Boiling Point

[BlackAkuma]

Five minutes. Just five more minutes.

Freezer Katakura sat crossed-legged in the middle of the LAW training ring, eagerly looking down at her phone every other minute with a wider-than-usual smile. It wouldn't have seemed all amiss to those who didn’t know her. The white-haired beauty was in good spirits most of the time, anyway. It would’ve been weird to see her as anything but happy in the middle of the ring, where she was most at home. She was a constant figure in the gym, and most other patrons thought little of her presence.

But they wouldn’t notice that there was a little more pep in her step than usual. A more significant bounce in her hips. A few more inches on her ever-present, effervescent smile than usual. The reason was simple, too - she had finally gotten a response from HEAT Mihoko.

It might have seemed silly for her to be gushing over a text message from one woman when her phone was packed with numbers from dozens and dozens of prospective lovers. She collected them like trading cards, piling them up, one-night stands she could have any time the mood suited her. Whatever age she liked, skin color, any kink she could think of—a hundred names for a hundred tastes.

But this one, HEAT Mihoko, was special. It was a hard thing to put into words, but she had enjoyed the connection with the younger wrestler when they fought, a spark of affection that was new to her, and she was eager to explore it. For the first time, perhaps ever, she was content to let a relationship grow by itself, which might not have even gone to a sexual place. She waited and hoped Mihoko would call her back and take her up on the offer for a spar.

When she did, finally, Freezer was ecstatic and scheduled for them to meet right away. Though she had more than a few workout outfits, she purchased a new one for this occasion, a tight one-piece, glacier white with blue trim. It covered more of her body than usual, showing only a sliver of cleavage and leaving her hips and thighs in the dark. She knew this was a big enough step for Mihoko; the last thing she sought to do was make it even worse.

Anxious, she bided her time in the middle of the ring while she waited for her partner to show up, doing a few stretches to pass the time. She felt there wouldn’t be too long of a wait - Mihoko struck her punctual sort.

[Dubski]

Mihoko was, in fact, not the punctual sort. Especially when it came to something like this. She had found herself sitting on the locker room bench, trying to get together her nerves while Freezer Katakura was waiting for her. She had finally reached out to accept her offer to spar, and she was hugging herself as she waited. She wore a red singlet that hugged her body pretty closely, she thought it was comfortable, and she thought that Kokoro might enjoy it too.

Seconds turned to minutes as she uncomfortably tried to get herself to do this. She was nervous to fight in a spar--she usually got so worked up. And Mihoko Tanaka didn't want Katakura to hate her if she got too aggressive. Eventually, she was able to bring herself to do it. It was now or never, and not showing up at all might actually end up worse than anything.

She timidly left the locker room about five minutes after they were supposed to meet up. People walked past Mihoko without paying her any mind, just as though she were invisible. She usually liked that, especially at the gym. It made it easier to work out. Eventually, Tanaka had made her way to the ring steps after spying her sparring partner for the day. Slowly, she walked up them until she got to the apron before stepping into the ring, looking a bit bashful. "...Sorry, I'm here..." she murmured, clearing her throat and folding her hands in front of her, announcing herself to Kokoro. She was unable to hide how nervous she was still though.

Spoiler

[BlackAkuma]

So, Mihoko wasn’t the punctual sort. Oh, well, no one had ever accused Freezer of being a psychic.

She was late, but to be fair, not too late, with only five or so minutes off from the target. It would take far more than that to really irritate Freezer, so she was still all smiles when she finally saw her sparring partner enter the room, dressed in an adorable singlet, no less. As expected, she was still the timid little flower she was when they last met, but it was perfectly understandable. The simple act of inviting Freezer for this had been a significant step all by itself. A good sign that she could make future progress. She just needed a little push.

”So you are.” Freezer kept her smile light and her tone breezy as she popped up to her feet and sauntered over to Mihoko. She started to open her arms, looking for a hug, but she brought them down before she could full extend - maybe a little too intimate, too personal. Baby steps, baby steps.

”It’s a pleasure to see you again, Mihoko-chan.” She settled for a bow, instead. ”You’ve been doing well, I hope?” She tipped her head to the side, getting a better view of the outfit. ”You certainly look well.”

She only made that sound a little lecherous. See? Improvement.

[Dubski]

Mihoko was looking down, feeling rather nervous about being late, and the entire situation and impending sparring match. But when Kokoro was more positive about it, smiling at her, Tanaka was feeling a bit relieved herself. She hadn't already upset Katakura yet, so that was a bit of weight off her shoulders. When Kokoro went for a hug though, Mihoko did look a little nervous, leaning back slightly as she went for it. If pushed, she might give her a hug, but Kokoro thought better of it.

She smiled when Katakura greeted her, asking her how she was. With a small nod and a shy smile, Mihoko answered, "I'm doing okay..." She spoke softly, delicately, as if she didn't want to offend.

But then her brow furrowed, thinking about what she meant by looking well. Mihoko took a moment, glancing down at her outfit, then blushed. She smiled awkwardly at Kokoro and said, "Thank you..." She had moved past the point of assuming the worst of Katakura now, and took her comments at face value.

After another awkward pause, Mihoko would speak up and say, "I think... you look nice too." She waited for another moment, as if wanting to move past the compliment immediately. She didn't want to dwell on that discomfort. "What... did you want to do exactly?" asked Tanaka, glancing around at the rest of the gym.

[BlackAkuma]

Freezer hadn't given the compliment to flatter Mihoko - well, not just to flatter her. It was true, she did look lovely in that outfit. While the woman wasn’t exactly a supermodel, she did have a fit, athletic body, the kind that most women could only dream of achieving, and her performance in their match showed what she was capable of. She had every right to be proud of the way she looked.

She had a pleasant hum when Mihoko returned the gesture and spun about on her heel, giving her the full view of the outfit. ”If you say so, Mihoko-chan. I think it hides my figure too much, but I’m doing the best I can with it. I do love showing off my skin, you could probably guess.”

She hopped on her heels, giving her breasts a little bounce, before she settled back down to answer Mihoko’s rather pertinent question. ”I was just thinking we could have a simple spar, nothing fancy. A way to target and improve trouble areas.”

She stepped back and gave Mihoko some space as she arched her back and stretched out. ”My match with you showed that I must work on dealing with high-flyers and faster opponents. Aside from my…well, you know…” She puckered her lips and winked, then went right back to her serious tone. ”Aside from that, I’m a rather orthodox wrestler, at the end of the day. I have good fundamentals, but those wild moves you do? That’s something I’ve never learned how to do. I pretty much just have one move that comes close, and it’s just a German Suplex off the top rope.”

She straightened up and rolled her shoulders and her neck, getting out a few cracks. ”As for you, I have my opinions. But I’m curious - what do you think you could stand to improve? What do you have the most trouble with?”

[Dubski]

Mihoko Tanaka listened to Freezer, eyes darting down as she thought about it all. She was making a lot of sense. Or, at least, she wasn't bold enough to disagree or consider maybe she wasn't right. She stayed in her mind, thinking on it. She was ready to take Katakura's lead, but she had posed the question to Mihoko, jarring her from her mind. "Wha?" asked Tanaka bluntly.

"Oh, um... I'm not sure what I could improve... I guess," said Mihoko, fiddling with her hands in front of her, thinking on that more. "...Um, I guess just... learning when to slow down. Or... deal with those... Um, certain moves and attempts on me you made. And... I guess... just..." She shrugged, not really sure. Tanaka wasn't really confident in any of her abilities right now, as she was still trying to find a win. But she figured any proper sparring could only help at this point.

[BlackAkuma]

Freezer suspected that she would get an answer like that. Decision-making didn’t seem to be one of Mihoko’s skills, stemming from the lack of confidence she seemed to have whenever she was…well, like this. Putting up with those losses seemed to do a number on her, but that was part of why they were here. If Freezer could take some of that edge off, make her loosen up by a degree or two, she’d consider this all a success.

”I think I know what you mean. More or less.” She nodded and stepped back, making her way to the center of the ring for one final stretch. She stretched her arms out high, thrust her hips backward and chest forward, working out the spine, straightened up, and dropped into her grappling stance.

”We can work on those ‘certain moves’ later. For now, we can figure it out on the fly.” She wiggled her fingers about. ”Just come at me, at whatever speed you’re comfortable with.”

[Dubski]

Mihoko furrowed her brow as Katakura told her to make the first move. Awkwardly, Tanaka stood there before eventually getting into a more wrestling-ready pose."Okay... I'll try..." said Mihoko, taking a deep breath as she looked at Kokoro nervously. In wrestling matches, and even sparring matches, she usually had time to psyche herself up and get into the mindset she needed. But now, she was having trouble getting there. She worried about hurting her new friend, or going too aggressive with it. So she remained a nervous wreck, letting out a shudder as she slowly approached Katakura, raising her arms up to grapple.

A collar and elbow is what Mihoko would go for--a simple move to get things started. But a move that Tanaka barely had the will to put a ton of force behind, or aggression, or anything other than an uncomfortable grasp on her sparring partner. Because Kokoro was currently sparring with Mihoko Tanaka. She wasn't sparring with HEAT Mihoko quite yet, and there was nothing red hot about Mihoko right now.

[BlackAkuma]

As lusty as Freezer could be, she wasn’t blind to the world around her, and she was acutely aware that the woman before her wasn’t quite as energetic as the one who had waylaid her in the ring - not yet, anyway. Part of this was about helping Mihoko bridge that gap, and if she could make some significant steps in that direction, she would consider this a success. No small task, she knew, but she wouldn’t have given out her number and suggested this in the first place if she thought it was impossible.

Life was full of challenges. She never shied away from them. ”That’s all I ask.”

The two moved in for the collar-and-elbow, and Freezer could immediately feel the difference. She was the stronger one between them, but even so, Mihoko wasn’t coming with the same energy that she usually employed. But that was okay - even the most well-oiled machine needed some time and energy to heat up.

Freezer didn't apply her full strength at first. She took one step forward. Two steps. Three. Putting more and more power into the embrace with every step, daring Mihoko to amp things up or be forced against the turnbuckle.

[Dubski]

Mihoko was engaged in the collar-and-elbow, not quite pushing back against Katakura very much. She let out a grunt as she was being slowly pushed back. Biting her lip briefly, Tanaka pushed back just a little bit more against her sparring partner... but she was still pushed back even more. And then in time, she was being pushed entirely against the turnbuckle, unable to push back at Kokoro.

With a grunt of pain, Mihoko broke the tie up and instead turned to her side, shielding her head and body from a follow up, seeming too timid to do anything else! She was anticipating an attack or a strike, and she wasn't about to make a move to intercept it. She didn't seem to have any of the boldness she shared in regular matches. Mihoko Tanaka was just trying not to allow herself to be smashed right now, and she hoped that Katakura wouldn't strike too hard for her.