Like a bolt from the blue

[skip-stop]

Shinjuku Gyo-en park. This park is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful places in Tokyo. When sakura blooms, an incredible number of people usually gather here. However, at other times of the year this place is not so popular. And that was a big plus for Lily. She didn't come here to admire the trees. For her, it was a quiet and peaceful place, where she often came to just breathe fresh air and think about this and that. Although not less often she came here for a workout.

Today was just such a day. The Englishwoman came here to train her endurance. Sweat was streaming down Lily's face, she had run almost eight kilometers. She was not used to such stress trainings and she needed some rest. But before taking a break, she wanted to reach the eight-kilometer mark. Trying to keep her breathing under control, she continued to run forward.

Lily Menage

Workout outfit

Of course, she was far from the first athlete who came to this park, but still she was different from most other people. Most of the runners used headphones, and different emotions played on their faces every now and then. Lily had neither. They say that headphones while running help to distract from thoughts. She didn't have to. On the contrary, while running, she tried to use her brain for useful things. As for the emotions on your face... what kind of emotions can we talk about when you don't have them?

The fitness bracelet on the brunette's wrist informed her that she had run eight kilometers. The Englishwoman began to slow down gradually, after which she stopped. Her voluminous breasts rose and fell heavily. Lily took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She didn't usually run such long distances. Her style was based on speed, not endurance. But that was the reason she was here. If you forget about your weaknesses, it can lead to sad consequences. Lily glanced at the fitness bracelet to assess her heartbeat.

"Getting better," she said to herself, barely audible.

She wasn't going to rest for long, so as not to disrupt the workout, but still she needed a few minutes. And instead of just standing still, she headed for the nearest bench. The brunette sat down and took another deep breath. Unfortunately, the sun's rays fell on the bench, which caused her some discomfort. The climate of Japan was very different from that of England. And her pale skin still couldn't get used to so much sun.

In fact, a lot has changed since she left England. Lily was sure that living in Japan would not affect her too much, but some things were still unusual for her. However, that wasn't what she wanted to think about right now. She just needed to catch her breath and let her muscles rest for a while, then finish the workout.

[Frodouken]

“One! Nothing wrong with me! Two! Nothing wrong with me! Three! Nothing wrong with me!” Keiko could be heard shouting in the park, singing along with the music in her earphones. Sweat can be seen on along her skin as she slowly does push-ups on one hand. Just because she’s no longer fighting in the streets(much), doesn’t mean she can stop pushing herself. Before, she did a bunch of burpees, sit-ups, and squats. Before those, a hundred jumping jacks and dynamic stretching to warm herself up.

Keiko loves a good intense workout in the park with the burning sun making her determined. She does twenty one-handed push-ups on each hand before finally deciding to take a break. She grabs her gallon of water and takes a two-handed swig from it on the bench, releasing a relived gasp of air.

“Ahhhh. That was tough.~” She looks to the woman next to her, seeing her suffer a sweat herself. But there’s something else about her that she can’t put her finger on, believing she knows her from somewhere. “Hey! Do I know you? You look familiar.” The dragon asks her straightforwardly, with no hesitation for her words. Though, she does keep the fact of how smoking the woman is, since that’d probably make the quiet girl uncomfortable. From her body language, she could tell.

Spoiler

[skip-stop]

It looks like Lily spent a little more strength than she had planned. At least she couldn't explain in any other way the fact that she didn't notice the shouting woman next to the bench on which she sat down to rest. This was not a problem for the Englishwoman, although she would certainly prefer to spend these few minutes of rest in silence.

But her plans were not destined to come true. It became clear at that moment when this loud woman came up to the bench and took a bottle of water, which Lily also, for unknown reasons, didn't notice. The brunette briefly looked at this woman. It was obvious that she was here for a workout too, judging by her clothes and the amount of sweat on her skin. Lily looked away.

If she had noticed that this bench was occupied, she would have found another one. However, she has already started to rest and now it would be stupid to change one bench to another. Besides, this woman will probably take a few more sips of water now, and then return to her training, right? Or...

Hearing the question, Lily looked at the woman again. In another situation, she would have been sure that these words were not addressed to her. But there was no one else around. This time, Lily looked at this woman from head to toe. There was no doubt that she was an athlete, judging by her physique. Besides, she had quite a memorable and outstanding appearance. Although Lily wasn't really interested.

"I don't think so," she said briefly in a smooth, melodious and pleasant, but at the same time almost literally empty voice.

The Englishwoman looked away again after answering the question. She had definitely never seen this woman and therefore she had no doubt that this athlete had confused her with someone. Therefore, it made no sense for her to say anything else, especially considering that Lily generally tried to talk as little as possible. Anyway, she answered the question.

[Frodouken]

Fuck! Her voice is hot! Kind of jealous since I sound like a high Mickey Mouse.

Keiko converses with her own thoughts after hearing the familiar woman speak. It eventually clicks to her that she’s seen her around the locker room, meaning this chick is a wrestler like her.

“Oh! You’re a wrestler too! I’ve seen you around backstage, but never got to say, “Hi.”” Keiko waves to her. “Hi! My name is Keiko Kiryu! Nice to meet you!” She puts her hand out while admiring the woman’s appearance. She finds her hair beautifully unique, as well as she does like seeing how sweaty and athletic she looks. She knows this lady is a hard worker from her appearance, already having a feeling she’d like her.

[skip-stop]

Lily couldn't say that this episode made her uncomfortable. At least for now. But still, considering that she usually doesn't talk to anyone, she was willing to admit that it slightly shook her usual pastime. She came here just for training, not to make acquaintances.

In any case, she was sure that after she answered the question, this woman would not bother her anymore. Looking at the fitness bracelet, the Englishwoman realized that the rest time was coming to an end and that she should return to her running. But, as they say, if something went wrong, then the rest is likely would go wrong. This situation was a confirmation of that because the woman turned to Lily again. And this time there could be no mistake. The brunette looked at the stranger.

She introduced herself and called herself Keiko Kiryu. However, the most remarkable thing was that she said she had seen Lily at the backstage. Well, it looks like they really were colleagues. At least Lily had no reason to question Keiko's words, especially considering that this woman looked more than suitable for pro wrestling. Lily looked at the hand Keiko held out to her. The Englishwoman is not used to such things. However, she should have observed the rules of decency.

Lily got to her feet and extended her right hand forward, accepting Keiko's handshake.

"Lily Menage," she introduced herself briefly.

[Frodouken]

“Nice to meet you, Lily. So what kind of exercising you’ve been doing today?” Keiko’s curiosity about others is natural, so she couldn’t help but ask. Gaining friends and sharing interests are always a delight to the dragon, so she’s hoping to gain that kind of relationship with the woman in front of her. She seems chill and relax, so she shoots her shot.

“Would you also mind if I join you? Its slightly a bit more encouraging when doing it with a bud.” She hops onto her feet and stretches her arms out of readiness, getting excited before they shy wrassler replies.

[skip-stop]

Most likely, it looked very strange from the outside. Keiko was smiling, talkative and energetic. While Lily was sluggish, quiet and calm. It was as if the sun was shining over Keiko's head, and a cloud was hanging over Lily's head. But at least they've passed the name exchange stage. After the Japanese woman let go of Lily's hand, the Englishwoman looked at her fitness bracelet again. It's time to get back to training. She was even going to say goodbye to Keiko, but her new acquaintance asked her a question.

"Today is endurance training," she replied.

The Englishwoman was not sure of the reasons why Keiko was interested in this. Perhaps it was the usual curiosity that is so characteristic of ordinary people. Sometimes Lily wondered what it was like to be genuinely interested in something. Perhaps someone could say that she was interested in pro wrestling, but Lily herself preferred to think that it was just a means to achieve her goals.

"Join... me?" Lily blinked, not quite sure if she understood Keiko's question correctly. "Do you really want to continue your workout with me?"

In another situation, she would have asked why the Japanese woman needs it. But Keiko answered even before Lily asked this question. It wasn't enough to make the Englishwoman feel surprised. But she didn't understand, why this cheerful woman wanted to train with her?

"In any case, I have two kilometers left to run, after that I will leave the park," she replied, having made a decision, "if you really want, you can finish the distance with me."

[Frodouken]

“Sounds good! I could run all day! Well sort of, everyone gets tired eventually. Even this Dragon.” She points at herself with two thumbs trying to be humble, until her next words at least. “Ah who am I kidding. My stamina is fucking infinite!” She confidently giggles as she bonuces on her toes. She then begins stretching her legs by standing like a flamingo, preparing to run along Lily’s side. Keiko then sets her hands on her own hips as she rotates them, next swinging her legs side-to-side then forward-to-back, and lastly doing high knees to an invisible opponent.

The upbeat dragon lives up to her name, as even though she did a lot of calisthenics beforehand, she’s still energetic for some more action. Seeing Lily definitely brightened up her attitude to do some more, since the blue-haired woman would have left by now after resting. Oddly enough, Keiko actually notices that Lily doesn’t have any headphones. This girl must be tough if she can keep running so determined without that kind of motivation! Keiko ponders doing that herself, but finds music too fun to do without. Lily’s in her company however, so for now she’d leave her earphones in her jacket pocket to enjoy her time with the soft-spoken beauty.

“I’ll run on your “go”and at your pace.” She gives a Lily a cheerful thumb up before taking another quick swig of her gallon-sized water.

[skip-stop]

"Fucking infinite?" Lily repeated in her mind, slightly tilting her head to the side.

It was hard to believe even for Lily herself, but she was willing to admit that this situation seemed a little strange to her. Especially Keiko's behavior. This woman behaved as if she did not care at all about the fact that the Englishwoman did not show any emotions. Usually people had a completely different reaction. In Keiko's case, it looked like she met people like Lily every day.

The blue-haired woman began to stretch her muscles for running. Lily's muscles were still hot, but she also decided to follow the example of her new acquaintance. She didn't want to get an unnecessary injury, so the brunette did a little stretching of the leg muscles. In parallel, she, without noticing it, periodically glanced at Keiko. Lily didn't quite understand this woman and it interested her in a way.

When they were both ready, Lily stepped back from the bench, returning to the park path. Keiko was near. Lily turned her head and looked at her when she heard the Japanese woman's words. At your pace? It seems Lily forgot to warn her about something. But this woman seemed too confident in herself and her abilities. So Lily decided to check if Keiko could really keep up the pace that was waiting for her.

"We'll see," Lily said shortly and raised her arms, bent at the elbows, "go."

Lily started running at a calm pace. Jogging was a great way to engage all the muscles of the body. In addition, it was an excellent technique for endurance training, which was the main goal of the Englishwoman at this training. The counter on her fitness bracelet has started working. For the next three hundred meters, Lily kept a stable, calm speed. And then...

"Acceleration," she said.

Without delay, the brunette rushed forward, turning jogging into a real sprint. It was far from the limit of her speed, but it was more than enough for the black hair to start rustling due to the gusts of air around her. It was one of the most difficult types of running training. She wasn't just an athlete. She was a fighter. And any fight absolutely always goes at a different pace. There is no match where you are constantly moving at the same speed. At certain moments you have to move smoothly. And at some moments you have to use your reserves to accelerate. This was Lily's training session today. And now, if it could be called that, she was wondering if this loud and confident woman was really ready for such a difficult workout?

[Frodouken]

As soon as she sees Lily running, Keiko begins her stride and starts going along with her. She notices how into the zone it Lily is, seeing the focus of a bird when its following its prey. This cool lady had her goal and planned to see it through. The dragon can feel her determination. Keiko herself keeps the pace up, making sure not to bump into her new friend accidentally. Didn’t have to worry about too long however, hearing the girl go full anime by saying out loud “acceleration.”

“HOLY SHIT!” The street fighter says to herself in her head, impressed by the woman’s speed. Pushing her glasses up, she giggles a bit before sprinting as fast as she can. She feels the momentum of the wind and air as she runs, a cool feeling as she eventually is beside Lily again. She’s sure to control her breathing as well, feeling all of her body’s sweat get cold from the cool air that brushes into her. The adrenaline was there, along with a bit of her confidence.

“Weren’t trying to run away from me, were ya?”