A 100% Platonic, Non-Romantic Training Session

[BlackAkuma]

Valerie had only known Makie for, what? Two minutes, tops? Already, she could tell this woman was a rambunctious, energetic type. She actually reminded her of her brother in a lot of ways, which didn’t exactly bode well for them getting along, but she could stand it for now. More than anything, though, she was worried that the woman would accept her no striking rules. She wasn’t a boxer, but she could throw a good strike when she wanted to, and the last thing she wanted was for Kyo to show and find his sister had a bloody nose.

Thankfully, she went along with it, seemed even eager. It was refreshing to see someone her size so ready to go at it with her. Most women in the lightweight division would’ve given her a wide berth. Yes, she was only a middleweight, but she was on the far end of that spectrum, close enough that she could likely advance to a comfortable heavyweight with a modified training regimen in a week.

Valerie bounced from heel to heel, gave her cheeks a good slap, then dropped into her grappling stance, going down nice and low to match Makie. She extended her fist for a bump, then moved away when the imaginary bell rang and started to circle her opponent, keeping a comfortable distance for now.

”Thanks for doing this.” She did a quick step forward, a feint to test Makie’s reactions, then moved back. ”Still trying to get in the grind of things, here. Could use all the friends I can get.” She grimaced. ”Or, well, training partners. Sorry, didn’t mean to presume that far.”

[Underdoggo]

Seeing Valerie reaching out for a fist bump, Makie grinned and reciprocated. And then, with that, the imaginary bell rang: light on her feet, Makie began to circle rapidly around Valerie, bouncing lightly on her soles, watching the heavier American girl and waiting to see what she did. So far, Valerie was keeping a respectful distance, but that was bound to change sooner rather than later.

"Hey, don't mention it," Makie replied. "I'm still figuring things out here in LAW myself, so I guess this makes two of us!"

No sooner had Makie said this when she suddenly darted in to close the distance. Ducking low under Valerie's arms, Makie dropped low, her legs lashing out to scissor across Valerie's ankles, aiming to unbalance the bigger girl and open this match by sending her toppling forwards!

[BlackAkuma]

Oh, yes, Makie was a fast one. Valerie was already struggling to keep up with her as she danced around the ring, staying light on her feet, never staying on the centerline. There was something oddly familiar about the way she paced, but it was hard to put a finger on it, and she was sure it wasn’t just the fact that she was Kyo’s sister.

She wouldn’t have much time to ponder it before Makie brought the fight to her - a small surprise. You would think that the size difference would make her hold back and try to feel her out. That would’ve been Kyo’s play, at least, but it seemed that not all Akamatsus were the same.

Valerie reached out to try and catch her, but she came in low, avoiding the grasp and sliding to her side. Valerie squawked as her legs were scissored and she was forced to fall forward, but those pushups she’d been doing earlier weren’t just for fun - she had a good upper body to work with. She extended her hands and stopped the fall early, putting her in an excellent position to act.

Not wanting to let Makie get away, she tried to slip her hands free and scrambled her way, attempting to get an arm around her head and apply a side headlock.

[Underdoggo]

And just like that, Makie found herself in a spar with the one and only Valley Doll.

Knowing that she couldn't even hope to beat Valerie in a contest of pure strength, Makie resolved to rely on trickery instead, dropping low to scissor Valerie's ankles and send her toppling forward like some felled blonde giant. The plan went off without a hitch...almost. Valerie, as it turned out, had excellent grappling instincts, and with one palm, managed to brace herself against the mat, preventing what would have been a stunning collision.

And with her free arm, she reached back and snagged Makie in a side headlock.

"Grrrkh--!" Makie gagged as she suddenly found herself being squeezed tightly against Valley's bicep. They were now in an awkward position, with Makie scissoring Valley's legs, and Valley bracing herself in a half-upright position against the mat, and Makie now being pulled in against Valerie's back, her head trapped under her meaty arm. Gritting her teeth, Makie unwound her legs from around Valerie's and instead braced against the mat, using both her arms to try to pull free from Valerie's side headlock.

If she managed that, then she would waste now time in leaping against Valerie's back, hoping to bring the bigger girl down onto her front completely...but more importantly trying to latch both her arms around Valerie's throat in a rear naked choke hold...

[BlackAkuma]

Valerie was already formulating the strategy for Makie, figuring out the best way to deal with the little speedster. People like this were always a pain for her, with her brother being a golden example, pun intended. He had a way of running circles around her, confounding her every move, leaving her moving in slow motion…unless she could manage to get on top of him and use her size advantage, anchoring him to one spot. Easier said than done, but worth the trouble.

Right now, she had Makie’s head, and she wouldn’t let it go that easily. She pressed hard and flexed her muscles, making the most of the moment while she had it. ”Having some trouble?” A little childish, but this was just a spar, she could afford to let her hair down.

As good a position as it was, it wasn’t going to last forever, as Makie brought her hands up and tried to push her way out, defying Valeire’s grip. ”Nope, nope-” Makie managed to slip free and wasted no time taking advantage as she threw herself on Valerie’s back and wrapped her arms around the neck, going for a tight little rear naked choke.

Valerie gasped, trying to suck in the air, as her hands came to pull at the grip. It was well-applied, but Makie lacked the weight to keep her down, and she pushed her way up to a single knee, even as she cranked the hold. She reared back, then threw her upper body forward with a powerful thrust, pulling her opponent over and letting her come down in front of her, hopefully breaking the hold.

With Makie down by her feet, she went to work - usually, she would’ve followed up with a sleeperhold, but sparring was all about experimenting, seeing what worked, and she had something else to try. Valerie reached over, pulled Makie’s head between her legs, and tried out one of her Mom’s favorites - a figure-four headlock, clamping down on her opponent’s neck with her bulging thighs and applying some severe pressure.

[Underdoggo]

Makie was smiling through clenched teeth now as it became her turn to take control of the match, leaping onto Valerie's back and locking in a tight rear naked choke hold onto the bigger girl. Now she was the one forcing Valerie to react, to try to force her way free.

"Sorry, do you need a minute to catch a breath?" Makie quipped with a good natured taunt. Her mirth wouldn't last long, however, as Valerie quickly used her superior weight and strength to fling Makie over her shoulder and send her crashing onto her back. Makie grunted on the impact, but that soon became the least of her worries as Valerie's powerful thighs were soon crushing her head.

"Mmmmrph--"" Admittedly, Valerie's thighs were very nice, but Makie would have appreciated them more if they weren't currently crushing her skull. She pawed uselessly at Valerie's legs, trying in vain to free herself. Taking the necessary five seconds to focus, Makie swiveled her lower body, trying to snag the bottom rope with one of her feet!

[BlackAkuma]

Valerie would’ve been more focused in a regular match, but with this spare, she felt it was time to let her hair down - figuratively speaking. While Makie was still new to her, she enjoyed the woman’s energy. The same competitive vibe that she’d gotten from Kyo, but more laidback, fun, energetic.

She also made a perfect little scissor dummy. Valerie wasn’t quite the kicker her mother was, but it terms of raw power, her legs were superior to the originals, and this was a great way to maximize that. She’d wanted to see how well they could function in an actual match, and if the way Makie squirmed was any indication, the results were promising.

She cranked up the pressure as her opponent crawled to the ropes, squeezing just hard enough to give her some real distress. The moment she touched the ropes, Valerie let go, kicked her legs back, rolled off her shoulders and popped to her feet in a smooth motion, coming back down in her grappling stance near the center of the ring.

”Sorry, do you need a minute to catch your breath?” She winked and flicked her tongue at Makie as soon as she was up, then started circling again, closing with each step, tempting her to make the first move. ”Let’s go, Makie-chan.”

[Underdoggo]

Colours were now bursting across Makie's vision as those ironclad thighs of Valerie's squeezed into her relentlessly. Despite herself, Makie now found herself giving vent to a muffled cry as she pawed at Valerie's legs, trying to free herself from that crushing grip. Then, finally, she felt her foot snag on the rope. She almost found herself shouting "Break!", but Valerie, thankfully, noticed and unwound those powerful legs of hers, allowed Makie to flop onto her back, out of breath.

Her face was red now, not the least of which because Valerie was now repaying her earlier taunt with one of her own. Too out of breath to make much of a reply, Makie slowly made her way up to her feet, trying not to show just how much that scissor had nearly knocked her out.

"Coming right up," she breathed. And with that, she would burst into another run. She feinted, looking like she was trying to grab low to unbalance Valerie again. This was all a feint, of course: at the last minute, she would kick up, trying to latch her legs around one of Valerie's arms while grabbing for her wrist. If all went according to plan, she would take the other girl down to the mat with an armbar takedown!

[BlackAkuma]

Aside from her mothers, it wasn’t too often that Valerie had the chance to wrestle with other women. She’d been the only female on her wrestling team in college, and even now in LAW, her brother had been her most frequent sparring partner, and now, in LAW, they seemed bent on putting her in mixed matches, wanting to bolster that division up with younger talent. Not that she minded in the least - if anything, it suited her comfort zone. But it meant that moments like this, with Makie, would be a rarity, and she was happy to be getting the most out of it.

Sure enough, the young Akamatsu sibling proved to be a game opponent, coming back in for seconds without much delay. Valerie stayed locked on her, trying to get a handle of her movements, trying to read her every step of the way, but there was only ever going to be so much of that she could hope to do. The woman came in fast, went low, and Valerie went down after her.

Big mistake.

Valerie gasped as Makie latched onto her arm with one deft move, grabbing her wrist and securing an armbar. Her only saving grace was that she managed to lock her fingers together at the last second, ensuring a tight grip that kept her opponent from fully extended the arm, but that wasn’t enough to stop her from going down to the mat.

”Nice.” She threw out a quick compliment as she turned to the side, trying to fold Makie up and relieve more of the pressure.

[Underdoggo]

This was more like it: in a grounded match like this, Makie knew she was at a disadvantage due to Valerie, quite simply, being far stronger and heavier than her. Thankfully, she remembered being taught this very lesson in all of her previous sparring sessions-- with her dad, when he was still alive, with Kyo, and later on with her mentor, Midori Hyuga; if your opponent outweighs you, negate that weight advantage by using your entire body to attack one of their limbs. If your opponent couldn't manouver, then their weight advantage would be meaningless.

Valerie, to her credit, managed to lock her fingers together, preventing Makie from locking in the armbar completely. "Thanks," Makie breathed, appreciating the compliment from her sparring partner...even as she leaned back with all of her strength, trying to pry Valerie's grip loose and get a full armbar on her.

Unfortunately for her, Valerie knew exactly out to counter this hold, and in an instant the brawny Californian was rolling against her, her chest pressing against her legs and folding her back in a pinfall. Makie's eyes widened as she was pushed onto her back, Valerie now pressing down against her.

Before Valerie could even begin a countdown, however, Makie twisted her body and kicked out, trying to flip Valerie over her onto her back. If Makie managed that, then she would kip up into a kneeling position and sit against Valerie's chest, still scissoring Valerie's arm and still trying to wrench it upwards in an armbar!