelt down to her knees, turning him on his back and keeping him upright with the back of his hand. It was easier to see the extent of the damage now. The cuts were deep and his nose looked broken. Her eyes were wide and full of shock as she looked around the crowd frantically. “What happened?! Who did this?!”

Roxy had taken a step back after dealing with Gin, walked over to get a towel and pat herself down. A smirk on her face as she walked away but when she turned back after she had gotten that towel. Seeing a young woman get down towards the silver haired man and check on him.

The green haired woman waited on her cue, as this was clearly some protégé of his. She'd clearly be angry and furious and want to know who did this, probably would start to bark out that the only way that her precious sensei could be defeated was with foul tricks. The usual run down. This wasn't exactly Roxy's first rodeo doing this.

Stretching her neck a bit as she then swung the towel over her right shoulder, Roxy would walk forward. " Ah." She said in an almost innocent manner. " That would be me. Sorry, I thought these old fart martial arts masters here in Japan were some sort of mystical masters." Once again calling Gin old despite not being it, probably just cause of the hair. " I guess I was wrong, maybe I should have held back a bit more? On account of brittle bones and all."