A spark

Late night. The young woman wandered lonely down the street. She was quite tall, had pink hair, and was dressed in jeans, trainers, a sleeveless T-shirt and a hoodie. Usually Charlotte did not like night walks, but this day involuntarily became an exception. There have been too many exceptions in her life lately. The Frenchwoman loved peace, she preferred that there was at least some stability in life. But after that summer, she almost completely forgot about what stability is.

After the evening training, she went home as usual. She planned to have a snack, watch something on YouTube, and then go to bed. The plan had to be tweaked slightly when she found nothing in the refrigerator. Yes, she was not going to deny that lately she has been too focused on matches and trainings. She even began to forget about other things. The lack of food in the refrigerator was proof of this.

Having no desire to go to the store, the Frenchwoman simply hoped that funny videos of kittens on YouTube would be enough to make her fall asleep. However, time went on, the stomach began to rumble harder and harder, but sleep still did not come. At some point, it became almost unbearable. Charlotte gave up. She had to get her ass up and go outside. Although before that, she conducted a small inventory in order to buy not only food, but also other missing household items.

Perhaps she would have headed to the supermarket, but since it was a very late hour, the Frenchwoman decided to visit another place. She stopped and lifted her head to look at the sign that read 24/7. There were very few such shops in France, but in Japan it was a whole separate culture. Convenience stores, known as konbini. Charlotte went inside.

Before Japan, she traveled a lot. And every time she had to visit convenience stores, it was usually an extremely small room, in which it was difficult even to turn around. And the best thing you could buy there is alcohol, snacks and porn magazines. However, everything was different here. Of course, the assortment could not be called huge, but absolutely everything that was necessary for the life of an ordinary person was definitely here. Charlotte took the basket.

“Konbanwa,” she greeted the salesperson at the counter, then headed off to travel between the shelves.

She didn't really care where to start shopping, but bath accessories were the closest. So first things like shower gel, shampoo, panty liners, toothpaste, a new toothbrush and moisturizer got into her basket. Charlotte chuckled barely audibly when she realized that a week ago she could hardly have paid for all this in full, because her financial situation was very deplorable. But now she received some money from the last matches and it was enough to pay the bills and visit the store several times. She walked on, she hardly could use the bath accessories to cook anything to eat.

Dish soap and paper towels went to the basket. Charlotte continued exploring the store and restocking supplies that had run out at her home. She was even a little surprised when she discovered all this. The Frenchwoman really began to spend too little time at home. This greatly bothered her manager, Victoria. Charlotte has tried to explain many times that she is now focused on getting back everything she lost after the summer match. But nobody listened to her. Although she believed that just no one wanted to understand her.

She heard a bell ringing, signaling that someone else had arrived at the convenience store. Charlotte did not attach much importance to this. Surely she was far from the only one in Tokyo who did not have food in the fridge. She only threw a quick glance at the person who came, noticing the blonde hair. The Frenchwoman continued to explore the store shelves and finally she got to the food section.

First of all, chicken eggs and milk went to her basket, then she chose bacon and toast bread. She was not too sophisticated in food. For a moment, she remembered her psychotherapist, Sintharia, who had always been very sensitive to food. It made her smile. Charlotte was about to choose something to eat right after returning home. But then someone patted her on the shoulder.

What should be the reaction of a person in such a situation? Perhaps this was the most common situation in the world. But the young woman involuntarily clenched her fists. She recently went through very unpleasant encounters that led to very tough matches. She was sure that after this, those with whom she met could catch her somewhere in order to take revenge outside the ring. But after one moment she heard a very pleasant female voice. Charlotte relaxed and turned around.

"Yes, that's right, may I know who's aski..." she said, and then she saw who exactly asked the question, which made her eyebrows rise, "oh..."

She knew this woman. Show at least one person who did not know her and her older sister. What was the likelihood that Charlotte would meet Belinda Northman here, in the conbini? This woman was no less, and perhaps more famous than Charlotte's former rival. The Frenchwoman blinked several times to smooth out her surprise, after which she put the basket aside.

“I'm surprised you know my name,” she said, clenching her right fist and pressing it against her outstretched left palm, “and I'm honored to meet you personally, Belinda Northman.”

Charlotte bowed. And when she straightened, she held out her hand for a more classic handshake. Yes, indeed, now they were not in the ring and not even in the gym. But Charlotte, who tried to follow the path of a real fighter, was determined to pay respect to a woman who had a very significant reputation.

Charlotte couldn't get rid of one thought. Each new second of this meeting more and more forced her to think about it. This woman very much reminded her of her best friend, Astrid. The Norwegian woman also used a lot of gestures and talked too much. It wasn't bad at all. But it perfectly showed the contrast between them. Charlotte was far from being so sociable and active, it was always difficult for her to express her thoughts and feelings.

It's obvious that Charlotte's bow slightly embarrassed Belinda. This was not unusual, many who first met Charlotte were also surprised. The only difference was that she usually bowed in the ring, not in the store.

The Frenchwoman smiled shyly as Belinda spoke her words, clearly referring to Alaina. Those words were not true, at least for Charlotte. But she was glad that the blonde accepted the handshake and they finally officially met.

“You're actually wrong about that,” said the pink-haired woman, “she wasn't the champion when I beat her. And when she became champion... well, you know. So I have never beaten a champion. But your words are pleasant to me."

Technically, of course, Belinda was right. But Charlotte had a different opinion on this matter because of her outlook on life. If she consoled herself with the thought that she had defeated the world champion twice, it would be nothing more than an excuse. No, she defeated Alaina twice. But she has never defeated the champion. That was the truth. The Frenchwoman was one of those who know how to accept defeat. And yet she was one of those who take every defeat as seriously as possible. This was her path and she did not want another path. Because other paths are not the path of a real fighter.

"So... what are you doing here at this late hour?" she asked, but after a moment she realized how stupid it was. "Not only I run out of food in the fridge?"

She definitely liked that Belinda was straightforward. If there was one thing that Charlotte hated, it was idle talk. Most people were unable to speak directly, preferring to beat around the bush. But in the case of this Swedish woman, Charlotte felt that she always said what she thought. At least that was the impression she had. Charlotte almost never lies and almost always speaks directly about things.

"I'd love to see that," Charlotte said with a small smile again, "I'm sure it would be a great match."

Charlotte tried not to think about her former rival. After two very high-profile victories, she was unable to get the most important victory. She lost the title shot and she lost the rivalry. Now this chapter of her life was closed, she missed her chance to become a champion from the new generation. Not everyone gets what they want, and moreover not everyone gets what they deserve. She was now focused on reclaiming what she had lost after the summer match. Her honor.

"Oh?" she wondered. "This must be a really interesting show."

The Frenchwoman didn't have many hobbies to brag about. She spent most of her time exclusively on matches and training. In a way, martial arts were her life. She caught herself thinking that she hadn't wasted time on something else for a long time. Watching a TV series or something similar. She should remember this.

"I..." Charlotte thought a little, trying to give the most honest and simple answer, "lately I have concentrated too much on matches and trainings, so today I was surprised to find that I have no food or bath accessories in my house, so... here I am, haha. "

Charlotte took no offense at Belinda's laugh. If only for the simple reason that it was really funny. People can often get carried away with something so strongly that they stop noticing other things around them. And although Charlotte usually did not allow such a situation with the lack of food and other things, now she was having just such a period. After she recovered from surgery, she began to push forward, concentrating solely on making sure her next title shot would be successful.

“I think it's fair to say that you're right about it,” Charlotte replied after receiving a friendly poke in the shoulder.

After being kicked out of her family, she knew no other life than martial arts. At first, she looked for a way to suppress the anger that still lives inside her. And then she decided to devote her life to becoming the best fighter and martial arts master. Martial arts are more than just a set of skills to kick someone's ass. It was a set of disciplines that make a person stronger not only physically, but also morally. At least the Frenchwoman was sure of it.

"You really think so?" it was a rhetorical question, she was sure of Belinda's sincerity.

Previously, Charlotte did not think about how she looks during the fight. Why? Because it was a part of her life and she had no reasons to look at herself from the side. But this is what gave her the love of the audience. In each match, she gave all the best. And at the same time, she followed the path that she considered the only true for a real fighter. She never stooped to dastardly tricks, even in the most disastrous situation.

“I do only what I have to do,” she said honestly, “I have entered into a rivalry with Alaina so that the new generation will see that talent prevails over the number of matches, and although I have failed, I still want to become a worthy example for everyone who wants to enter the ring, but doubts that they will be able to get a place in the sun."