BY
LOUIS GAGLIANO
It was one of the hardest things I ever had to endure watching. Two of my best friends were trading punches and kicks, each trying to destroy the other. Neither would relent. Neither would give up. They were determined to finish this battle or collapse in the attempt. It was too late to turn back the hands of time. Rei's face was becoming puffy from all the head shots. She had also suffered a cut to right of her left eye above the nose.
It was good that the blood flowing down her cheek was avoiding the eyes or she would have been finished. Lita wasn't doing that much better. You could see how she was trying to protect her ribs on the right side which at best were bruised for Mar's thunderous kicks. It was causing her breathing to become labored. Yet she too was driven to see this to its conclusion. As for me all I could do was watch and witness unable to stop my two friends from trying to destroy each other even as the crowd watching this event were on their feet in a bloodlust driven ecstasy.
So hard to believe this all started with a simple disagreement that blew up. It was a calm day. Nothing special was happening. Just a bunch of teenage girls doing their schoolwork and occasionally gossiping. Then came the debates and who was the best whatever. When it came to brains there was no debating Ami's superiority. When it came to who was the prettiest it started getting a bit more divisive. Not to sound like I'm bragging but I think in this category I'd be the favorite. Not that the other girls aren't beautiful enough to make a man's heart flutter extra fast. Without sounding vain I just think in a pure looks contest I'd have the advantage.
Then came the wedge that broke them up. Who was the best fighter. There were only two real choices here. Physically Lita would be dominant if it came to hand to hand fisticuffs. However if martial arts were thrown into the mix then Rei was her equal. In a mixed martial arts battle it was a difficult choice. Strength and power vs. speed, agility and versatility. The opinions were thrown out hot and heavy. In Ami's opinion Lita held the edge while Serena surprisingly went with Rei. Personally I think she was intimidated by what would happen to her if she didn't vote for the priestess. That left me with the deciding vote and I couldn't bring myself to make that decision. I wimped out refusing to take either side. Instead I was able to change the topic of discussion to our homework. For the moment all seemed well.
A few days later an advertisement was listed in the paper looking for participants for an amateur mixed martial arts tournament. The moment it was seen the bickering started over again. Both proclaimed they could win the championship without breaking a sweat. Believe me this was not a case of false bravado on the part of either lady. They honestly believed what they were saying. A fight almost broke out right then. Thank goodness Chad heard the squawking and in a wise move didn't try to stop it himself. He went and got Grandpa Hino who put his foot down by grabbing Rei by the earlobe and pulling her out of the room until tempers simmered. During this time he also sought to find out what the squabble was all about.
They pair reappeared in a few minutes with a more subdued Rei being in tow. I have no idea what Grandpa Hino had said or done but she appeared more than a little mortified. You could tell that the elderly man was working hard to make sure how his next words were going to be interpreted.
"So this argument between Lita and Rei was over who is a better fighter and could win a mixed martial arts tournament? Is this correct?", he stated.
All of us could do little more than nod our heads to the question. He had the gist of the situation correct.
"Did it even cross the mind of you two to perhaps actually try out and compete in this tournament for your answer? Instead of arguing like this was some high school debate?", he retorted.
The head of the temple let the comment hang in the air for a few moments as Rei and Lita stared at each other with blank looks to such an obvious answer. Then Grandpa Hino continued with his train of thought.
"If you two are interested I could enter you in the tryouts. According to what I've heard many of the slots are already filled with previous contenders but there are usually 3-4 slots open for new blood because some of the previous fighters are now too old for the 18 and under division. All you have to do is pass their audition by showing off your ability. Of course just to get in the door you need a properly trained master to co-sign your entry and I just happen to know such a person."
The offer appealed to both ladies. You could almost see the two of the licking their chops in anticipation of an actual confrontation and final resolution to the debate. Then Grandpa Hino threw a monkey wrench into the procedure.
"Of course to get that signature from me you'd have to be willing to submit to training from here to the tournament. I've seen your skills and think highly of them. However they are still raw and could use refining. Now the two weeks between here and the tryout we won't be able to do much but I think I can refine your technique enough to give you a better chance for victory. That's the offer."
The two stared at each other intently. Each looking to see if there would be any hesitation by their opposition. It was Rei who broke the tension not with a word but by the nodding of her head. That brought a positive reply from Lita. The battle was now officially on.
The two weeks leading up to the audition were filled with very intense workouts and training. The pair were put through a lot. Sometimes the workouts were together. Other times he would work with the girls 1 on 1. He never showed favoritism to either. He would often complain that Rei while have great agility and speed lacked overall power. By contrast he browbeat Lita for sacrificing too much speed and perhaps endurance for a power style designed for quick success. The rest of us didn't have that much easier. Since we would be working each of the girls corners during the fights we had to learn to be quick in our duties. Because of her knowledge of the human anatomy Ami would be in charge of taking care of any cuts and bruises. Also she was in charge in dehydrating them with water. I was in charge of keeping a compress against the neck of Lita and Rei between rounds to cool them down slightly and aid them in relaxing the neck muscles thus making it easier to slip any jabs or kicks. Serena had the worst job of all. She was in charge of the 'spit bucket' that each of the girls would spit into between rounds after swirling the water Ami had put in their mouths. She whined a lot when learning of her duties. This was one time I could feel quite a bit of sympathy for her.
It was a tough two weeks but when the auditions rolled around both girls were quite ready to strut their stuff before the judges. I wasn't allowed to go into the audition so I never got to see what happened. On TV that night they showed hundreds of young girls who were vying for entry. According to Lita the process was a couple of minutes at most. Both girls had to show their abilities for offense and defensive techniques. Then did a quick sparring with an imaginary opponent. I had no doubts that at least one of them would make it. Little could I have imagined when both got letters of entry for the tournament. Then they began to train even harder, more intently to prove who was the better battler.
Relationships always have their moments of strains be it between friend or lovers. Well during this time things definatly got strained. Sometimes I felt like I was being pulled in two different directions over who to support. On one hand Rei expected me to support her while Lita expected the same, yet they were both my friends. How was I to choose between the two. When the brackets came out for the tournament I saw that if the two were going to face off against each other it would be in the quarterfinals which meant each had to win 2 fights to make it. With their abilities it was well within the realm of possibility.
During this time we were all walking on eggshells around the two. Fearful that we would say or do the wrong thing to get them upset with us. The only times they'd be together was during training and even then talking between them was rare. Other than that they pretty much kept themselves separated.