The Duel (For Teenwrestler)

[Underdoggo]

Kyo was doubled over now, breathing hard after having taken a hard jab from his opponent's bokken right into the midsection. There was a reason why kendoka usually wore so much padding and face protection: a wooden sword carved from hardened, lacquered oak could do a lot of damage if swung carelessly at an unprotected body. It was why in spars, kendoka usually still wore padding, or at the very least exercised extreme caution. Given that Homura had not given Kyo the time to armour up, and that the two had been dueling without any protection, Kyo had figured at least that the civil thing to do would be to reign in his blows.

Homura, apparently, had no such restraints, and demonstrated how dangerous a carelessly-wielded bokken could be as she rammed it into Kyo's stomach. For a few seconds, Kyo was doubled over, his breathing laboured. Instinctively, he scrabbled for his own bokken-- and then felt pain explode across his back as Homura slammed her bokken down across his spine once. Twice. Three times, each blow sending a fresh spike of electric agony jolting up and down his back.

He collapsed onto his front, barely able to move, his entire back numb from the repeated impacts. He was dimly aware of shouting in the background as some of the other attendants of the gym rushed for the door, some calling on others to get security in here. "Nnnnghh..." he groaned, trying to hold onto his bokken. Homura almost contemptuously kicked it away, and then, almost as an afterthought, kicked him hard in the rubs.

"UUUAGH!" The blow sent him rolling onto his back, wheezing as he hugged his hurting ribs. Homura was towering over him now, one foot pressed down on his chest and her bokken at his throat. A cruel smile was on her lips as she challenged him to a wrestling match.

Of course. He should have known this wasn't simply about kendo: Homura had to be another LAW competitor.

"Why?" he wheezed, feeling rage build in him despite his battered state. "So you...can cheat...in the ring as well?" He tried to lean up a little-- difficult with his back feeling fused in place, and Homura's bokken pressing against his throat. "You talk...about me being underserving...of knowing nothing about hard work or struggle...but you have no honour or decency. No respect for rules...or...fairness! Someone like you is fit neither for the dojo nor the ring!"

[Teenwrestler]

Given how hard and stiff her strikes were, the bluenette almost expected Kyo to understand that she would hold nothing back even though they were not wearing any protective gear. However, perhaps she expected too much from the noble Japanese man who had a reputation of always wrestling clean and fair. Homura, however, had no such limitations. She would do what she thought was fair and take victory in the most brutal way possible. To her, this was not about cheating or using nefarious ways to win a match but it was about hurting her opponent and sending them a message.

Given how Kyo was struggling to get back up, moaning in pain and favouring his ribcage while the others looked on, it was clear the message was indeed being sent with full force. Homura continued her dominance, eventually forcing him down on his back with her foot against his chest while she leaned forward. She issued the challenge, it was not enough defeating him in the dojo but now it was time to prove to him and to the fans of LAW, that she was now going to climb to the top by defeating these so-called household names.

Homura chuckled a bit before putting her foot off his chest and backing up, pressing her bokken against the floor while both of her hands clasped the top of the base tightly. "Honour, decency, hard work....these words do not sit well coming out of your mouth, Akamatsu. I have my reasons on issuing this challenge. You can choose to accept it or prove to the whole world what I already know- that you are a coward. An undeserving pathetic wrestler who would be nothing without that last name." she said while increasingly getting more pissed off.

"Now then....do you accept my challenge? or do I need to go to your sister and have her defend the honour of your family instead?" she mocked.

[Underdoggo]

Kyo felt Homura's foot release from his chest, just as the tip of her bokken slid away from his throat. With a little relief, Kyo allowed himself to catch his breath. His back was a searing mass of pain right now, and he was almost equally sore where Homure had struck him in the chest and ribs. If his back hadn't been hurting so much, he might have taken his chances and tried to rise, tried to grab for Homura's bokken, fight back somehow; it was abundantly clear that Homura had no interest in playing fair, and had no compunctions about battering Kyo further if she so desired.

Even as Homura towered over him, he was tempted to refuse her challenge. Homura had not bested him, she had blindsided him in a cowardly attack: he had no doubt that she would employ similar tactics in the ring. The one thing that immediately changed his mind, however, was when Homura brought up his sister.

He immediately tried to sit up. "How dare you--" he began, before a sharp pain in his back sent him collapsing onto his back again, his breath devolving once again into sharp gasps. He clutched his hurting back, cursing the pain, cursing his inability to move, cursing this cowardly, honourless woman who was threatening to beat up his sister the way she had beat up him.

"Aright," he growled. "I accept your challenge, Homura. For this cowardly attack on me, and for your insults towards my family, I will all to gladly teach you a lesson in the ring!"

[Teenwrestler]

The bluenette knew how to really push his buttons if she wanted to. She knew that her sister was a touchy subject but in reality she had a lot more left that she could have said. His rivalry with Valley being one of them. How Valley was given the chance to be put straight to the top as two wrestling legacies were pitted against each other to create this grand spectacle. It was despicable in the eyes of Homura. She chuckled at the sight of him struggling to even get back up to his feet. While initially the male seemed to deny her challenge, the mere suggestion of taking the challenge to his sister appeared to change his mind.

Smirking in a devious manner, Homura would then let go of her bokken to let it drop on the floor. She had got what she came for. Now, it was time to really test her wrestling ability against one of the best around. By defeating Kyo and putting him down in the dust, she could cement her own wrestling legacy in LAW.

"Good....." she simply said, before turning around and leaving him. She had much to prepare for.

[Underdoggo]

Homura didn't do anything further to add salt into Kyo's wounds. No snide comments about his family, no denunciations of him as being unworthy of his success, no cruel jabs about him being pathetic as a fighter. Just a soft smirk, and a simple statement of "Good." And just like that, Homura dropped her bokken, turned and left, her blue hair swishing elegantly behind her as she exited the dojo, leaving Kyo lying in her wake like something she hard discarded.

Something about the casual dismissiveness of her exit just made Kyo all the more angry.

With a rasp, he tried to push himself up into a sitting position. His back still hurt, and his ribs and midsection ached as well. Some of the other students of the dojo, seeing that the conflict had ended, chose that moment to rush into the dojo and help Kyo up, many of them assuring them that security had been called and was on the way...as though that did any good now. All the same, Kyo gingerly accepted their help as he allowed himself to be propped back up to his feet.

He still had no idea who this Homura person was, but one thing was clear: she had it in for all the legacy families fighting in LAW, his own included. And given her heelish attitude, she was taking an especial pleasure in crushing them. He reflexively clenched his fist. He hated heels, and doubly hated anyone who hid their cowardice behind a veil of self-righteousness, as Homura had. Not for the first time, it looked like he would be defending his family's honour in the ring.

And the next time he faced Homura, he would be more than ready for her...