"Come on, let's go!"
The sound cracked through the air of the otherwise silent gym. At that moment, there were only two people inside, the air dimly lit by starlight filtering through the windows. The sun was slower to rise than the pair already hard at work.
Emiya Shirou was wearing his usual training gear, but that early his fighter wore a pair of sweatpants tied off at the waist with a loose overshirt she could tuck in against the cold. It went without saying that a fighter's body was under considerable stress during the tournament, and Shirou considered it one of his duties, if not his foremost one, to manage the health of his stable of one. He held a grip onto Saber's feet while she was doing crunches.
"Faster, let's go!" Shirou said, his voice accompanied by the rhythmic sounds of Saber's breath whooshing in and out, along with the thrum of her body cutting the air. They had been at it a while now already, a trail of sweat having soaked into the mat.
"That's one fifty, you are off-time, pick it up! This is what Writer is doing right now, you know, do you think she is off-time too? I bet she is having a great workout— move it!" Saber's face was caught in a grimace at hearing her next opponent's name, a mixture of pain and determination. Shirou carefully didn't let a smirk cross his face as her movements just slightly but noticeably sped up.
"That's it, now finish strong, we are just getting started. That's one eighty, you got twenty left. You know what Writer is doing right now, what are you gonna do?" She didn't speed up anymore, but she damn well tried. Her last five were completed with a slight gasps as muscles cramping in her stomach cried out for rest she would not give them.
God, he was proud of her.
She carefully finished the last crunch before allowing her body to flop onto the mat. Shirou was encouraged that her training took over and, instead of gasping for air, she was carefully breathing in and out, managing her air intake to properly fill her lungs.
"Hey, don't get too comfortable, we are just getting started." Shirou admonished her, glancing at his timekeeper. "All right, not bad. Take some water and five minutes, and then get on the rope."
Saber nodded, toweling herself off a blue cloth emblazoned with the Emiya dojo symbol, a relic of better times when Emiya Kiritsugu had been able to afford little stylistic choices like that. Saber opened the little fridge by the training ring and pulled out an unmarked, clear bottle of water. Emiya Shirou had his own recipe of electrolyte-infused water he prepared for her; usually the homemade stuff had a bit of a raw flavor, but Shirou's was always delicious.
That had been one of the more enjoyable differences between her current manager and her former one. Before Shirou, she would have said she preferred her old manager's style which largely left her to her own devices and let her train as she wished, but Emiya was the complete opposite, his constant oversight of her training regimen was practically overbearing. On the other hand, there were little touches like the water or the garnishes he added to the meals he cooked to take care of her morale as well as her body; she had to admit she thrived as a fighter in response.
After a moment longer the air of the gym was pierced by the sound of a sharp whistle, the same one that hung around Shirou's neck. Saber kicked off in a burst of furious activity, the rope turning to a near-solid sphere of blue light as it whirled through the air. After no more than a few seconds, the whistle cracked again, causing her to halt her momentum to a dead stop, with just a second to draw air into her lungs. The whistle started her up again. This time it was much longer before Shirou's whistle signaled a rest period of a few seconds. Rope drills like this one taught the body to be able to transform from a dead stop into furious motion as quickly as possible while maintaining fluidity and agility in a boxer's hands, as well as trained one to learn to make the most of tiny breaks in action. A boxer who couldn't spot and immediately take advantage of a second or two's breathing time wouldn't last the length of a long fight.
Three sharp blows of the whistle signaled the end of that part of training. By now the faded glimmer of the stars had been replaced by the soft rays of the sun. Some of the more dedicated fighters would actually be showing up soon. It was their normal routine. Shirou staggered the workout regimen each day to focus on certain muscle groups, giving others a chance to heal and build themselves, but there was a certain structure and form that he always followed.
Everything was going smoothly until later in the evening when Saber hit a rare moment of indecisiveness in the training schedule. It was time for her technical training, but her match with the FA had eliminated the need to work out against Taiga.
"Shirou, were you able to find someone suitable?" Saber said, sipping on a protein shake. Not even Shirou could make one of those more than barely palatable. For someone who preferred a structured meal, just blending together different ingredients seemed somewhat heretical.
"Hmm…I found someone who says he uses Writer's Monstrous style, but he is pretty sketchy, his reviews are mixed at best and I am pretty sure he wrote the positive ones himself. His prices are pretty high too; we could only afford a day, maybe two if we are able to haggle him down…" Shirou was frowning.
Each new match carried a specific problem for a manager to overcome, before fighting the Free Agent, he did not know whom he would fight in the second round until it had started. In other words, he only learned he would need to prepare Saber for the fight with Writer when it was already time to start preparing. Since he spent north of fourteen hours a day purely on managing Saber, training, prepping, as well as cooking and coming up with new schedules, he had to find time during the rest of the day for the proper role of a manager. This included watching videos of an opponent's matches and looking for weaknesses or tells, gathering information on the opponent, and signing a technical trainer.
That was all time a manager could not spend on useless things like his own sleep or health. The King of Boxers tournament was by design a grueling process that stretched not just a fighter, but also his or her manager to the absolute breaking point. Well-managed boxers entered fights prepped and ready, in good condition and with the knowledge and tools they needed to secure victory. Poorly managed ones went in blind or in poor conditioning, their luck inevitably wearing out quickly, serving no purpose other than to wet fans' appetites and provide additional revenue to the Treasury by way of entry fees.
Saber knew more well-funded gyms were able to compensate partially for this with multiple managers, one person working as trainer and cut man, another handling nutrition and paperwork, another to work as a scout to handle arrangements on the enemy boxer. Shirou obviously couldn't do such a thing, so he simply shouldered every burden onto himself and soldiered on without a word of complaint. It's easy to uphold an ideal when there is no sacrifice required, but it's when you begin to suffer that you find out what it's really worth to you.
"A day or two only?" Saber said, understanding the situation, but feeling frustrated. It wouldn't be as bad as the situation against the Free Agent, but it was not ideal.
Shirou's only response was a scowl…which was quickly interrupted by the sound of the double doors in the gym slamming open, propelled by two outstretched hands.
Certain people in this world exhibit a kind of gravity, a force of personality demonstrated by the halt of conversation, the catching of one's breath, and the swiveling of dozens of heads in the same direction. Fujimura Taiga was such a person.
…But this one's name was Tohsaka Rin. The dark-haired girl strolled into the gym wearing her traditional red and black clothes marked with the glittering insignia of the Sparkling Gem Gym. Her confident footsteps signaled that she owned the place (though Shirou would have to miss another payment for that to be accurate) but her face held a strangely curious look to it.
Saber and Shirou shared a glance, wondering if somehow the other had known to expect the powerful manager's arrival. Shirou caught the way she ran a practiced eye over his fighters and equipment, wondering how much she had gleaned about his gym with a simple glance, and also whether he really wanted to know after all.
"Oh, if it isn't Emiya-kun, and Saber too!" Rin said, incongruously, as if they had happened to walk into each other on the way to the store.
That prompted another confused look between the manager and his fighter, but pure courtesy compelled Shirou to say something, though when he opened his mouth he still wasn't quite sure what would come out.
"A-Afternoon…Tohsaka. Welcome to the Emiya Gym," he said blankly.
"Rin," Saber's slightly breathless voice came next. "How fares the Guardian?"
"Hnnng," Rin knuckled an eye, looking askance at Saber for a moment. It wasn't an unreasonable question, yet Rin didn't seem happy that Saber had asked it for some reason.
"Eh, he wouldn't die even if you killed him. He is already up and being critical like always. I see a lot of physical therapy in the future, and he is going to be carping at me the whole time…" Rin heaved a long-suffering sigh.
Neither Shirou nor Saber thought it wise to ask why someone with the resources she commanded took it as a given that she would need to oversee the Guardian's therapy personally if it was such a burden.
"I am glad the Guardian will recover…" Shirou said, then caught himself, "B-but, is there something you need?"
"Huh? Oh, right!" Rin said, looking oddly startled. "U-um…how's your preparation going? You have the Blood Writer next, right?" Saber found herself a little startled; had Rin just stuttered…? She didn't seem the type to become flustered.
"Yeah." Shirou said simply. It was public knowledge, and besides, Rin was already out of the tournament.
"Though, finding a style trainer…well, I do have someone but…" Shirou trailed off.
"Red hair? Broad-shouldered guy?" Rin said, recovering her balance, even looking a bit smug.
Shirou looked startled.
"Ooooh… you don't want him, he doesn't even know the Monstrous style, and he isn't very conditioned." Rin said, a knowing smile showing up behind her hand that came up over her mouth. It was clear she was enjoying this part.
"If you are going to waste your money on someone who can't teach Saber anything, you are better off paying me rent!" Rin stated, staring directly into Shirou's eyes.
Shirou did not respond. Saber thought it must have been annoying for him since he too had expressed reservations about the quality of the man he was thinking about hiring.
"…Why are you telling us this, Rin?" Saber said, after a moment when it became clear Shirou was too flustered to respond.
"Umm…" Rin's smile faded, she actually looked a bit nervous, and one of her hands came up to finger the bottom of one of her elaborate twintails. "I actually…know someone."
Shirou and Saber both looked intent at that. That was interesting news indeed!
"An old friend of mine used to be a boxer, but later went into style training. She knows Blood Writer's style pretty well. If I put in a good word, I am sure she will take Saber on for a good price." Rin finished, looking anxiously back and forth between Saber and Shirou.
Saber realized she couldn't say anything here. This was Shirou's job. Of course, what Rin was offering seemed almost too good to be true, but on the other hand…
"Please do!" Shirou said, bowing his head. "If she will come, then we would be happy to have her!" Shirou said, without lifting his face.
That had to hurt, Saber knew. To lower his head in front of another manager must have deeply wounded Shirou's pride. All the same…Saber supposed she knew that he would. His loyalties, and his priorities, were clear. A hint of warmth at the thought tempered her annoyance on Shirou's behalf.
Rin cocked an eyebrow at the both of them for a moment, and then sighed, perhaps in aggravation, or maybe in relief. She removed a surprisingly cute phone in a pink case from a pocket and turned halfway around to make the call.
"Ah, hello, Mi…" Rin started, through the phone line, but Shirou and Saber could vaguely make out a confident-sounding girl speaking on the other end.
"Yes, this is Tohsaka— no, not yet, why do you always ask! …No, he is just my fighter, listen to me!"
Rin grew increasingly flustered at what seemed like a barrage of questions fired over the cell.
"Listen, I am calling in a favor, can you come down to the Emiya gym today?" Rin tried to get control of the conversation. Saber wondered if, unlike her own manager, maybe the girl was someone Rin was weak to.
"…Yes, that's the one, Saber. Yeah I was surprised too! Especially at this gym! I mean, I know it was hard getting work but…umm!" Rin flushed a little and glanced back at Shirou and Saber; Saber noted that even Shirou seemed to be giving her an uncharacteristically hard look usually reserved for when he felt like she was not on form.
"Look I can't talk right now, but can you come over here? Eh? Yeah, I am here too…No it's not like that either, just come already!" Rin thumbed the end call button considerably harder than was needed, cutting off the sound of laughter coming clearly through the line.
Rin put one hand to her forehead, looking momentarily unwilling to face the pair. "Why is she so difficult…"
Shirou was having a lot of trouble dealing with Tohsaka. Managers interacted occasionally, but it was always in the professional, cordial yet guarded manner, setting up matches, sizing up the competition, and dealing with media in the case of more well-known ones was also a requirement.
Actually, Shirou had an image of a good manager being a person like his father. Concise, controlled, devoting all his energy to his fighter to the exclusion of all else, but Tohsaka was quickly tearing down such beliefs. Of course, he knew full well her abilities. The Sparkling Gem had a stable of prize fighters who truly deserved the name, among which the Guardian stood supreme. She not only was a favorite in the King of Boxers tournament, but had competed well in international contests too. Her record spoke for itself. On the other hand, she was so…nosy.
As if sensing his thoughts, Rin looked up from glaring at her phone and met Shirou and Saber's eyes with a scowl.
"I just got you a trainer, so, shouldn't you be getting ready to greet her? I can only get her past the door; you will have to be the ones to get her to train you!" Rin exploded.
Shirou's danger-instincts weren't nearly as developed as Saber's, but he still felt that maybe this was a "discretion and valor" sort of moment.
"She is right," he said looking at Saber, "get changed and hit the showers, I'll take care of the fee." Saber nodded and walked off, picking up and slinging her training bag, which was lying beside the training ring, over her shoulder as she went.
Shirou turned back to Rin not quite sure of what to say, just in time to see her curiously open Saber's fridge where her water was.
"Erm, Tohsaka, are you thirsty?" Shirou said, belatedly, feeling he should at least be a good host.
"No, not really," was her reply. Somehow taking that as the end of the conversation, she pulled off the lid and took a few swallows, swishing her cheeks around a bit.
"…Not bad," Rin noted a bit grudgingly. "You have some talent after all."
Shirou just stared at her for a moment before muttering a thank-you. Tohsaka Rin just moved at her own speed and pulled everyone else along.
"U-um, Tohsaka…" Shirou began, casting about for a topic. "A-ah, that's right, could you tell me more about this trainer? I mean, I hadn't even heard there was someone like that, and I had looked for a while."
Come to think of it, that was strange; how did Rin just randomly know someone who could do the job when he had spent all night looking. Wasn't that suspicious? He tried to keep his thoughts out of his expression, but after a moment of staring, Rin grinned evilly, as it seemed to Shirou.
"Huuuh….are you worried? Maybe I was paid off by an enemy, is that what you think? My my, Emiya-kun, could it be that you are really cynical after all?" Rin leaned against the pole of the fighting ring while hiding a grin.
"Just…why are you helping me?" Shirou could only ask the question.
"…"
It was an obvious question, but it seemed to catch Rin off-guard. For some reason, Rin seemed weak to honesty. She looked away in dissatisfaction for a moment, and then looked somewhere in the vicinity of Shirou's forehead, not meeting his eyes..
"I am just protecting an investment" Rin said, glancing away after a moment.
Shirou didn't believe her. A gym barely making its payments didn't warrant personal intervention by the head of Sparking Gem herself, let alone several, and calling in favors on top of that.
Shirou's doubt must have shown up on his face.
"Look, you don't understand!" Rin said, sounding like she was making an excuse to herself. "If your gym goes under, the Treasury will buy it and bulldoze it and I can't beat their offer, they keep raising rates and driving people out of business! All my gyms are being bought up and wrecked, the new places can't get accreditation, and I keep losing money, and now they knocked out the Guardian and I want to hurt them!"
Rin leaned forward and grabbed onto Shirou's collar, and for a second the grip of her fingers made Shirou feel like he was about to be throttled.
"And then you come along and you hired Saber, why didn't I do that! I thought about it…but her reputation was in shambles and by the time she surfaced it had been a while and I wasn't sure she would be in good condition…" Rin's voice was growing softer, more reflective, if still angry.
"Some people I was doing business with still hated her and I needed those contracts, it seemed like such a big gamble…but then you show up and she is better than ever! She beats one of the best fighters I have ever seen and she does it completely blind! I can't let them win another tournament…not after what they did, so…"
Shirou remembered Rin's look after the Guardian had been savaged. He was starting to put the pieces together. Rin wanted revenge, but didn't have a way to fight without the Guardian. He had been one of the top-ranked fighters in the tournament and the Golden Boy had destroyed him. There were only a few fighters left with that kind of ranking. One was the Hound Dog, but he was another fighter for the Treasury. Another was Fred Ken Heracles, who had rankings almost equal to the Golden Boy, but the foreign group which had sponsored him was a complete mystery, and even if Rin's resources could ferret out his gym's manager, it was unlikely he or she would need or even want Rin's mucking about. So if she wanted to get a piece of the action, she would have to stir the pot a little.
Thinking about it, if one considered the number of people with a stable that included a fighter of the caliber needed, yet with a manager lacking enough for Rin to make use of to soothe her injured feelings, the number was very small. In fact, it was probably boiled down to just one.
…Shirou's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his gym door banging open.
"Tohsaka, I made good tim—?" The girl who walked in was a confident brown-haired girl with a duffel bag of gear over her shoulder. The girl looked around the gym as she spoke, before catching sight of the two over by the training ring. What caught her off-guard was probably…
Rin held Shirou's collar, he was pulled a bit towards her, and Rin was leaning forward herself. Anger had brought a slight flush to Rin's cheeks, and she was breathing rapidly. To the girl, it might have looked like…
"Emiya-kun…?" Rin said under her breath, as the other girl stared with a grin slowly playing across her face.
"Hmm?" Shirou replied in the same manner.
"She will never let this go, and it is your fault." Rin finished warning him with a flat stare. She then let go of his collar, and forced a calm expression onto her face.
"So…Tohsaka," the girl said walking up, clearly fighting a grin. "Are you going to introduce me to your…? She left the question open.
"Emiya Shirou." Rin introduced him in a flat tone. "He owes me money, but has a good fighter and is up against Writer. I was thinking you might—"
"I would love to!" the girl said, without letting Rin finish. "My name is Mitsuzuri Ayako, pleased to meet you! I checked my phone on the way over here; you are looking for a specialist, right? I'll give you a good rate. I still owe Writer one anyway." A shadow seemed to flash across the girl's otherwise bright face. Shirou didn't really know the details of the match, even managers couldn't recall every single match, but judging from the fact that Writer's mere name was enough to swing a discount and a glare, it must have been a bad one.
"I'll tell you right now though, I can help you get ready, but there is one thing I can't prepare Saber for."
"What's that?" The question came from behind Shirou; as if drawn by her name his fighter walked up to them, wiping her unbound hair with a hand towel before beginning to redo it in her usual bun.
Shirou occasionally forgot just how long Saber's hair was.
This is gonna sound weird…" Mitsuzuri said with a dark look. "Fighting Writer…well, style wise I can get pretty close to her level, but I don't have her…aura."
"Her what?" Shirou said blankly, but Saber's eyes narrowed.
"Blood Writer loves to hurt. It may sound like sadism, but it isn't; she loves pain. I have never felt anything like it. When you box her, you can see that she wants to hurt you and she wants you to hurt her too. It's scary. I know it sounds weird, but I have seen boxers absolutely freeze in place before she knocked them out."
Shirou nodded, while Rin and Saber looked at him in surprise.
"I watched some of her fights last night, against some pretty good fighters. It actually did seem like they were all just a bit off their game. I didn't know why," he explained.
"Yeah, right." Mitsuzuri nodded, relieved Shirou knew what she was talking about. "You must be a good manager! That makes it easier then." Ayako finished, causing a grimace from Rin.
"Well, I think Saber will be ok, but it's better if she is prepared for it, so I thought I should warn her. That's what you are paying me for right? Speaking of which… "
At that, Shirou and Ayako quickly haggled over her fee. For once, Shirou got the better of the deal, it was clear Ayako's heart wasn't really in the negotiation. She must have really had it in for the Blood Writer. Once they were finished Ayako borrowed Shirou's changing room and came out wearing a dark brown vest with a pair of black shorts.
Rin looked annoyed, she probably wanted to stay and watch the training, but…
"All right, I have to go back," The dark haired girl admitted. "I had some free time today because I set aside time for the tournament," Rin tried not to show that her removal was still bothering her, "but I still have a company to run."
"Tohsaka!" Shirou called out from Saber's corner.
She stopped and looked back.
"Just wanted to say…thanks. I owe you one" He said, bowing his head.
"Shirou is right, we are grateful." Saber said, softly but clearly.
Rin nodded, but didn't say anything. After a moment, her hair flipped around her as she spun around and walked out the door.
After a quick fist bump, one of the gym's members tapped the bell, and the first training match started.
Saber rocketed to the center of the ring, the thrill of the fight urging her on; her opponent did likewise, a welcome difference from her strange match with the Free Agent. When they met, her opponent settled her heels and planted her feet. Saber didn't let the distraction shake her concentration, but it was still a bit unexpected. That was the stance of a power fighter; women tended to prefer lithe movements that used their bodies' natural flexibility as a weapon. Saber fired a few light jabs at her opponent from just outside range, testing, probing strikes. Her opponent responded with quick tight movements that deflected by the most minimal distance required, then returned her fists to her chest. Tight body, held forward, chin down…
She was an infighter. A dangerous infighter. Ayako feinted to the left and then advanced, but Saber saw the shift coming.
There was a moment like a dance between them. Ayako advanced two steps forward, Saber feinted high then shifted her body low, whirling like a pendulum to add force to a technically precise straight into Ayako's stomach. Ayako pressed forward again, Saber sent another punch in, which Ayako deflected to the left, and then stepped back. She wasn't used to being the ranged fighter, but Promised Victory was a high-performance footwork style that chose a balanced approach which could exploit an enemy's weakness.
Saber was a boxer who proudly danced to her opponent's tune, as long as she could take the lead.
Ayako feinted left and then actually stepped left, trying to work Saber into the corner. Saber saw an opportunity to jump right…but chose not to take it. In training, she also wanted to see what Monstrous could do at its preferred range.
Ayako's response was quick and brutal. As soon as Saber stepped into range, Ayako's heels planted firmly, her demeanor like that of a man setting himself for a hard day's work. Her first straight slammed hard into Saber's upraised glove, forcing Saber to take a backstep she really wasn't prepared for. Ayako was adding a lot of force to her punches and kept power in her arms even when the block was showing, instead of reloading. Saber responded by catching the arm wrist to wrist and swinging it aside, opening Ayako up for the counter cross. Saber let one of her heels plant for just a second, force coursing its way up her leg and out her arm in a lightning bolt strike she would only risk on an off-balance opponent.
It was like hitting a damned rock.
Ayako met Saber's force on one hand and absolutely stopped it cold. Ayako's body didn't even shift backwards, and her return jab-hook combination targeting Saber first on the sternum and then working its way to Saber's chin both landed square, taking advantage of her surprise. Saber bobbed her head at the last second, getting a little of the force of Ayako's strike deflected and recollected herself behind a backstep which Ayako smoothly followed along with, matching Saber's movement.
Ayako aimed a hook that had a lot of power behind it but was a hair off-target, more set for the back of Saber's head than squarely on her chin. Saber instepped so that her and Ayako's bodies were nearly in contact, and responded with a right uppercut that was so tight her fist was placed firmly in contact with her own chest for most of the punch. There wasn't enough force to do real damage but it was enough to force Ayako on the back step. Saber's off-fist, planted firmly at her own side stopped Ayako's retaliating body blow as Ayako re-chambered.
They circled each other warily for a moment, and Saber struck first. She opened with a picture-perfect three-count jab set, two for the head and then one under the guard for the body, and Ayako caught them all with her usual unwavering power, each of them sliding weakly off a strong guard. Saber's last punch was so by-the-book it actually cost her, as Ayako read the blow before it was thrown and, after blocking, thrust out her left fist and punched Saber's returning arm low, forcing her balance forward and her shoulders down.
A beautiful set up for a power fighter; Saber could almost hear Shirou's worried intake of breath. Saber's vision was low, but she could see from the swivel of Ayako's hips the tight hook she was chambering, a knockout blow.
It missed.
Or it should be said, it was dodged. With a head bob movement reminiscent of a mongoose daring a cobra to strike, Saber shifted her weight low, her left knee crouching to almost touch the mat, and threw herself over the punch to launch a strong right hook at Ayako's undefended side. A relic of her training with Taiga, the simulated opening that converted from feint into a power punch was deadly if performed right. The hook buried itself into Ayako's floating rib cage, drawing a grunt of startled pain and actually staggering the previously unbreakable wall that had been her opponent. Saber instepped and prepared a straight to continue when…
With a sharp note, the ring bell sounded, indicating the end of practice. Saber caught herself, and there was a moment of silence when she and Ayako stared at each other, she with her fist halfway towards Ayako's face, Ayako with an off-balance guard halfway up to block, an open question as to which would have arisen first hanging over them…
…Before the air whooshed out of them both in a shared moment of recuperation. For a moment they simply breathed together, letting oxygen-starved lungs cool and refill themselves. Ayako offered a glove, which Saber bumped.
"You know…I had heard of the great Saber but…" Ayako sighed to herself in admiration.
"I am not even sure you need me!" Just then Shirou climbed into the ring, holding a pair of towels and bottles of water he had fetched for them both.
Ayako and Saber leaned against the ropes for a moment, trying to wipe the worst of it off them. Ayako took the simpler approach and, after taking a swig, dumped the rest down her head and then wiped off the water.
Boxers did that a lot, and privately, Shirou hated it. Who did they think ended up cleaning that?
"I think you know this already," Ayako said, "but Writer's style is best on the instep inside. You would do well to stay on the outside."
Saber nodded briskly, not interrupting.
"Now, something you should remember is that though I am imitating the style, one difference is that while I am stopping punches by being as resolute as I can, Writer won't." Ayako went on, "I swear she sometimes lets punches through just because she loves it. It's great for running up the score card, but knocking her out is difficult. You should concentrate on winning by points and staying loose. You don't need to press her, she will give you opportunities."
At that, Saber flicked an eye over to Shirou. Strategies like that were within the purview of a manager, so it was natural she would want to get his take. He nodded slowly. He remembered when checking out Writer's rankings that she had a large number of losses in the points but a lot of wins by knockout. Ayako's words made sense. Besides, this was what they were paying for, after all.
"Saber and I are going to go over the match a bit more over dinner," Shirou mentioned. "Would you like to stay and listen? We could use the input," he offered to the trainer.
"Hey, sounds great," Ayako agreed easily, "fighting like this works up an appetite. Hope you serve large portions, Saber looks like she eats like a bird, but I can really tuck in after a fight!"
…
There was a moment of silence.
...
Ayako's confident grin faded after a moment, as she watched Saber and Shirou exchange a long look together.
Ayako had the sudden feeling she had just signed up for a fight she wasn't ready for.
Later, in the living room, Ayako and Saber relaxed over a cup of tea while Shirou busied himself in the kitchen. After her win, Shirou had kept his promise and restocked the food supplies, so dinner promised to be pleasant.
"You know Saber," Ayako said after a moment, causing Saber to put her cup down onto its small plate.
"I caught your match on pay-per-view. I had heard of you before but it was the first time I ever actually saw you in a match. Don't tell you manager this - cause I am sure he is congratulating himself on a good negotiation - but I would've done it for free!" Ayako couldn't help but start laughing out loud. Saber too couldn't suppress a smile at the girl's infectious mirth, even if what she had said was quite surprising.
"The second I saw you I wanted a match or two with you, and to pay back Writer, hell, I should be paying you!" Ayako finished gaily.
"I...thought you were retired," Saber offered, a question in her voice.
"Yeah, I am, but that doesn't mean I don't still get that itch, you know? You see someone great and you just want to get in the ring with 'em, just give one good punch if nothing else."
Saber felt a pull from inside her just hearing those words; she knew that feeling. "It is a great moment," Saber agreed with a wolfish grin, "that first good punch where they fall back, the second is even better, the third, better still!" Saber said, her voice growing energized.
"Right, right? And then you get that one second, that perfect moment, maybe they miss a block, maybe you got a good sidestep they didn't catch, maybe you got that perfect parry and the sound of their punch is ringing in your ear and then BAM! You feel so alive." Ayako finished Saber's sentence for her.
"...Ayako, if you feel so passionately, then...?" Saber did not wish to be rude or pry, but it seemed a shame that Ayako, feeling as she clearly did, had stopped fighting.
Ayako's face clouded over, some of the fire going out of her. "Hit a wall," Ayako answered, offering a bitter grin, "I spent a lot of time in serious training after Writer...even learned her style, did everything I could, but after a while, I hit a point where I just couldn't seem to improve. I was too good for regional, not good enough for the big leagues, and I didn't want to just be a part-time fighter. That's why I started doing technical, it's not the same, but hey, at least I get to get back in the ring, right?"
Saber felt the words hit home in a strange fashion. That desire to get back in no matter what, there was a resonance there that made Saber feel an odd bond. Didn't she, more than anyone else, understand the lengths one might go to, to keep fighting when everyone said you couldn't?
"Who is hungry?" A lively voice cut through the cloud that had begun to form over the two girls.
Emiya Shirou walked up with his arms nearly overflowing with a large tray, smelling faintly of vinegared rice. The reason soon became clear as he set it down: on the first tray, in addition to some lettuce-wrapped chicken, there were several platters of homemade sushi rolls. Mostly cheap stuff, California yellowtail, but Saber's eyes lit up...as did Ayako's. Homemade sushi was always good if it was done right. Shirou brought out several more platters and finished with cutting up three oranges into slices at the table and placing them on each person's tray as a simultaneous garnish and desert.
Ayako dug in at once, outstripping Saber early, who cracked a pair of chopsticks gently and began sedately dishing her plate up.
Shirou rolled his eyes. For a while the sounds of conversation ceased, to be replaced with the scraping of chopsticks on plates and the burble of hot tea being poured.
"...Wow, I can't believe I lost twice today." Ayako said at the end of the meal, scratching her head. "Where the hell does it all go?" The table was filled with empty dishes, but there was a much larger pile on Saber's side than on Ayako's.
"It's the best way to keep up energy." Saber replied calmly, not really answering. Ayako glanced at Shirou.
Shirou shrugged. "That's what she tells me," he responded to the unspoken question. "I was worried at first, but Saber always trains well after a good meal, even if it's dinner." Shirou began gathering the dishes up for washing, both Saber and Ayako offering to assist, but as usual, he refused the offer and went off to the kitchen.
Over the sound of hot water running, Shirou listened to the pair's voices drifting through to the kitchen. He could make out certain boxing terms like parry and jab, but doubted they were doing extra training; they sounded almost like a pair of schoolgirls gossiping. It was a surreal feeling, hearing his dedicated fighter sound like that.
It came to him that perhaps it had been a long time since Saber had had a friend. He was her manager, that was a bond that was in some ways closer than friendship - almost family - but there were certain lines in that relationship too. They were not equals; he needed her to acknowledge him, her body and her spirit needed to reflexively listen to him even when her mind wanted to lie down and rest.
Of course, Saber had fans and well-wishers, people to cheer for her, but how long had it been since she just had a girl of her own age she could talk to? Taiga had been friendly, but now that Shirou thought about it, she spent more time with him than Saber, so they hadn't really gotten close.
Unfortunately there wasn't much he could do about it. He wasn't even sure he would if he could. Saber was his boxer, the two of them were in a very precarious situation, and he needed her focus to be on the ring one hundred percent. So with that in mind, he had to put his worries out of head and get ready for tomorrow's training. This wasn't something a manager should be involved in, not one bit.
...He still took extra time washing the dishes.
"Will you be here tomorrow then?" Saber asked Ayako, her and Shirou walking the brown-haired girl to the door.
"Yup, same time," Ayako assured them with a smile, "gotta get you ready for Writer; besides, you are paying me."
The two girls shook hands and Ayako looked ready to depart, when a sudden crease went over her forehead, and there was a momentary flicker behind the bright girl's eyes. No, more than a flicker, she showed a sudden, intense shudder of fear.
"Oh, but before I go, let me give you a warning."
Shirou and Saber couldn't help but straighten up a bit. It was clear this was something very serious to the young girl.
"Do not, under any circumstances, let Writer bait you into a bare knuckle fight. She does that sometimes, and it's…it's…different. It's bad. She is a nightmare. Stay in the official ring. That's where Saber should have the advantage."
For a moment, the pair didn't respond. Why would they be street fighting to begin with anyway?
"Well, anyway, I bet you will be fine, between the two of you I am sure you can handle the Wormen and Children gym. Good luck!" Ayako slung her bag over her shoulder and strode off without a look back. Shirou could only manage a muttered "Bye then…" in return. Somehow, what Ayako said stuck with him… Somehow…it seemed a bad omen.