“And one and two and one and two and one and two,” Yuki grunted. His voice was low as his fists flashed forward in a jab and a punch. “And one and two and one and two.”
With every repetition, the fist that would jab would alternate, striking out like a snake, before the other fist followed it and smashed into the sandbag. It was a new one. Yuki found one that was reinforced.
As his fist flashed out, he bounced on his feet, switching them every other repetition. Music blared around him, filling him with energy. His body followed the rhythm of the beat, his every strike in ti. His mind was blank as he dedicated everything to his current task.
Soti later he felt the gaze of soone on him. He stopped and shook his hands as he faced them.
“Is it lunch already?” he asked Akira who was off to the side of the training floor. He tapped his earbuds, pausing the music.
“No,” Akira replied with a smile. “Almost though. I just wanted to watch you, that’s all. Doing basics still?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “I need to start from the beginning. My foundation isn’t stable right now, so I need to fix that.”
“Mmm, I see. I can help today again if you would like?” Akira offered. “We still have so ti before we need to go.”
“Sure. Just spot
and tell
when I make a mistake,” he said. “I’m going to be doing so leg work now.”
Akira stepped onto the mat, taking her shoes off before she did so. Then she walked up to where the body bag was hovering in front of Yuki. Walking around a bit, she inspected it before giving it a satisfied nod.
“That thing looks expensive,” she comnted.
“Really? I would hope so, because it is,” Yuki replied. He took up his stance again, the image of it flashing in his mind. “Here we go.”
He did a kick, carefully controlling his every movent. Then he did another. Then another. Slowly, he began raising the speed at which he striked. Akira speak up at tis when a kick was up to form. He would correct it imdiately. After he finished one rep, he switched legs. Then again. And again.
After that, he changed the kick, switching to a side kick. He multiple repetitions of those as well with the attack aid at various points of the sandbag that represented various parts of the body. Then he switched to a different kick after that.
The entire ti, Akira kept a careful eye out, making sure that Yuki did every attack perfectly. If she caught a problem of any sort, she made a comnt and Yuki would repeat the rep. When he was finished, the ti for lunch had co.
“Thanks,” Yuki said to Akira as she put the sandbag away. She smiled and waved his thanks off.
“No need,” she replied. “It’s ti to go. Do you need to shower before we leave?”
“A quick one for now,” he nodded. He grabbed a towel that he had nearby and wiped the sweat that poured out from him dripping onto the floor. He glanced down. “I need to clean this place up later.”
“I can do that if you want
to,” Akira said.
“It’s fine. It’s my ss so I’ll clean it. No worries.”
“Mmm.”
Yuki put the towel around his neck and went to a sideroom where he had showers put in. Akira followed him.
“You’ve been training a lot lately,” Akira said lightly. “How has it been going?”
“I’m not sure,” Yuki shrugged with a small chuckle. “I don’t know if there will be a day where everything snaps into place, but until then, I’ll keep training until I’ve felt like I’ve mastered the basics.”
“You don’t think you did?”
“No. The images I see and the motions I actually do are too different,” he explained. “And while before I was okay with good enough, I’ve realised that I can’t do that anymore.”
“I see.” Akira quieted for a mont as Yuki stepped into a shower and closed the curtain. He took his clothes off before turning on the water as she spoke again. “You know, you have .”
“What do you an?” he asked, turning his face to the showerhead and closing his eyes as the warm water washed over him.
“I know that the fight was a shock,” she said carefully. “But we’re a team aren’t we?”
Yuki sighed and pressed his forehead on the wall.
“I just, you know. I just want you to know that you’re not alone,” Akira continued. Her words were harder to hear now over the sound of the water. “You working so hard makes
worried…”
He pressed his eyes tighter. He knew what Akira ant. He had thought of the exact sa thing. But he just couldn’t think of another way that he could improve his skills. Unless.
“Akira,” he said quietly with both his mouth and mind. “I understand.”
She quieted. She didn’t need to say anything. Yuki could feel what she wanted to say. The shower curtain slid open and Yuki grabbed Akira, pulling her to him gently. She didn’t resist and instead wrapped her arms around him as she rested her head on his chest.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’ve been distracted lately.”
“I know,” Akira whispered back, her head still buried in his chest.
“We are a team,” he said. He blinked as he felt Akira’s warmth fill him. “And you’re right.”
She looked up. Yuki pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes as she shut her own. A flood of emotions rushed through his mind. Fear. Loneliness. Worry. Warmth. Everything Akira felt.
“I didn’t an to make you feel lonely,” he whispered. He swallowed slowly. “I won’t ever abandon you. Don’t be afraid.”
“I can’t help it,” Akira replied, her voice barely audible.
“Aki.” He lifted up her chin and stared right into her eyes. “Look.”
He tilted his head toward his right arm where a black tattoo wrapped around it. The circular seal was still there, but the beast inside it had spread out. The chimaera in it curled gracefully around.
“It got bigger too,” Akira comnted mindlessly.
“Hopefully there’s a maximum size, or else I won’t be able to cover it that well,” he said with a small smile. “But that’s not important. This represents sothing that no one else has except us. It links us together.”
Akira’s hand went to her own shoulder. The illusion over it lted off to reveal the tattoo underneath it. The exact sa one Yuki had on his own arm.
“It’s a part of . And a part of you,” he said. “Abandoning you would be the sa as ripping apart myself.”
“The sa for ,” Akira whispered.
“You want to know what I think about this mark?” Yuki asked. Akira nodded. “It’s a representation of our bond, not just a mark that symbolises it. The stronger our bond grows, the larger it grows.”
Akira said nothing but leaned her head back into his chest.
“We are a team,” he repeated. “But our individual strength is important as well. What if one day, we can’t be by each other’s side? What if we have to defend ourselves by ourselves?”
“I’ll make sure that never happens,” Akira replied, a growl in her voice.
“I will too. But we can’t stop everything,” he said gently. “We have train ourselves as well.”
“But—”
“I don’t an that you need to leave
alone,” he said. Akira quieted. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be doing this by myself.”
Akira looked up.
“I have you here,” he continued, looking her right in the eyes. She stared back. “There’s no reason why I should be doing this all alone.”
“That’s what I was saying,” Akira smiled.
“So how about it?” he asked.
“I would gladly help you,” she bead. “And you’ll help , right?”
“Do you really need to ask
that?”
“I look forward to it then.”
They stared at each other, small smiles on their lips, the water still running in the background, splashing against Yuki.
“You know. It’s kind of like we’re planning a date,” Akira remarked, looking away as her cheeks pinkened.
“But this date is us trying to beat each other up,” Yuki replied with a smirk.
“What else is more romantic?” Akira laughed.
They quieted again, their arms still around each other. Then Yuki rembered the ti. They needed to et up with the others for lunch to have a little eting.
“Akira. We need to go soon,” he said quietly, but not pushing her away.
“Oh. Yes.”
She slowly pulled her arms back and stepped a little away. She looked at him, before nodding.
“I’ll be going then,” she said.
“Make sure to rember to change,” Yuki said. “Your clothes are a little wet. I’ll be out soon.”
“I’ll be waiting then,” Akira nodded. She gave him another smile before leaving the restroom. Yuki stared at where she was for a bit before shutting the shower curtain again.
Reviews
All reviews (0)