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...