That Little Voice in My Head

Mamouru paused when Cassie said his name. He turned back and looked her in the eyes. He had a blush on his face. "Arigatou, Cassie-san. That means a lot to me." Mamouru bowed deeply.

Mamouru straightened up and smiled. "I'll see you at the match, Cassie-san. Don't hold anything back for us either. I plan on doing everything I can to make sure Alaina-san comes out on top."

Cassie smiled, genuinely this time. She thought about the match and about Alaina and the dinner, and she hoped that they hadn't come to book the match due to any bad blood. She didn't want some sort of feud with the girl. She liked her well enough. She would like beating her, too.

"Better get to the gym and start working on submission defense," Cassie teased. "But it won't make any difference. See you at the match, I hope Alaina tries her best."

The word everything stuck in Cassie's mind. Mamouru had said it, that he would do everything to make sure Alaina won. She didn't say anything about it, because neither of them needed to be reminded of the incident. That was in the past, and Cassie wanted to keep it there. But she still got a tightness in her chest from thinking about exactly what that word could mean.