A 100% Platonic, Non-Romantic Training Session

[BlackAkuma]

Yup, that was three.

As off-put as she was by Kyo’s sudden appearance, Valerie was happy to have gotten the win on Makie, even if there was an asterisk next to it. She’d proved to be exactly the sort of sparring partner she needed - smart, adaptable, but not too serious. Valerie had a history of getting carried away with these things and acting like they were real matches. Still, the playful nature of the younger Akamatsu was enough to keep her in a light spirit, and she felt like she’d learned some things she could apply the next time she took on a high-flyer.

With the match officially over, Valerie promptly grabbed the ropes and used them to stand up, wiping the sweat from her forehead as she went. She reached down and helped Makie up, as well, giving her a solemn bow once they were both standing tall. ”Thanks for that, Makie-chan. It was an honor, and I hope we can have an actual match sometime.” She smiled, then turned her attention back to Kyo, who was…was he blushing?

Valerie shifted to the side, trying to pull her shirt up a bit on the sly to cover more of her chest, not wanting to look like she was trying to put her chest on display or anything. She’d gotten used to people, mostly guys, staring at it, but it was a little different with Kyo. ”I, uh…yes, I’ll take a little break. Just let me cool off, then we can go.” She slipped through the ropes, jumped to the floor and made her way over to the water fountain, nabbing a spare towel along the way.

[Underdoggo]

Annoyed as Makie was at her loss, she was going to be the first to admit that she had enjoyed that training session. Valerie had been a great person to spar against, and this was further reinforced when the bigger girl extended a hand down to help her up– a hand that Makie graciously accepted. “Heh, same,” Makie replied with a grin, “though don’t expect to have it quite as easy if we do!”

Backing away to grab a bottle of water, Makie paused, noticing that Kyo had been staring a bit at Valerie, and had been more than a little red-faced. Kyo seemed to realize what he was doing at that point, and abruptly looked away as Valerie went to grab a towel. By then, though, it was too late. A mischievous smile lit Makie’s lips when the realization sank in.

Oh, this was going to be an interesting spar to watch…

[BlackAkuma]

Was her hair good? It had gotten a little tussled up sparring with Makie, Valerie wanted to make sure it was stil presentable. So it didn’t get in her face, of course?

What about her smell? She took a quick sniff of the pits, not too bad. The last thing she wanted to was to get stink all over him.

What about the sweat? She wiped herself well, got nice and clean, then rehydrated with a water bottle.

Valerie hurriedly made sure everything was kosher and that she was as fresh as she could reasonably be expected to be for him. After all, he was the main reason she was there in the first place, to spar with him, and she didn’t want to disappoint. She did as much as she could to freshen up and reset on short notice, then slid her way back into the ring under the bottom rope and popped to her feet, quick and clean.

”Okay, okay, I’m ready.” She bounced on her heels and looked back to Makie. ”Hey, would you mind being the referee?”

[Underdoggo]

Kyo, for his part, wasn't fretting quite as much before his spar with Valerie-- he had already done that before he had even set foot out the door. In retrospect, that had felt silly; he was about to get involved in a heavy, intense tussle in a gym. What did he care if his hair was meticulously combed, or if he was wearing nice cologne? These were questions he had asked himself only after meticulously grooming and freshening up. Idiot, Kyo, this is just a spar, he told himself. Sometimes, he realized, he sounded a lot like his mom when he scolded himself.

As Valerie started prepping for the spar, Kyo did the same, slowly sliding off his t-shirt to reveal his fit upper body. He slowly removed and bundled away his pants as well, leaving himself clad in a simple pair of form-fitting black gym shorts. He did a quick stretch as he limbered up for the spar. rotating his shoulders. With all of that done, he rolled into the ring and hopped lightly on his feet.

Hmm...maybe it was just him, but Valerie's gym wear made her fit body seem more, not less powerful...

Makie, meanwhile, eagerly hopped to her feet as Valerie asked her to ref this match. "Gladly!" she exclaimed, sliding into the ring. Given the way Kyo and Valley had been quietly sneaking glances at one another, she wasn't going to miss this for the world. Hiding a mischievous smile, she moved over to the center of the ring. "You two ready?"

"Yeah, I am," Kyo breathed. The fact that he had lost his first official match against Valley made him all the more eager for this spar...partly because he already knew she was a great opponent, and partly because he really wanted to balance the books between them, even if it was just an unofficial spar...

Makie simply nodded. "Same rules as last time? No strikes, just straight up grappling and holds. Is that okay with either of you?" Makie was sure Kyo wasn't going to object to a chance to roll around on the mat for a bit with the tall blonde Californian...

[BlackAkuma]

Left, right, left, right, left, right.

Valerie bounced from foot to foot and shook her arms about, getting nice and loose, warming up as she readied herself to take on Kyo again. She wanted to make sure she was in the best shape possible. While Makie had been far from a pushover, their little sparring match hadn't tested her too much. Nothing broken, bruised, no pain she would need to push through, no suffering to endure. She would be able to give Kyo the challenge he was angling for. She could do this.

”No strikes is fine for me.” She nodded about as her ponytail swung behind her, keeping in perfect time like a clock ticking. Kyo’s technical side was what she was most interested in, giving her a better challenge on that front than she’d expected and proving she still had plenty to learn. ”Ready.”

With that, the silent bell rang and the sparring match started, with Valerie eagerly moving forward. She came at Kyo with a few strong steps, almost as if she were going to charge him, only to back off at the last second and move back - just testing, assessing, seeing how well she could get him to bite. Once the coast was clear, she’d move in for real with arms up, looking to pull him into a collar-and-elbow tie up to see what she had for him.

[Underdoggo]

With the unspoken bell sounding, Kyo and Valley both got moving. Valley began to circle Kyo, eyeing him intently, and Kyo mirrored the move. For a brief moment, Kyo's eyes met Valley's, his attention to her limbs momentarily diverted...

She sprang forwards. Instinct told Kyo to stand his ground, and he was proven right when it turned out to just be a feint. The two circles again: Kyo knew that next time, it would most likely not be a feint.

A part of him was very well aware that he was fighting in Valley's area of expertise, that he was engaging in an amateur-style spar against someone with a height and weight advantage, however slight. He chose to ignore all of these warnings as he continued to watch Valley...

And then Valley was rushing forward. Kyo rushed to meet her, and the two practically slammed together, arms interlocking as the two pushed, and twisted in an intense grapple.

Moving quickly, Kyo tried to use Valley's onrushing momentum against her. Twisting around, he tried to snag an arm around her blonde head before arching his body, aiming to slam her down to the mat in a judo toss and trap her in a grounded headlock!

[BlackAkuma]

Valerie couldn't help but smile as her feint failed, as she suspected it would. Kyo was far too bright of an opponent to let that sort of thing get past him, which was why she was so eager to have him as a sparring partner in the first place. As confident as she was in her grappling skills, there was always room for improvement, things she needed to work on. No offense to Maki, but she likely saw such things taking on a high-flyer. She needed someone with a technical edge.

He kept that sharpness when she finally did decide to move in for real, ready to take him head on, already preparing a proper answer. Most would’ve just let her tie up and get pushed back, futilely trying to take her head on, but his was more canny in response - instead, he caught her arm and used her momentum against her, bringing her to the mat with a slick counter and dropping her flat on her back. He secured her head before she could get away, and just like that, she found herself squirming underneath him. Well done.

Valerie grunted her approval and then went about trying to escape. First, she got her shoulders off the mat, which she did by planting her feet on the mat and bridging up. Next step was her escape attempt: She curled up, opened her legs, and tried to snag Kyo’s skull with a tight headscissors, looking to pull him off and turn the tables.

[Underdoggo]

And just like that, Kyo had the upper hand. Using her own momentum against her, the two pitched sideways, with Valley practically slamming down onto her side underneath Kyo, her head neatly tucked under his armpit. A part of him couldn't help but feel a thrill at these first few seconds: he was fighting Valley in standard grappling, something she had practically built her whole fighting style on, and he already had the upper hand.

He would not have the upper hand for long. Just as soon as he began to squeeze Valley' s head underneath him, he felt her legs suddenly snap around his head. Smart: exactly what he would have done. He was quickly pulled down to the mat, his skull now being squeezed between those powerful legs of Valley's. For a brief moment, he felt like his head was being crushed like a walnut.

Gritting his teeth, he rolled up onto his knees, pressing both palms down against Valley's knees as he tried to wrench his head free. If he managed that, then he would continue to press his palms down on her knees, hopefully giving himself enough time to press his own knees down against them...all before dropping down against Valley, trying to ensnare her arms under his and press her shoulders to the mat in a pinfall.

If he failed to get his head free, though, then he would roll, trying to rotate the two of them again and again, aiming to get in range of the ropes...

[BlackAkuma]

Hm. Valerie liked having Kyo between her legs.

She winced as that thought slipped into her head without permission, but she’d be lying if she said it wasn’t at least partly true. As much as she liked wrestling Kyo, she enjoyed getting the better of him even more, mainly because it always felt like an accomplishment, even if it was only for a short while. She gave him a good grind, not hard enough to do real damage, but enough to keep him under control.

At least, she thought it was enough, but she was proven wrong the next moment, as he maneuvered around and found a better position. She wasn’t sure what he was going for at first, but it all was made clear when he popped free and pounced on her, clearly going for a pin. She wasn’t in a good position to move away, but that didn’t mean she was out of options.

Valerie posted up on feet, arched her back, and planted her head against the mat to do a tripod, turning her body into a perfect arch. It was typically something she did for exercise, but it served as a way to keep her shoulders off the mat, even when Kyo came down on top of her. She held him up on her hips, supporting his weight, her core muscles doing most of the work. Not easy, but effective, and it put the onus on him for the next move.

[Underdoggo]

With a sharp gasp of air, Kyo finally managed to yank his head free from between Valley's thighs. Not wasting any time, he made use of this position as best as he could-- by pinning Karen's knees down with his own before pressing his upper body against hers, grabbing for her arms as his shoulders pressed down against hers. This close, their foreheads pushed against one another, Valley's eyes meeting his as Kyo tried to pin her down.

Someone of Valley's level of experience, however, wasn't going so easily, and the Californian was quick to demonstrate her skill and her sheer power as she suddenly arched upwards, lifting her lower body off the mat against Kyo's. For a moment, their bodies were distractingly pressed close against each other...and then gravity kicked in. Kyo, with a gasp of alarm, went tumbling forwards, rolling off of Valley and thudding back-first against the mat, forced into an impossible descent by the sloping incline of her powerful body.

Scrabbling, Kyo tried to roll over onto his front, not wanting to be caught flat-footed by Valley. Unless she attacked him first, or managed to counter, he would try to slide an arm around her head while she was arched back, clamping it under his armpit in a modified dragon sleeper...though their positioning would end up inadvertently pressing the side of Kyo's head against Valley's chest...