Kindred Spirits

[Ichi]

Ayame was in unfamiliar territory. She had only found out about LAW two weeks ago and two weeks before that, she was in prison. The only thing that wasn't new was the language---Ayame was born in Tokyo so she is quite proficient in Japanese. Ayame sighed as she prepared to walk into the LAW gym in front of her.

RIIING!!! RIIING!!! RIIING!!!

Ayame took her new (and first) cellphone out of her bag and glanced at the caller ID. It was Claire. Ayame was thankful that she had the sense to write down Claire's number before she left America; if Ayame hadn't, she wouldn't have had a way to contact Claire. Despite her mild happiness over being called, Ayame swiped left to reject the call. Today, her focus was on scouting out her competition.

Ayame pushed open the doors to the gym. She peered through the windows separating the main hall from the pool. A couple quick swimmers and a few girls floundering around in the water. Nothing too impressive. Ayame then headed towards the weight room. Upon entering the weight room, Ayame saw a variety of men and women of differing body types and sizes.

"Some of these people could give me trouble just based on size alone," though Ayame.

She then left the weight room and headed towards the room that had the mats and heavy bags. This was the part Ayame was most interested in: here, she could see if any of her competitors had a background in combat sports. Moreover, this was where Ayame would do her workout.

Ayame peered through the window and some grappling mats. No one was using them---perhaps 10am was too early for the grapplers? Looking further, down, Ayame could see a boxing ring and an MMA cage, also unoccupied. At the far end of the room, Ayame could see some more mats, surrounded by heavy bags.

Prior to entering the LAW gym, Ayame did a little research on her competitors. Many of them had pro-wrestling and/or grappling backgrounds. Unfortunately for Ayame, grappling was not her specialty---she was a striker. While Ayame was proficient in grappling, she wanted to improve so that she could better deal with her competitors. Since there did not appear to be anyone using the mats, Ayame doubted that she would be able to find a training partner for grappling. Therefore, Ayame was going to practice her takedowns and shoots on the heavy bag.

Ayame pushed open the doors to the combat sports room, reminded of all the times that she walked into some unfamiliar gym to train. This was no different.

Ayame

Note: Ayame is wearing a black short-sleeved rash guard and board shorts.

[CaptainL]

Ayame wouldn't be the only person finding herself at the gym, or even the only one with such thoughts going through her head. Blair Yuen - a practiced striker herself, and one who had experience in Muay Thai, MMA, and pro wrestling alike - had come to the gym as well, thinking to herself about the path that had brought her here.

It wasn't her first time in Japan, having been there for a few Muay Thai tournaments in her day, and she knew enough of the language and the culture to get her by from when she had taught herself how to go about to the arenas, bars, and capsule hotels before she would catch a flight back to her native Canada, or to revisit her trainers in Thailand. She was used to living on the move, hopping from one place to another - both as she worked her way to the top, taking on bigger and bigger names in each sport she entered herself in, and then as she tried to rebuild her name and her image after being convinced she had lost her touch whenever her luck seemed to run out.

Blair sighed and bowed her head, thinking back on the number of sports and promotions she had reached the upper echelons of, only to drop out when she couldn't keep up her once dominant run. Rather than try to stay and rebuild her winning streak, Blair was convinced it was hopeless, and that her only option was to jump to another, cleaner slate where the cycle could repeat again. It happened with Muay Thai, it happened with MMA, and this wouldn't be the first wrestling promotion she had been a part of, either. To many with such a mindset, such a pattern could grow unbearable. But for Blair, there was always that spark of hope in her, that even if this might not be her first attempt to secure the top spot, it might be the last.

She, too, passed a number of people on the way in, but she paid them little heed. She never stayed in one place long enough to form any close bonds with the people she worked with, and she wasn't planning to one way or another. Blair was only here for herself, and to prove she was worthy of success; anyone else were just the people she'd need to overcome to establish that.

And, for now, she was here to train the skills she would need for such a purpose. Coming at last to where the bags were, Blair took in a breath, collecting herself. She narrowed her eyes, focusing in on the bag hanging in front of her as she lowered herself into a stance, before she turned and whipped her body around, sticking out her leg to slam it against its target. As she stepped back from her roundhouse kick, she smiled. The sound of the impact never failed to leave Blair with the satisfying feeling of a job well done.

Spoiler

[Ichi]

Immediately, upon opening the door, Ayame heard what sounded like gunshots. She knew from experience that those were not actual gunshots but instead were the sounds of someone skilled working the heavy bag. Curious, Ayame started walking towards the heavy bags to see who was using them. Upon reaching the area with the heavy bags, Ayame noticed a lone woman practicing combinations on the heavy bag.

Pop! Pop! Bam!

It was immediately obvious to Ayame that the woman had experience in Muay Thai---in fact, she seemed to be quite high-level. Ayame figured that the woman had probably competed at some point. While Ayame was impressed, she was not in complete awe as she had trained with high-level MMA fighters before.

Suddenly, Ayame recognized the woman: it was Blair Yuen, former champion MMA fighter! Back in prison, Ayame would use some of the money she earned as a prison chef to buy PPV MMA events, some of which were headlined by Blair. Ayame had only seen two of Blair's fights, one where she successfully defended her title and the other where she lost her title.

Ayame took out her hand wraps from her duffel bag and wrapped her hands. After that, Ayame put on her MMA gloves and did some light stretching. Then, Ayame would practice takedowns on the bag, starting from a variety of different distances. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Blair work the bag. She could hear the loud pops that Blair's strikes made, the hallmark of a skilled fighter.

Ayame then took a step back from the bag, positioning herself outside of striking range. Her gaze shifted downwards, telegraphing a single-leg takedown. The muscles in her leg tensed before exploding, propelling Ayame forward at an astonishing speed. Suddenly, Ayame stepped her rear leg forward and pivoted clockwise, sending her right elbow smashing into the bag---a single-leg takedown feint transitioned into a spinning back elbow.

BAM!

A loud, sharp crack reverberated throughout the air as Ayame slightly stumbled, momentarily losing her balance.

"Damn, I have to work on that," thought Ayame. She still had not mastered that move yet. Ayame hoped that she could add this move to her arsenal as it could catch opponents off-guard. However, this move was definitely not something that she would throw in sparring. Despite not necessarily being the friendliest person, Ayame knew not to go hard against training partners.

[CaptainL]

Blair didn't care if anyone recognized her. If they did, all that mattered to her was that they hopefully recognized her from when she was going strong and crushing the competition, and not for her high-profile losses. But either way, she was quick to put that thought out of her mind. This was a fresh start for her, and she was eager to take that. Now that she was in a new promotion with a clean record, she was going to start off on the right foot, and she could only go forward from here. Blair was ready to take those first steps, and she wanted them to be as good as they could be - which led to now, as she stood training in the gym to hone her skills.

In the midst of a few bag-shaking kicks, Blair looked up, taking notice that another woman had entered the room. Her eyes lingered briefly on the newcomer, watching as she swung herself forward as though for a kick, only to use her momentum to strike with her elbow instead. For a few seconds, she stood watching, taking the attention off her own exercises. This woman, whoever she was, had to be good in order to display such control over her movements, and such force behind her strikes. She was impressed.

But Blair wasn't here to give anyone advice or praise. She reminded herself that she was here for herself, and she sunk back into a stance, firing off a forceful jab straight into the bag.

[Ichi]

"I'll work on that move later," thought Ayame. She was here to practice takedowns and takedown setups, not to throw "spinning shit"---apart from that one move, Ayame was already plenty good at spinning attacks. Ayame continued practicing her takedowns, now fully engrossed in her training and paying no attention to Blair.

Suddenly, Ayame's phone began to ring yet again, snapping Ayame out of her focused state. Ayame left the mats and opened her duffle bag. It was Claire again but this time, Ayame answered the phone.

"I'm in the middle of practicing takedowns. Call back later," stated Ayame.

"Takedowns? Like doubles, singles, knee taps, ankle pi---"

"Hold on. You know about that stuff?" interrupted Ayame.

"Yeah! I used to do wrestling and BJJ back in the day! I also did... other kinds of wrestling but you know that."

Ayame was not expecting this. In the one match that she had with Claire, Claire did not demonstrate any skills whatsoever---then again, Claire mostly just lied there passively. Did Claire throw that match?

"Anyways, we should grapple sometime! Next time I see you, okay?" With that, Claire ended the call. Ayame sighed as she put down her phone and began to walk back to the bags. She would process this stuff later, after she finished her training.

[CaptainL]

The conversation wasn't one that Blair was privy to, and she paid it no heed. Even then, she could barely hear what Ayame was saying, even more so due to the fact she was tuning it out. Blair had to be focused. She wanted her blows to land with precision, striking just when the time was right and with the perfect amount of force to achieve her purposes. She couldn't waste her energy; she needed to conserve that for only those moments where it was warranted. And for that, she needed to be paying the utmost attention to her surroundings at all times.

Blair had no time for distractions, and soon, she forgot there was anyone else in the room at all. She raised her knee again, striking it into the bag and sending it flying back. As soon as that foot touched the ground, Blair repeated the process with her other leg. This time, as the bag was thrown back by the force of her blow, Blair would add an extra strike by kicking out with her lower leg, extending her knee so that her foot would slam into the bag.

After that had hit, Blair took a step back, catching her breath. As she did, she looked back at the other woman, once again reminded of her presence in the room. What caught Blair's eye was that she still seemed to be practicing her takedowns - and, she had to admit, it looked like she wasn't too bad at them. She didn't know how well she'd be able to defend herself against such an opponent - a thought that planted another seed in Blair's mind. She looked back at the hanging bag for a moment before glancing again at the redhead. Blair had came here for herself - but then, she was reminded that there were some things you simply couldn't train by yourself. A bag wouldn't try to take you off your feet, after all. If Blair wanted help when it came to takedowns, she'd need to take other measures.

"Not too bad," Blair curtly muttered, walking over closer to the newcomer as she cracked her knuckles. "But you know, there's only so much you can learn from a bag. You ever tried those moves on something with a pulse?"

[Ichi]

As Ayame walked back towards the mats, she could see Blair approaching. It seemed like she wanted something? Ayame heard the slight acknowledgement as Blair walked closer. Blair was right: Ayame's takedowns were decent.

"But you know, there's only so much you can learn from a bag. You ever tried those moves on something with a pulse?"

Of course Ayame had, many times in fact. Taken literally, that question was a little ridiculous: anyone with her level of takedowns would have had to have trained in a gym or wrestled in school. It is only natural that she would have practiced takedowns on a real person. In fact, a number of years back, Ayame had spent a whole day practicing takedowns against her late friend Fumie Kimura to help Fumie prepare for her first MMA fight, which was against a wrestler.

However, Ayame was not unaware of the subtle implication behind Blair's words. It seemed like Blair was asking to train together: makes sense, given that her only MMA loss was due to her being taken down and out-grappled. After that defeat, any sensible fighter would want to work on their takedown defense.

"Yes, I have," replied Ayame in a distant manner. Her reply was said in a very manner-of-fact way, without any rudeness or excitement. After saying that, Ayame would look towards the bag she had been using and begin to walk towards it.

Despite her cold response, Ayame was actually interested in training with Blair---what she was not interested in was potentially becoming close with someone. It's not as if she needed a new training partner: she had plenty of people to train with at the local MMA gym. Nor was Ayame interested in getting to know someone only for that relationship to come to an abrupt end. Ayame's only close relationship had been with Fumie, and that relationship unexpectedly came to an end, courtesy of a drunk truck driver.

Ayame was not interesting in making new friends. At least, that's what she told herself.

[CaptainL]

Something inside Blair tensed up as she faced Ayame. Though part of her was curious, another part of her couldn't believe she was actually going this far. Approaching someone else for help, as though she couldn't do just fine on her own? No, no, she was fine, she told herself - a moment before she shook that thought out of her head. It was exactly as Blair had said. One could only perfect their moves so much when they performed them on a training bag; for the optimal effect, they would need another human being to see how such techniques would land. It wasn't as though Blair was falling back on her. It wasn't a sign of weakness.

That's what she told herself, anyway. And her teeth began to clench as she thought further about just why Ayame's techniques had caught her attention, or why she was reaching out. It was a memory she wasn't keen to recall, but it was the truth.

Blair was a good striker, and a formidable foe as long as she could remain on her feet. But once she was taken down, all bets were off. That was what had led to the end of her undefeated status in MMA, when her opponent had taken her down in a grapple and quickly pressured her into submission. It was a stinging blow to Blair. Her pride had come off just as bruised as her body. She didn't like being reminded of that - and Ayame, she soon realized, had done just that. She was all too aware that if she faced her in the octagon at the skill level the two were at now, she stood a good chance to face similar results.

Blair didn't want to ever end up so weak again. But in order to do that, she would have to improve. To get better. She'd need to become stronger, and she'd need to know how to defend herself against takedowns. Takedowns just like the ones Ayame was pulling off now. Ultimately, she'd need to swallow her pride and extend her hand.

At last, Blair was forced to face with reality - and, when that reality turned out to be Ayame flatly answering her question at the most literal of levels, it caused her to let out a sigh, shrugging her shoulders and crossing her arms. It seemed she was going to have to be a little more blunt about these things.

"...Mhm. Right. I was going to ask if you wanted a spar. To put those moves to the test on a live opponent. What do you say?"

[Ichi]

Well, there it is. While Ayame had tried to duck the obvious, albeit indirect, invitation to spar, she was not going to decline an such an obvious request. In truth, Ayame was at least a little excited to spar against such a high-level opponent, especially one whose striking was so dominant. Actually, in terms of striking, Ayame was pretty sure she would be slightly outmatched against Blair. Moreover, despite many people criticizing Blair's grappling skills, she actually had a decent---or at least passable---grappling game from what Ayame could tell, based on the two fights of Blair's that Ayame had watched. Blair was definitely a worthy sparring partner.

Ayame, while not necessarily a "fan" of Blair, was at least aware of Blair's exploits. While she was in prison, Ayame would occasionally watch the sports channel: over and over again, she heard people talking about how some fighter would finally solve the "puzzle" of Blair Yuen. Before each fight, the MMA commentators predicted Blair's opponent would take Blair down and out-grapple her---most of those predictions were proven wrong. Many opponents had tried to out-grapple Blair only to be met with mixed-success. Eventually, however, Blair did lose but it took an elite grappler with a well-formulated and well-executed gameplan to finally defeat her. Moreover, since Blair was only twenty-three, she must have taken many matches with little rest in-between in order to have gotten to where she had gotten---that sort of pace would not be easy on a fighter.

As Ayame thought about it, her excitement grew. While she was not going to fangirl over Blair, Ayame was definitely looking forward to sparring with Blair. As much as Ayame wanted to say that she was only "mildly excited" about sparring with Blair, Ayame knew that she was actually "moderately excited".

"Alright. I work takedowns, you work takedown defense?" suggested Ayame. "Don't go hard."

Hopefully, Blair was not the kind of person to try and take people's heads off in sparring. Considering that Blair was a former champion, she almost certainly knew how to control herself in sparring---unless she was part of a very shitty gym. Thankfully, those sorts of gyms have been going out of style for a while.

Even though Ayame said not to go hard, that did not mean that Ayame was not going to be aggressive or go easy on Blair. Obviously, Ayame was not going to put power into her strikes---she would throw her strikes to connect, not to injure. Since Blair was a former champion, throwing strikes with heat behind them would be a very bad idea as that might encourage Blair to reciprocate.

Ayame would walk towards the middle of the mat area and hold up her gloved-hand so that the two could touch gloves.

"You ready?"

[CaptainL]

Blair couldn't help but roll her eyes. She felt like a fool, asking something this obvious. A loner at heart, it was a hard pill for Blair to swallow when it came to accepting help from others, and now Ayame had forced her to speak up about it directly, spelling it out so that she had to listen to her own voice speaking the words. It made her groan. Still, she'd have to learn more about defending herself from grappling in some way or another. And this seemed like a worthy option. "Yeah. Sounds good," Blair muttered.

Though Blair had picked up a reasonable command of takedowns and grappling - she had needed to if she wanted to get ahead in MMA and wrestling, after all - she preferred to fall back on her striking whenever possible. As a result, she didn't consider herself a grappler - nor did she consider any other factors that might have played into her first defeat. As far as she was concerned, it was her fault. Stubborn and narrow-minded, Blair had convinced herself that she was the one who needed to be better when it came to grapples, and consequently, that was what she would have to improve if she wanted to fix things. But at least this could do the job.

Blair followed Ayame over to the mats, stepping off to one side and stretching a bit. She rolled her shoulders, working out the kinks and limbering herself up before she dropped into a stance, but she raised her fists nonetheless, at the ready. Then, she stepped closer, meeting Ayame in the middle and touching her knuckles to hers. "Ready as ever. Give it your best shot."