Friends Like You

What sucked worst of all was the waiting.

It was strange, but frankly, Kaede was no longer bothered by the prospect of getting knocked out. It wasn’t like Yuki was the first person to konk her into oblivion, and she certainly wouldn’t be the last. She didn’t like getting knocked, out, but it was something she’d learned to take more and more. It wouldn’t be the end of the world.

More than anything, she just wanted to Yuki to do it. Why was she hesitating? Trying to scare Kaede? Make her beg? That wasn’t happening. Partly because she knew it wouldn’t do anything but piss Yuki off more, but also because that just wasn’t in her. The fact that Yuki seemed to expect her to made her want to do it even less.

So, screw it. Let it come. But be quick about. ”Just fucking throw it-”

Yuki threw it. Holy shit, did she throw. The blow slammed into her face with all the subtlety of a grenade, making her brain explode with the pain. Vision hazy, mind reeling, everything was well on its way to shutting down, right up until Yuki landed another punch and closed the store for the night.

Out. Cold.

Yeah, whatever, take a fucking nap.

Yuki gave her hand a couple of loose shakes after the last fist collided with the rookie’s jaw. Didn’t feel or hear anything come loose, but she’d probably wouldn’t be comfortable with eating anything for the few days. That was the only bit of satisfaction the She-Wolf could muster from all of this. These sessions were becoming less and less fun by the day.

At the same time, though, it wasn’t boring either. The welts on the back of her head were a decent reminder of that. But if it wasn’t fun, then what was it? Challenging? That didn’t seem like the right word for it, but there didn’t seem to be a more appropriate description for this pattern she was starting to recognize each time she stepped into the ring.

Hm. Maybe she should keep that punching bag on hold. Just in case.

God, did she really just think that?

She had to get out of here. Punch something. Kick something. Kill something. Whatever got this punk out of her head. She stood up and walked over to the door, throwing it open and almost stepping out into the hallway until she remembered that she hadn’t grabbed her bag. She leaned over to pick it up, catching a glimpse of Kaede’s still body out of the corner of her eye, before letting out a slight huff and closing the door quickly behind her as she left.

Didn’t get the lights this time.

-Week 4-

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again. But at least be fucking smarter about it by the fourth time.

Kaede was getting better at this, she could see that. Anybody could see that. She willing to bet that even Yuki could see that, though it would snow in hell before she admitted it. If she had, say, a year of this, maybe she could improve enough to hold even for an extended period of time. Or she would get hospitalized for much fractures and concussions. Whichever came first. More likely the latter, now that she thought about it.

But no, she did have that time. Nowhere close to it. She had, roughly, two weeks until Yuki gained the right to turn her into human hamburger. Moreso than usual. The typical tactics weren’t working, and it was becoming increasingly clear that taking her on even ground was simply not going to work. Ever. No, no she needed an edge. An advantage, right from the start.

This time, when Yuki came into the room, she’d find herself greeted by darkness, as the light from the hall cut into room. She would, in all likelihood, make the assumption that Kaede had just given up. Not that she wasn’t smart, but she seemed quick to think the worst of the pinkette, so it wasn’t a big leap of logic to guess that’s where her brain would go.

She would be wrong, though. Kaede was there. Close, in fact. She was waiting at the side of the door, where she’d been for the past twenty minutes, stretching and psyching herself up. Now that the moment of truth arrived, she was ready. So ready.

”Ding!” She launched herself forward as she yelled and threw the absolute best right hook of her life into Yuki’s face.

There was an unusual spring in Yuki’s step this week. In her mind, she just kept the clock ticking. Just this week, and then the next one. She kept her mind on that and the workout to follow afterward. The errands that had to be run. The plans that had to be made for Friction.

But more than anything, she was interested in seeing Kaede. What trick she’d pull this time, what approach she’d take, what moves she’d fall for, and if she’d ever bounce back from any of it. But why? What was it about this girl that made her mind change each time she approached the room?

Yuki pushed open the door, not stepping in just yet The light flooding in from the hallway cast her towering silhouette across the ring. Even if her eyes hadn’t quite adjusted to the dark, she could still make out that there was no one on the canvas. Yuki let out the deepest sigh in a long time. Figures.

The place looked empty, but no harm in checking. She stepped in and reached over to flip the light switch on, filling the room with the bright-

Not really sure what happened next.

She felt the light switch on her fingers, but the moment after they flashed on, Yuki was on her back. A trash can that she’d knocked over in the middle of her tumble had spilled its contents across the floor. A couple shakes of her head, and Yuki was able to make out the pink-haired scrapper that had just decked her. Her mouth went agape for a moment as she quirked an eyebrow, not only surprised by Kaede’s eagerness, but her choice of strategy. Suppose that’s why Kaede decided to go this route. It was the last thing the She-Wolf expected, yet fell within the rules.

Well. Someone was learning.

Yuki gave a little chuckle. The slightest hint of one she’d ever managed since the two met. Unslinging her gym bag from her shoulder, Yuki would lean place one hand on the ground as she let her packed clothes fall to the ground. She moved to push herself up onto her feet, trying to hurry and put a guard up before the valiant punkette pressed whatever small advantaged she’d made for herself.

It was stupid, but Kaede couldn’t help but keep thinking what might happen if she missed. She’d go through all the trouble setting them up, waiting for God knew how long in some dark room like an absolute creeper, only to fuck it up at the last second and blow her chance. Or worse, wind up smacking some poor idiot who made the mistake of stepping into the wrong room at the wrong time.

Thankfully her fears were unfounded. She hit Yuki with her best punch, which ordinarily wouldn’t have been that big of a deal - the She-Wolf could certainly take worse. But Kaede knew better than most that the worst punch to take was the one you didn’t see coming, had no chance to prepare for, came when you least expected it.

Yuki went down and Yuki went down hard, hitting the floor with a priceless look of surprise on her face. Kaede committed that look to memory and decided to enjoy it later. For the moment, she had an advantage to press.

As Yuki began to rise, Kaede was already moving in, her bare feet scarcely touching the floor as she moved, her pink hair whipping about as she closed in. Her foe was already getting her guard up, showing her skill, but she was willing to share what she thought about that notion.

”No-” She stepped into Yuki’s range and drew back her fists.

”-you-” She threw out a quick jab, a light blow that smacked against Yuki’s guard, trying to draw her focus...

”-don’t!” ...while the real attack came from below, as Kaede dipped and brought her other fist upwards with an uppercut, trying to get between her arms and strike her right on the chin.

Yuki was still in a crouched position, trying to get up on her feet when she caught the punkette’s lunge out of the top of her vision. So this was her play? Not a bad one, not a smart one either.

Kaede’s thinking was probably going along the lines of keeping her opponent on the ground. She knew the She-Wolf was stronger, smarter, and far from merciful. Taking her head on wasn’t going to pan out the way Kaede wanted. If she had any hope of scoring a knockout, she was going to have to start thinking outside of the box.

Or the ring, it looks like.

But there was one flaw in Kaede’s little plan: she had to keep Yuki down. If these last few week had proven anything, that was a task that was way above her. She didn’t have the prowess to keep a wild animal like her down. Didn’t have the training, the killer instinct, the intelligence. She couldn’t fight, plain and simple.

So when she came in for the attack, Yuki didn’t think anything of it. She brought her arms up to her face, expecting a shot to come towards her head. Just as she thought, the punkette hit the guard straight on. She started to open her guard, ready to counter with a fist of her own...when she caught a shot to the jaw from below. She fell right back onto the floor, her legs rising and falling back onto the concrete as she stared up at the ceiling lights for a moment.

“What…”

Well...this was different.

Kaede wasn’t human. Not right now, anyway.

When her punch connected with Yuki’s jaw, she felt a surge run through her body, a sheer electric thrill. It was adrenaline, but not just that. It was the joy of putting an enemy in the dirt. The rush of finally getting her down and enjoying an advantage. For the first time since she’d joined the Dire Pack, she was a wolf on the prowl, and she had her quarry in sight.

She loved it. More than she thought she could love anything. She wanted more.

Whatever this feeling was, though, she knew it wouldn’t last. If she wanted to keep Yuki down, she had to show her the same amount of mercy she’d shown her: none. With a growl - a fierce, feral growl - she pounced on Yuki, coming down on her with a hard sit, right on her chest.

With her left arm, she reached and tried to grab a hand of her opponent’s hair, gripping it tight to keep it in place.

With her right hand, she reeled back and started throwing punches - wild, crazy punches - towards Yuki’s face, looking to deliver as much blunt force trauma as possible in a short amount of time.

Something was wrong here. It clearly wasn’t Yuki. She’d eaten breakfast this morning. Done her early morning jog, got together with Manami to hash things out, came her like usual. She felt one hundred percent. It wasn’t the room either. The place seemed pretty clean. Janitor must have been in not long ago. No gas flowing around as far as she could tell, nothing on the floors messing with her balance. Everything seemed to be the same.

Except for Kaede. Just Kaede.

There were none of the early match boastings she’d come to expect. None of the attempts to psyche herself up, or her opponent out. The windups in her attacks had seemed to lessen significantly, disappearing altogether to the untrained eye. This was as straightforward as she’d seen her.

All the more so as the punkette came pouncing down on her. Yuki just grimaced slightly as she was tugged upright, being met with a round of hard punches the whole way and then some. These weren’t bee stings like before, either. She was actually feeling some power to this lightweight for once. Could have been adrenaline. Could have been some actual effort for once.

Either way, as impressive as it may have been, Yuki wasn’t about to let it happen. Not this week, at least. She brought her arm up to try and deflect the last punch before reeling her other back, shooting it dead into her face to try and knock the brat off.

Maybe this punch would do it, maybe-

No, not that one.

Maybe if she tried this hook, she could-

Damn it, that wasn’t good, either.

Kaede threw every punch harder than the last, but it wasn’t just wild fervor. She tried to concentrate, too. Focused on throwing more of her muscle into it. Aiming more precisely, striking harder, moving faster. Better. Deadlier. One of these punches had to knock Yuki. One of them. Even a toddler could knock you out if she hit you enough.

Maybe she would’ve knocked her out, too, if she had the chance. She didn’t. Before Kaede could land a dynamite punch, Yuki’s counterpunch came, swift and strong, cracking her right in the jaw. Her grip came loose and she wound up falling to the side.

Not before she could send Yuki a going away present, though. The second she landed on her side, she shot her leg out, trying to kick her foe in the head or the shoulder or the arm or the side or anything. She wasn’t in a mood to be picky

For all this girl’s spunk, Yuki had to remember that Kaede was just as squishy as she’d always been. Unless she’d suddenly undergone a brain transplant these past few weeks and started bulking up, which from a glance didn’t look to the be the case, there wasn’t going to be too much in the way of resilience. She was in a bad spot, but once she made an opening, Kaede would go down all the same.

Seemed things were going down that route too. She got off a shot to the face, putting the punkette on the ground beside her. Yuki went to draw a breath, getting psyched and reorienting herself for a second before diving forward for the-

A kick to the shoulder stopped those plans short. Nothing too painful, but nothing pleasant either. Especially not in her position. She was on her back again, meaning she’d lost just as much ground as she’d gained. Even if Kaede wasn’t on top of her now, she’d Yuki did something she’d never thought she’d have to do in a million years.

She rolled away.

She needed the distance. Just for a second. That was all. The moment she found herself closer to the ring, Yuki would go to bring herself up to one knee, drawing a few breaths and feeling beads of sweat seep forward from her face. With a sidelong glance, she’d do her best to keep an eye on the punkette. Her strategy was paying off so far. It didn’t seem like she’d abandon it so readily. Not while the She-Wolf was like this.