An unusual sunday morning at the gym when Setsuna meets Yumi

Sunday ,7.00 a.m .Kitano's residence...Tokyo ,Japan

"DRIIIIINNNNNNNGGG!!! DRIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!!! DRIINNNNNGGG!!!" The alarm clock beside Yumiko's bed showing right on the seven and ringing over and over ,giving Yumiko a mornin' headache as she is forced to wake up by that noisy alarm. "Yeah...yeah i'm waking up now!!!" Yumiko reaches out her right hand and try to switch it off immediately before it wakes up the kids sooner than she expected.

Anyway ,she wakes up and immediately taking off her clothes and having a quick morning bath as what she always does when she just wake up in the morning. Yumiko then prepares everything she needs into her training bag ,feeling reluctant at first but realizing she's a little bit out of shape helps her to suppress that reluctant feelings away. Yumiko at last ,after about 15 mins...gets everything prepared and she is good to go.

Yumiko never forget to make a breakfast for her two beloved children cause she knows that they're bound to wake up soon because of their favorite Sunday morning cartoons are going to play. She writes them a note saying that she'll be spending a few hours in the gym...sure the kids won't mind and she eventually taking off with a bus.

Sunday ,7.55 a.m .AFW complex ,Japan

It takes about 20 minutes until she reaches The AFW's complex and stepping her foot in it for the first time. The reluctant feelings and even hesitation visit her once more as she is about to grab and turn the handle of the door which leads right into the gym. It's all empty ,the gym is all empty...not a single person could be seen from the glass door. She takes a deep breath and adjusting the straps of her training bag on her right shoulder and turns the door knob slowly and start pushing the door.

The glass door is only half-opened but Yumiko could already smell the fresh smell of synthetic leathers and the fresh air blowing at her from the inside. Her hesitation and reluctant feelings gone in a snap of fingers and she enters the gym ,fully excited.

One thing bothers her a little bit ,about the empty gym. She lurks all around to find someone inside the gym complex but none then an idea of a great sale day at the pavilion suddenly pop inside her head. "Ahhh...maybe they're all at the pavilion...mehh ,who knows" said Yumiko as she is talking to herself and begins to undressing herself without any hesitation as she knows no one is going to see her changing.

She peels off her white shirt and her black trainee before reaching for a black tanktop and the same coloured boxing trunks inside her training bag. She begins to put it one by one to covers her pearly white undies ,tying up the laces of her black boxing boots given by her coworkers and eventually wrapping her wrists and fists with some cloths.

She jogs around the gym to loose her muscles a little bit before getting into a real exercise. She does skipping ,push-ups ,sit-ups ,punching the speed bags and eventually punching the punching bag itself with a pair of red gloves while Rocky's theme song "The eye of the tiger" is playing on her mp3 player.

Setsuna entered the gym wearing a black sorts bra and blue boxing shorts, she decided to get an early start on her training. She slung her red boxing gloves over her shoulder while her other hand held onto her water bottle and a skipping rope in her hand. She began warming up by doing a few stretches and getting right to skipping rope, she began skipping rope working up a little bit of a sweat as the rope whipped through the air. after, she wiped herself with her towel, her attention turned to the sound of the heavy bag being pummeled? The girl turned towards Yumiko with great intrigue as there were very few people at AFW who ever use the boxing equipment. Setsuna, slowly got to her feet, as she walked her way over as she watched the other woman work the bag.

Setsuna stepped closer once again throwing her gloves over her shoulders making her way closer to Yumiko, the closer she got she heard the eye of the tiger. Setsuna smiled at that, it seemed a little cliche to be playing that song but, she would be lying if she said she never played it when she was jogging either. Setsuna watched intently as the other girl seemed to have quite a bit of power behind her punches although her transitioning, footwork and defenses were a little sloppy but,t hat power was something else. Setsuna nodded in approval, a brawler huh?

Setsuna would wait for her to finish up her set before saying anything to her, she folded her arms and leaned against a post.

The song is up and another song is now playing at her mp3 player ,it's another Rocky's movie theme song "No Easy Way Out" that keeps her boosted and making her punches harder and harder each time. Not so much to expect from Yumiko's footwork ,defenses and combos. Yumiko often throws the same punches over and over with her right and left hand and in a match ,her movement might be read by her opponent as easy as walking in the park.

The Thud Thud sounds are unclear to Yumiko's ears as the drums and guitars of that song are playing loudly on her ears. She rocks the punching bag over and over until the song is over and eventually stops practicing ,smiling to herself with satisfaction as she just can't believe about how hard she could hit someone with her fists.

Her entire upper black tanktop is soaked by sweat and the thin layer of sweat is also could be seen on her flat and little bit toned abs for a girl at her age. Her chest is heaving rapidly as she tries to catch her breath which mostly left her lungs earlier when she trained herself hardly.

She turns off the mp3 player when it's about to play the next song and unwraps the velcro gloves before she carelessly tosses it onto the nearest bench and picks up a towel from her training bag and slowly drying herself up from her sweat with it before seeing a stranger standing and leaning against a post with her eyes gluing at Yumiko's movement.

"Good morning" says Yumiko as she says a hello to the stranger. "Never thought will see anyone here so early hihi" Yumiko gives a light chuckle while continuing to speak and still gasping for breath at the same time.

Setsuna would examine Yumi with intrigue as she continued to pound the bag mercilessly. She was impressed by how hard the girl could throw a punch, the power was even a bit frightening even to her but, Setsuna was no powder puff. Yet, what Setsuna found most interesting was Yumi's age and her technical combinations. Usually, it was the younger fighters who had the insane endurance but, lacked the proper fundamentals. However, in Yumi's case she had great power and great stamina but, passed her prime as a fighter. A Boxer's career is very short, Setsuna couldn't help but, feel a little sorry for her. If Yumi had started boxing earlier with the right teacher she could have had vastly improved. However, many fighters still fought well past their prime and maintained their championship like Manny Pacquiao and even won them back like George Foreman who came back at the age of 38. Setsuna was marveled by Yumi's performance because there was such heart in her attacks but, it was clear to see there was a lot of room for improvement. Setsuna, being a woman, had a feeling Yumi was in her late twenties or early 30s but, her appearance would fool a lot of people she looked a lot younger than one would first think upon looking at her.

Setsuna nodded as she looked at Yumi with a smile, "It's funny I haven't seen another boxer at AFW so, I couldn't help but, watch you work the bag."

The dark haired girl would offer a hand shake to her as she introduced herself, "Setsuna Shinu, it is a pleasure meeting a fellow boxer here."

Yumi ,still gasping for breath but taking the offer for a handshake ,she takes the dark haired girl's hand with her cloth wrapped right hand and giving her a handshake.

My name is Yumiko Kitano and i'm new to here ,in fact...this is the first time for me being here ,inside the AFW gym's complex. The pleasure is mine by the way ,meeting a young boxer fellow" says Yumiko with some grammatical errors as she isn't too fluently in speaking English. Yumiko can't help but showing some excited feelings for meeting another boxers after a few months and amazed on the girl's strong and well toned figure even it's not showing bulging muscles around her body.

Yumiko feels a little bit down when she compared her body to the younger Setsuna ,she feels jealous at the same time with the girl ,realizing that she is in her prime age as a boxer unlike her who had already passed through her prime age before becoming a boxer. Yumiko wants to know her deeper ,it's not like she is going to ask her for going out with her or something cause it'll be awkward for a mom like her. She just wanted to know what motivates Setsuna to become what she is now ,a boxer.

"Hmmm...i'm going to have a seat ,need to rest a little while before training again" she says and finding the bench where she tossed her gloves at and sits on it ,reaching for a bottle of Gatorade inside her training bag and drinks it afterwards ,replenishes her lost stamina with the drinks before she grabs another bottle and offers Satsune. "Want to have one??".

Setsuna nodded, so she was new to AFW okay... It was rather nice to find a fellow boxer here at AFW. She found it rather nice to have a friend she could talk to about boxing with. She listened to Yuki display some grammatical errors and some discomfort speaking but, her pronouncation was very good. Being no stranger to the Japanese language, she was born and raised in Japan.

Setsuna giggles, "必要に応じて我々は日本語でè±ãã“とができまãã‹?" ((Hitsuyōniōjite wareware wa nihongo de hanasu koto ga dekimasu ka?)) (We can speak in Japanese if you want?) The young girl sat down at Yumiko's side as she accepted the bottle, took the bottle and drank some of the water before closing the cap. "Arigotou.. So how long have you been Boxing for?"

While Yumiko answered her question, she began wrapping her hands with a white hand wrap, she bit on the end of the cloth to keep it from touching the floor as she wrapped her hands.

Yumiko isn't a stranger at all when it comes to Japanese language but she somehow feels need to improved her english by talking using the language often so she rejects Setsuna's offer softly. "私は申し訳ありませんが、私は英語ãã‚¹ã‚­ãƒ«ãŒãã†ãè‹±èªžã‚’è±ãã¾ã—ょ改善しようとしている" (Watashi wa mōshiwakearimasenga, watashi wa eigo no sukiru ga sō no eigo o hanasumasho kaizen shiyou to shite iru) (i'm sorry but i'm trying to improve my english skill so let's speak english).

Yumiko smiles and continuing to take another sip of the Gatorade before closing the cap and answering Setsuna's question "2 years already for now since...". She stops in her track and it's so much hurt to remembering old wounds ,old wounds that caused by her abusive ex-husband but she tries to forget it everytime something triggered her to remember that event.

She doesn't want to let Setsuna know about her dark background so she flashes a smile and asking Setsuna back ,"What about you?? been boxing for long??" while looking at the girl wraps her hands with a white hand wrap.

"Alright sounds good..." Setsuna said respecting her wishes to learn English.

Setsuna nodded aprrovingly, 2 years was pretty impressive with someone of her skills. She sensed some tension as she spoke but, it was quickly broken after she smiled. Setsuna dismissed it as nothing and shrugged it off as she answered her question. Setsuna bit her tonue as she looked at the ceiling, "Oh wow...uhh... let's see..." The girl said as she tried to remember how many years she had been boxing. "About.... 15 years... At first, I didn't like it at first but, I met someone who sort of inspired me to love boxing. I never really looked back again... boxing seemed just a part of my life... like it was air I needed to breathe. All those sleepless nights shadow boxing in my bedroom, I used to wake u and go to school exhausted because of it."

The dark haired girl looked down at the floor reminiscing her memories before sighing. "So... you know if you want, we could go a few rounds. I could teach you a few tricks as well.... while we're at it."

Yumiko hears Setsuna carefully ,about how she met someone inspirational to her to love this physical sport. Yumiko smiles as happy as she could when a question came out from Setsuna's mouth itself ,a question asking if she wants to go a few rounds inside the ring and against her younger new friend in a friendly spar.

"Of course!" replied Yumiko as she responds to the request with enthusiasm. Yumiko hasn't step foot inside the ring for nearly 6 months for now after her previous coach because of heart attack. No one has trained her ever since and she almost lost interest in boxing until this day ,something just told her to go to the AFW gym to give boxing one more shot and meeting Setsuna at last.

Hearing Setsuna said about showing a few tricks pleases the mom even more ,she jumps a little bit and raise herself from the bench ,more than happy to put on the 12 oz red Everlast practice gloves.

"So how many rounds that you wish to go for?? and do you want to wear a headgear for it??" said Yumiko as she continues to ask some question before ever stepping her feet inside the ring for once more after such a very long time

Setsuna was glad that her opponent accepted as they entered the ring as she strapped on her 12 ounce red century boxing gloves.

"How about Three?" She said thinking that would be a good number. The next question, she wasn't quite sure about because it was only 3 rounds and it wasn't a real match. There was little chance either was going to really hurt each other and she always hated wearing helmets.

"Hmm..." The girl mused as she began to wonder, "No... you can wear one if you like but, I don't think you'll be able to hit me...."

Setsuna gave a wink at Yumiko after making that comment to perhaps light a fire in her but, at the back of her mind that power she saw earlier was pretty devastating. Fighting like an in-fighter was not a good option, Setsuna either had to bob and weave or stay outside. Fighting like an out-fighter would be good for Yumi too, fighting someone who used great speed and used distance to escape her opponent. No doubt, they would frustrate a brawler like Yumi, it was the perfect game plan. The girl began to loosen up and bounce lightly back and fourth on the balls of her feet lifting her heels from touching the canvas as she shifted her body and her weight back and fourth. Her hands were up but, her lead right hand, being a south paw, began to drop as her left hand stayed behind protecting her chin. She began to shadow box adjusting herself to the stance before nodding at Yumi.

"I'm ready to begin when you are." Setsuna said as she went back to her stance.