The foundation of the future

[skip-stop]

Charlotte's professional career may have started not so long ago, but she managed to meet many outstanding women in the LAW ring. It is no exaggeration to say that each of them was unique, but the Frenchwoman had never met a woman like Akari. It only took her one minute to realize how good the brunette's skills were. And at the same time, Akari remained cheerful. Many would think that she just doesn't take their fight seriously. But Charlotte knew for sure that this was not the case. It's just that the very process of fighting was like an energizer for this woman.

Perhaps many people in the place of the pink-haired woman would be confused, having met with such a formidable opponent. But for Charlotte, her rival's skills and confidence were fuel, and now the martial arts master wanted to find out what else the Japanese woman was capable of. It was with this thought in mind that she launched into a new attack.

The brunette was able to parry Charlotte's punch again, but she didn't expect the Frenchwoman to grab her wrist after that. Before Akari could take the distance, Charlotte pulled her down and sent a hard knee strike in the chest. The force of this blow was enough for Akari to stumble backwards, causing her back to press against the ropes.

This blow definitely disrupted her breathing, but she showed real professionalism, not forgetting to keep her hands raised to protect herself. Charlotte noticed this when she began to close the distance again, advancing on Akari in a straight line like a locomotive. It might seem that the pink-haired woman intended to unleash a flurry of blows on her opponent, but…

“Now...” flashed through the Frenchwoman's mind.

On the last step, she abruptly shifted to the left, thereby being slightly to the left of Akari. Instead of trying to find a gap in the brunette's defenses, she decided to act more unpredictably. Charlotte intended to push off the mat with force and jump forward, placing both feet on the middle rope, at the same time throwing her right hand to Akari's left shoulder. She was going to grab her opponent and then push off from the rope while leaning back to send Akari's face to the mat with a sudden leaping flatliner.

[Misfit_Alien]

Akari's eyes widened as Charlotte approached, and for a brief moment, it was as if time slowed down. The typical flurry Akari would have expected was thrown out the window as the pink-haired woman shifted to the side, clearly aiming to go for a grapple...well, of course, it's not like such a move was ever off the table. However, Akari HAD to counteract this somehow. She couldn't allow herself to be taken down so easily, and so-...her mind spent what felt like a small eternity wrapping itself around what to do next, a thousand scenarios playing through her mind based on her experience and her assumptions about Charlotte's method of attack.

Then, as Charlotte took hold of her, a switch flipped on in Akari's head, and her body began to move on its own, the Sea Turtle relying on pure instinct to make the next couple of moves. Instead of fighting Charlotte's maneuver, Akari allowed herself to be taken into the Frenchwoman's clutches. However, she would grab hold of Charlotte's arm to loosen her grip, giving her just enough room to pull off what came next. In one swift motion, Akari would barrel forward into a front handspring, using the momentum of the Flatliner attempt to tilt her body forwards, tucking her legs, and thrusting her arms out so that her fingers and palms would make contact before her face did, stopping her from colliding head-first with the canvas, and giving her ample opportunity to keep flipping through it, landing on her feet and quickly turning around with a pivot, eyeing up Charlotte as she lay on the mat. Akari would dash toward her and attempt to lock her in a Sleeper Hold, forcing Charlotte into a seated position while Akari kneeled behind her. After this intense moment, time seemed to speed back up, and Akari took a sharp, deep breath, having gone into a bit of a flow-like state as she masterfully executed her acrobatic counter.

[skip-stop]

Well, Charlotte could only marvel at what had just happened. It seemed that she had prepared all the necessary ground in order to make her first serious move. First, she hit Akari in the chest with her knee to create some breathing problems for the brunette, and then tried to move as unpredictably as possible. But it still wasn't enough to catch the brunette off guard. If Charlotte had looked at it from the outside, she would surely have started applauding the Japanese woman.

Whatever it was, Charlotte's move had no effect on her sparring partner. After she pushed off the ropes, she ended up on the mat, while the brunette not only avoided any damage, but also took an attacking position.

Before Charlotte could even blink, Akari was behind her, forcing her to a sitting position, and then wrapped her arms around the Frenchwoman's neck. In a second Charlotte's face turned red. She clutched at Akari's arms, trying to loosen her grip. But even though she was trying to use her agility to get out of the grip, Akari, as before, seemed to anticipate her every move. Maybe she could have gotten out of it eventually, but unfortunately fifteen seconds had passed too quickly, and that in turn meant only one thing.

“Okay, okay,” Charlotte croaked, then tapped Akari's hand. “You won.”

[Misfit_Alien]

When Charlotte tapped her hand on Akari's, the Sea Turtle blinked for a moment, instantly releasing the Frenchwoman from the bind she had put her in with just one swift motion. In that momentary rush, Akari had forgotten about their fifteen-second rule. Her heart was racing, and her breathing was controlled and precise. Her baby blue eyes sparkled with this fiery intensity. It was obvious that the Sea Turtle was hopped up on adrenaline. Her excitement got the better of her, and she lost focus on everything else but Charlotte and the match. In an effort not to look rude in front of everyone, Akari would take a step back after she released the pink-haired woman...only to then realize her blunder before taking a step back toward Charlotte, feeling a little awkward at first before reaching her hand out to help Charlotte.

"Wow, sorry I-...dunno what came over me. I was just so in tune with the fight, I nearly forgot about the whole fifteen-second thing-..." She said, chuckling nervously. "Whaddya think?" She asked, tilting her head with a soft smile as she helped Charlotte up. "Hope I didn't leave a bad first impression-..."

[skip-stop]

“Putain de merde...” sounded in Charlotte's head immediately after she was forced to admit defeat.

Fortunately for her, Akari didn't keep her in the submission hold after that, quickly releasing the pink-haired woman. When the grip on her neck loosened, the Frenchwoman coughed due to the sudden rush of oxygen. Losing in sparring was nothing new to her as she often sparred with her best friends, Astrid and Nerissa. However, she had never lost so quickly before.

The saddest thing for her was not even the fact that she could not demonstrate anything in this sparring, but the fact that she lost so quickly and even in a sense shamefully right in front of her students. However, the situation could hardly have turned out any other way, Akari was too strong and Charlotte really didn't stand a chance against this brunette.

“No, of course not...” she said in response to Akari's words after she had adjusted her breathing.

Feeling extremely disappointed, she nevertheless didn't let it affect her emotions. So she accepted Akari's helping hand and got to her feet, after which she bowed to the brunette. Denial is the most basic emotion, but the facts were obvious and therefore the Frenchwoman was not going to deny what had just happened.

“Which is to be expected from such an outstanding woman,” she said, straightening up, and then turned to her students. “What should we say?”

“Thanks for the demonstration!” Sounded in unison from the students outside the ring.

“Exactly,” Charlotte nodded to her students, then turned back to Akari. “Well, thanks for the sparring, the gym and equipment are at your disposal, and if you need anything, I'll be around.”

With these words, the pink-haired woman left the ring. Losing in front of her students in this way was very sad, but she couldn't afford to show it because then she would completely lose any authority, so she did her best to keep a neutral expression before addressing her students.

“Everyone, continue training at the usual pace!" She commanded, intending to make sure that every group of students would follow this command.

[Misfit_Alien]

"T-thanks..." Akari said, a little dejected as the reality of the situation was starting to become clearer to her. The Sea Turtle was admittedly not the smartest person in the world, but she was aware enough and had a keen mind. When the spar ended, Akari was taken aback by how reserved and calm Charlotte was being. The Japanese woman felt a little bad, having shown her up like that, not expecting the spar to be over that quickly. She thought there might've been another round or two, maybe some follow-up drills, further instructions...hell, maybe even one of Charlotte's students would want to take a crack at her...

Something, anything...but she got nothing. In that brief instance, just when she started to feel alive in a sort of flow state, it was over like that. She just wanted a sparring partner for the day, and now the thought of her potentially damaging Charlotte's image and reputation in front of all her students was clouding the forefront of her mind. She felt a nasty feeling in her stomach. The Frenchwoman was so hospitable to her, and she complimented her even after losing so suddenly in front of her pupils.

Charlotte's resolve, strength, and patience were beyond impressive. Akari could never withhold feelings of distress and frustration like she did. She wore her emotions on her sleeve, sometimes to her detriment. Even as the Frenchwoman called Akari outstanding, the Japanese woman was aware that something wasn't right. At least, it wasn't sitting right with her, the way things ended. Whether she realized it or not, Akari's heart was stirring. For better or worse, she felt the need to try and say something to Charlotte in private. "Um, Miss-...er-...Charlotte, could I speak with you, for just a moment?" She said, trying to approach this carefully, committed to this direction but unsure if it would make things worse.

[skip-stop]

Leaving Akari in the ring, Charlotte returned to her duties. After she gave the command, her students whispered to each other for a few more seconds, but then, noticing the stern look of the Frenchwoman, they quickly divided into groups and returned to training. Charlotte had to make some effort not to snort. But she restrained this impulse, in the end she had nothing to blame them for.

“Pull your foot higher,” she told one of the students, “If your foot doesn't reach your opponent's head, then a kick doesn't make any sense.”

Maintaining her professionalism, she began to slowly walk between groups of her students, pointing out their mistakes and giving them advice. It was difficult for her to concentrate, but she tried to do her best. Deep down, she wanted to take the time to figure out what led to this result in the ring, but she didn't have the time for that. The only thing she's decided for herself right now is that she should train more and harder. Much more and harder.

“Hmm?” Lost in thought for a moment, she didn't even immediately realize that someone was addressing her.

Glancing over her shoulder, she was somewhat surprised to find Akari in front of her. Of course, she did not rule out the possibility that they would exchange a few more words today, but she did not think that it would happen so soon.

“I see you're learning fast." With a slight smile, she jokingly commented on the fact that Akari almost made a mistake, but eventually addressed the Frenchwoman by name. “Sure, my pleasure.”

She and the brunette moved a little to the side so as not to interfere with the rest of the students.

“What is it?" Charlotte asked, wondering what Akari could possibly need help with so soon.

[Misfit_Alien]

Everything had gone by so quickly, Akari hadn't even taken a moment to really catch her breath or decompress following that intensive yet short spar. Her mind kept lingering on something which...to her, at least...seemed way more important. Even as she took shallow breaths, the burden lying at the forefront of her thoughts seemed more important to address. On the other hand, Charlotte was managing fairly well, at least on the surface. She didn't let it get to her, at least she tried not to, even as her students began to swap hushed whispers beneath their breaths.

"Are you...upset?" Akari asked, whispering so under her breath so as not to draw too much attention. That confidence and energy she displayed earlier weren't as prominent. Her words carried with them a tone of concern riddled with anxiety. "I feel like things ended way too quickly...and-...I feel like I might've crossed a line." She said, sounding more regretful with every syllable. "I didn't think I-...I wasn't trying to-...Look, I didn't come here to show you up or anything-...I-..." She tried to voice her concerns, but every time she said something, it sounded so...wrong. Or, at least, it didn't sound how she thought it did in her head. It didn't quite capture how she was feeling about everything...which slowly caused Akari to think that she was not only going about this thing all wrong, but that maybe this wasn't as serious as she thought it was, which made things even worse in her mind.

God, she felt stupid...this truly was pointless, and now she was making an ass out of herself. Apologizing for winning a spar? Get a grip, Akari...and yet, she couldn't. She truly was apologetic, her words genuine and true. However, it was up to Charlotte to interpret them as such, and the embarrassed and almost frantic Sea Turtle was beginning to lose that calm, cool composure of hers over this whole 'incident'...

[skip-stop]

Charlotte expected anything, thinking that Akari needed help with one of the exercise machines or something like that, it happens from time to time because it was a gym with a variety of equipment after all. But when the black-haired woman asked her question, both of the Frenchwoman's eyebrows rose involuntarily.

“What do you...” she began.

But she didn't have time to finish because Akari continued to speak, stumbling over every third word and unable to form a complete sentence. With every word she said, Charlotte felt more and more awkward. Even though Akari's words were confusing, she understood what this Japanese woman was trying to convey.

“Akari, listen...” Charlotte also stumbled because she was absolutely not prepared to be in such an awkward situation.

It was obvious that Akari wasn't feeling her best for winning the sparring match for some reason, in a way she was trying to apologize for it. And now Charlotte felt something like cognitive dissonance due to two internal contradictions. On the one hand, she had to say that Akari wasn't to blame for anything, but on the other hand, she didn't understand why she had to say it at all, because it was so obvious.

“You avoided literally all of my attacks and won,” Charlotte scratched her head, slightly embarrassed. “A victory is a victory, whether it's sparring or a real match, and you shouldn't feel bad about not giving me a single chance." Charlotte took a deep breath, trying to somehow get the awkwardness of the situation under control. “You're just too strong, that's all, it's a reason to be proud, not something else.”

[Misfit_Alien]

Akari was typically far more composed, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she had done something wrong, having offended Charlotte by causing a bit of disruption amongst her pupils. She came here to have a great workout, not to cause a disturbance and ruffle some feathers. Still, even as she spiraled into this soft ramble, Charlotte managed to assuage her anxieties over the matter, dispelling the awkward nature of this 'conversation' with the cold, blunt truth. It honestly surprised Akari, as the Japanese woman was expecting the Frenchwoman to maybe blow up on her or chastise her...but even as Charlotte spoke, her tone conveyed nothing but a sense of firm gentleness, easing the raven-haired woman's nerves with just a few words. "You-...really aren't upset with me?" She asked quizzically. "I just-...I know I can be a bit much, at times. I didn't wanna leave a bad first impression...and I definitely didn't want to cause you any trouble, especially after you kindly welcomed me."