A 100% Platonic, Non-Romantic Training Session

[BlackAkuma]

While some part of her wanted to be annoyed at Kyo getting the better of her on the mat, she also had to give him credit, impressed by his technical prowess yet again. She was already filing away little things to improve on, here and there - she needed to work on her reaction time, get better at her positioning, learn how to utilize her weight better. Strong as she was, Valerie would also be dealing with men who could match her, far bigger than Garfield. She needed to get used to this.

Plus, she didn’t hate the way Kyo felt against backside…

Those thoughts evaporated the moment she got hold of the ropes and earned her freedom. The two of them parted and she immediately rose to her feet - maybe a little too fast, it gave her a headrush. She shook it off and turned back his way with a bounce, nodding.

”Yeah!” Ugh, too bright, turn it down a notch. She shrunk down a peg and scratched the back of her head. ”I mean, yes. Yes, I’d like that, Kyo-san.” She cleared her through and looked off to the side, noticing Maki’s odd little grin. What was that about? Did she have a wardrobe malfunction or something?

After a quick check to make sure all was in its proper place, she looked back up to Kyo. ”Would you be comfortable adding strikes to the mix? I have some gloves we can use.”

[Underdoggo]

Kyo saw that Valerie was in no hurry to start again just yet, and so took the opportunity catch a much needed breather. Leaning against his corner, he grabbed his water bottle and took a swig. Nearby, Makie propped herself against the ropes, still grinning that annoyingly mischievous grin of hers.

"So," she said, "you seemed a little red in the face earlier. You aren't coming down with something, are you?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he responded, not sure what, exactly, Makie was getting at. "It's just been a heavy workout, that's all."

His attention was brought back to Valerie as the blonde proposed they switch to strikes. "An excellent idea," he said with a warm smile, slowly stretching out of his corner and rotating his shoulders. "Though I should warn you, I'm no slouch in the strikes department."

[BlackAkuma]

Valerie tapped her chin, thinking back to their match. Had her struck her? She couldn't remember off hand, which was a good sign that he either hadn't or hadn't done it nearly hard enough or often enough to bear mentioning. She had kicked him a few times, and she recalled a dropkick, but aside from that, they had kept it fairly straightforward.

Good thing, then. They both could benefit from a little work in that area.

She went to her bag and fished out the gloves, two sets for the both of them, then rolled back into the ring and made her way over to Kyo. ”I hope you don’t mind them being pink.” She gave him an apologetic smile and backstepped to her corner as she slid her pair on. ”Family color.”

She slipped the gloves, smacked them together a couple of times, and came out with her fists raised, nodding as they neared to confirm she was ready. ”No face shots? Sound good?” The exact last thing she wanted to do was have him leave here with a black eye.

[Underdoggo]

Kyo allowed himself to relax a little as he finally caught his breath. He had expected Valerie to be challenging in a ground-and-grapple fight, and she had lived up to that expectation: it had taken a lot of effort and skill on his part to simply avoid letting her out-wrestle and out-power him. Now, he was about to discover again just how much of a powerhouse she was when the gloves were off. Or, well, on, as the case was.

He graciously accepted the proffered gloves. "No need to apologize," he replied, smoothly sliding the pink gloves on. He ignored Makie's stifled laughter in the background. "If I'm going to defeat you in a spar, after all, it seems fitting to do it with your own family colours. Although...yes, no face shots. The last thing I want to do is bruise that pretty face of yours--"

He paused when he realized what he had just said, and blushed a little. I mean, of course Valerie is pretty, he thought to himself, trying not to look flustered. I was just stating an objective fact, that's all. There's no underlying meaning to what I just said.

Makie, on the other hand, was stifling laughter as she walked up to between the two. "So...one fall, no face shots," she said, exercising her role as referee. "Although other than that, I'm going to allow a lot of leeway. I'm sure you two will need it." Kyo had no idea what Makie had meant by that; his sister was still grinning mischievously as she backed away. "WRESTLE!"

And with that, smoothly, Kyo began to circle Valerie again, patiently waiting for her to make the first move...

[BlackAkuma]

Valerie was happy to see that he wasn’t too bothered to be wearing pink. Some guys she’d met were self-conscious about that sort of thing, for reasons she never understood - it was just a color, had nothing to do with their manhood. She should’ve known Kyo wasn’t the type to let such a thing get in his head. He was a professional, level-headed, a consummate gentleman.

And he thought she had a pretty face.

Valerie had been blushing nonstop since they started, but that just made it worse, and she was oh-so glad when Maki came over and gave her a reason to look anywhere else but the floor. Knowing she needed to get serious, she raised her fist and nodded Kyo’s way. Go time.

At the call to wrestle, Valerie brought her fists and up and began to circle around him, taking care not to get too close. She wasn’t a boxer, but she had a general idea of how things should work. The two of them were close in terms of height, so reach wouldn’t be much of a factor, but maybe there were other ways to slip in.

After a few seconds of staring, she took a big step in and lashed out, throwing a solid right cross to his chest. It wasn’t a fast move, but she had some real power behind it, enough to force him back a step if it connected.

[Underdoggo]

Kyo didn't consider himself a striker, not by a long shot. Sure, he understood the basic fundamentals of strikes, and sure, if needed, he could launch a nice strike to stun or knock down an opponent; a forearm chop to the chest, a spinning kick to the back of the head, a palm strike to the temple, even a good old fashioned right hook to the stomach or chin. Just because it wasn't his strong suit didn't mean it wasn't something he could do well.

And Valley? He immediately got the impression that she was the same way: she was not a dedicated, out and out striker, but if absolutely need be, she could use those powerful forearms to brutal effect...as she was attempting to do now with an initial right cross.

Kyo's reaction time kicked in as he saw the move, and he immediately moved to counter, bringing up a forearm to try to bat Valley's initial strike aside. If he managed that, then he would try to dart into her guard and deliver a strike of his own-- not to her face, as he intended to make good on his promise, but whistling in low to try to hammer into her midsection. Not enough to seriously injure her, of course, but enough to wind her and maybe force her to take a step back in turn...

[BlackAkuma]

Feet planted. Arms up. Don’t lean forward too much, keep a solid posture. Move on the balls of your feet, don’t get flatfooted.

Valerie did her best to remember the basics as she moved in on Kyo, enough to present herself properly and not die of immediate embarrassment. It was a tall order, and she could only imagine how awkward she looked to Kyo’s eyes. But then, that was the good thing about sparring - better to look like an idiot in front of a friend than one in front of millions of people around the world.

She did her best to remind herself of that fact as she moved in, ready to engage with Kyo. He blocked her initial blow, taking it right on the forearm, but if her power deterred him, he did an excellent job of hiding the fear - instead of backing off, he advanced. Valerie was getting ready for a follow up, a blow that went low and slipped past her weak guard, drilling her in the abs.

She winced at the hit. Nothing too serious, but it irked her that she hadn't blocked in the first place. Defending strikes was still something she needed to work on. Still, she wasn’t about to let a single hit put her on the defensive. She took a step back, then moved in again with renewed vigor, this time going for her mother’s specialty: Kicks. She brought her leg up and threw a rough one, looking hammer it home into Kyo’s stomach with the tip.

[Underdoggo]

Good. That last blow had snuck past Valley's guard, hammering her in her midsection. It had been just enough to send her staggering. She barely made a sound from the blow, and she recovered quickly, but all the same, it was good to know that he had gotten the first blow in. Strike fast and hard, keep her guessing, count on her poor reaction time, he strategized to himself, already cautiously mirroring Valerie's movements.

It didn't take the blonde long to strike back, though: Valerie was moving forward, arms raised. Even as Kyo moved to block, though, she realized that she was going for a kick-- a single, powerful kick, spearing her leg low towards his midsection.

Instinctively, he backpedaled. He didn't backpedal far enough, though, as the tip of Valley's foot still hammered into his own midsection. He stifled a grunt and staggered back, slightly winded. Had he not moved in time, that would have hurt a lot worse, and probably would have incapacitated him for a few vital seconds.

Sucking in air through clenched teeth, Kyo sprang forward, trying to go on the offensive again. He raised an arm, faking for a right hook on Valerie. A feint; he twisted to the side, trying to get within the Californian's guard, hoping to drive a knee up into her midsection, right into the place he had hit her last time.

[BlackAkuma]

Kyo might not have been a kickboxer by trade, but she reckoned that, in another life, he could’ve made a good one. He had the form for it. Strong, tough, but light, not too much slowing him down. There was an explosiveness to the way he moved, and he was thoughtful enough to target specific areas and work towards a singular goal. All of these things were good for wrestling, but even better in this venue, where options were more limited.

His good instincts served him well, too, as he moved out of the way in time to avoid her kick. Mostly. She still got him with the tip, which wasn’t a pleasant thing for him to take. She smelled blood and went after him, which turned out to be a mistake - instead of moving away, he charged forward, and she found a punch coming towards her face.

She raised her guard, expecting the hit, but wound up biting on a feint instead, leaving her open and vulnerable to the real threat. A knee slipped past her guard, and now she was the one on the backfoot, gasping as his blow slipped past her abdominals.

Not a good position to be in, but she could work with. She figured her best chance was to keep him close and cut down on the mobility, so she brought her arms under his shoulder and caught him with an amateurish clinch, pressing their bodies together with the tight hold and pushing him towards the corner.

[Underdoggo]

That did it: that knee to Valerie's midsection hadn't been delivered with too much force-- this was still a spar, after all, and he didn't want to brutalize Valerie any more than she wanted to do to him-- but it had definitely windered her. A little bit of tit for tat, one solid impact to repay Valerie's earlier snap kick to his chest, and a way of keeping things even between them.

Valerie doubled over from the blow...and immediately went on the offensive, dropping low and wrapping her arms around his waist in a cinch, pushing Kyo back, driving Kyo back a few steps. Kyo knew full well that Valerie intended to trap him in the corner, and knew full well that it would be game over if he let her do that.

Responding instinctively, Kyo clamped an arm around Valerie's head, squeezing her against his bicep in a forward headlock. At the same time, he dropped down to his back, trying to pull Valerie down with her, aiming to kick his legs up around her midsection and squeeze her in a nice body scissor.

"Got you," he would breathe, trying to lock in a nice double hold that Valerie would have to fight her way free from.