Forging a Secret Weapon

[CaptainL]

Mina nodded her head to Clara, but the whole time, she maintained a grave expression trained on her. For a moment, she felt the slightest hint of remorse tug at her in the very back of her mind. Clara, she realized, was the only person she had met who seemed genuinely interested in connecting with her on a deeper, more personal level - in being her friend. And here, she was prepared to lay into her with a rapid barrage of offense that was sure to leave her bruised and battered, if not injured more gravely. But Clara could take it, she reminded herself. She had gone the distance against Mina in their match. She was tougher than she looked. And she needed to make sure she could live up to the demands her mother was going to put on her - Mina knew firsthand how high her standards were. Still, she bit at her tongue. This didn't seem right.

...Wait, what was she thinking, she asked herself? It wasn't like her to be this soft! She huffed, raising her fists. Clara had asked for this, and Mina was going to give it to her.

Without another word, Mina whipped herself into action. She fired off punch after punch at Clara's face, striking her right and left. She had to see how well Clara could keep up with her speed, and adapt to strikes from all angles!

[FreshBritishSalmon]

Clara could sense the doubt in Mina's mind, and the hesitation that the girl had before starting was clear that her mind was not 100% set on her own plan. But Clara was 100% committed to it and, as promised, stood there with her hands behind her back, ready to act as a punching bag.

And so it was, as a few seconds later, a barrage of barefisted strikes came hurtling towards her money-maker, and the challenfe was set. All she had to do was take it for as long as she could. Every blow hurt, that she knew, but she knew she had to be tebacious, and take every hit as well as she could.

[CaptainL]

Mina bit at her lip as she thought about what she was doing. This sounded completely insane. What sort of training regimen had you just stand there and take punches? Most martial arts instructors would tell you the most important part of a fight was not getting hit. But she had seen it, in their match, that Clara's biggest flaw was that she lacked endurance. She had the spirit to keep up the fight, sure, but that wouldn't do her any good if she tired out before the halfway mark. She needed to get more used to taking punches. If she didn't, she would only come up short when Cynara weighed her against the rest of the Morgan Dynasty...and Cynara hissed through her teeth at that thought. Clara had already been thrown away and overlooked by too many people. She didn't need that from the woman who had decided to take her in, too.

As she kept punch after punch coming, bouncing off Clara from every angle, Mina squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn't hold back. She couldn't be afraid of hurting Clara, even if she was the closet thing she'd ever had to a friend. If she didn't learn this lesson, she'd never survive - hadn't her mother gotten that across to her, too? And yet, she could still feel a shudder run down her spine, and the slightest hint of a tear began to bud at the corner of her eye...

But none of that could matter - and Mina wouldn't let it matter! Roaring out a battle cry, she would whip her fist into the air, attempting to land an uppercut squarely across Clara's chin to finish off the barrage!

[FreshBritishSalmon]

Clara kept doing the only thing she should do in this situation, which was endure. Each strike felt like someone had thrown a brick at her, and she would no doubt have a few bruises come the morning. But for the sake of her training, she had to endure, and endure she did. Nary a whisper came from her mouth as Mina kept on using her as a punching bag, with the blonde battling her own battle inside her. The barrage soon came to an end in emphatic fashion when Mina let out an almost primordial battlecry, before launching an uppercut which landed right into Clara's jaw. Her head moves upward suddenly from the impact, but Clara endured well, only letting out a grunt at that very strike.

Once this was over, and Clara could see that no more strikes were incoming, she pulled her hands from behind her back and gave her body an all too brief shake, before giving Mina a smile and a nod. "Hah, that was some beating" She complimented her new found friend

[CaptainL]

Many people would think twice about being turned into a human punching bag, but in this moment, Clara trusted Mina completely. The blonde had made it clear to her she wanted nothing more than to help her succeed, and to see to it that she lived up to her mother's exacting standards. Now she was going to help sharpen Clara's endurance, even if it was in the way only she knew how - namely, subjecting Clara to a relentless barrage of offense. Her fists cut through the air with incredible force, flying from every angle and at every direction, and they came faster and faster. Some of Mina's opponents would easily have crumbled against such an onslaught...but Clara was staying steady. She too wanted to succeed, and she was going to do her part to hold firm!

At last, Mina stopped and caught her breath. She had worked herself up striking so hard and so fast, and she needed to collect herself, shaking out the soreness left in her weary muscles. But when she looked up, and saw that Clara was still standing, she smiled. Clara had weathered it all, even if she was bruised and battered and her stance was sagging. If she could stand up against Mina like this, then she clearly had the sort of stamina in her that she would need to thrive. She had a future after all.

In between pants, Mina stepped up to put her hand on Clara's shoulder. "All right. I think that does it for now. I think you've earned a break at this point...but you've done good." She nodded her head to Clara, smiling a little wider. "If you managed to take all that and stay standing, you've definitely got the start of something good in you. C'mon, let's go."

As Mina turned to head out, however, another thought came to her. Something had piqued her curiosity - and although she knew that it wasn't exactly what her mother was looking for out of Mina, it was something that had stuck in her head, and she couldn't get it off her mind. After a pause, she glanced back at the white-haired girl out of the corner of her eye. "By the way," she said, "I have to ask...you know anything about hentai wrestling?"

[FreshBritishSalmon]

Clara had certainly managed to get Mina to work up quite the sweat, as the blonde panted as if she had just run an entire marathon. She looked at her as she caught her breath, using that time to assess her body for any bruising or other worries. Thankfully for now, the bruising was minimal, and the pain, though it was there, was little more than an inconvenience that would wear off after a days rest.

What Mina said pleased her, she rarely had been praised for anything, so to hear her friend praise her for her tenacity was a high point of the day, and she smiled warmly at it. She then proceeded to follow Mina out of the room, before the blonde abruptly stopped, and asked her a thing that blindsided the white haired girl.

Clara had indeed heard and experienced hentai wrestling before meeting the Morgans, so this was a bit of a shock to the system when Mina, someone who Clara thought would even entertain such a suggestion, came out and mentioned it without any such notion. "I mean, I have participated in it before, yes. I suppose you could say I know things, though I am no prodigy on the matter" Clara admitted, before tilting her head and giving Mina a question of her own. "Why do you ask? Are you interested or something?" Clara saud, showing an unmistakable blush, thinking that she may end up competing against Mina in something a lot more erotic.

[CaptainL]

As soon as Mina heard Clara's reply, she stopped right in her tracks. Her arms pulled against her sides as she hugged them closer, and she could feel her face flush hot as a deep blush rose in her cheeks. She couldn't believe she was actually saying this - her, talking about hentai wrestling? She came from an upper-class, well-respected family; surely she was better than that. And yet...now the cat was out of the bag. She wasn't going to be able to talk her way out of this.

"...You've just...got more experience than me, is all," Mina muttered, not even making eye contact with Clara. To do that would be to admit she was actually discussing this in earnest, and she didn't want to admit that even to herself. "So if I'm going to teach you something here, it's only fair you do the same. I wouldn't exactly say I'm interested, but I am curious..."

Mina tugged at her collar, blushing even harder. After reviewing some of Clara's matches, her appetite was whet, and the thought of going up against the white-haired girl in sexual competition made her heart beat a little bit faster. But she knew it wasn't right. Surely that was beneath her - and besides, she had gotten used to seeing Clara as something of a sister, so wouldn't it be weird? Yet, nothing she told herself would convince her the interest wasn't there...

"If you aren't up for it, you don't have to, I mean..."

[FreshBritishSalmon]

Clara watched as Mina's demeanor went much more receptive in such a short period of time. She knew that they could be headed into dangerous waters here, but yet, Mina was the one who initiated it, so she must have at least a little bit of interest in it. Or at least, that's what the white haired girl told herself as she pondered a good response to this situation. What she said about the two teaching each other something did make sense, and she did owe Mina a big favour after getting her persistent mother off their back. she took a long deep breath and looked into Mina's eyes, before smiling.

"I know, and if you want to expand your horizons, I am sure I can help you in some way. I am by no means a prodigy, but I would be happy to help you along. You scratched my back, so I will scratch yours." Clara agreed. "I am willing to explore your curiousity as much as you wish" she added.

She noticed Mina's blush go to shades of red that nearly broke the colour wheel as the blonde recalled some of Clara's prior matches. She started to think about going into sexual combat with Mina and, seeing as she saw her as a big sister, she had some doubts, but since they weren't legally blood related or anything, it was fine for them to do it, if a bit strange.

"I am happy to do it if you are. and if you want to watch me in one of my matches, i will give you a message if you want to attend. Though you may want to tell your mother about it, and don't mention me. Just say your interest has been piqued lately and you want to expand your repertoire." she suggested with a smile.