#4: Call It a Gut Feeling

When Asami had asked Korra out for a date this... was not what she had in mind.

Arms raised defensively in front of her, circling her girlfriend slowly in a tattered ring, ready for a no holds barred fight until one of them was unconscious or tapped out, the thought that this was how the night would go hardly crossed her mind. It certainly wasn't something she would have agreed to. On principle, she declined every fight against a friend. Slamming a right hook into your bestie's face was something she religiously avoided.

But when they had arrived, and Asami had revealed her true motives, she'd laid a convincing hand, and Korra found herself going along with the plan. Now, as she eyed Asami from across the ring, she was seriously rethinking this whole thing. Asami was rising quickly through the ranks of probending, gaining swift fame, and not just for her fighting capabilities. Beauty and brawn, it seemed, won over hearts and minds. The match tonight was nothing more than a fight for pride (mainly, Korra's pride). No title or money to be had, save for the betters.

Why had she gone along with this? It wasn't that she was afraid of hurting Asami. They'd sparred roughly before, and her girlfriend was tough as nails. The pair could easily kick one another's ass. Rather, she didn't want Mr. Sato to think she went around beating Asami and others up for fun. Mr. Sato hated her enough already without that false stigma hanging around her head.

But alas, it was too late to back out now. The crowd fell silent, last minute bets taken care of. Korra sized Asami up. With the two of them in the ring, this could easily result in broken bones. While Asami had advantageous height, Korra had more muscle. She could swing around a lot of mass, and packed a canon load of power in each of her swings. Hit the right places and she could put Asami in a cast. However, where she had power and muscle, Asami had speed and agility. Her lithe form lacked Korra's amount of muscle, but she could still pack a punch. On top of that, her flexibility shot Korra's out of the water. She could easily dodge Korra's slow, heavy hitting blows. Her specialty was take downs, making people tap out. One wrong move on either of their part during a take down and Korra could easily be having to explain why Tenzin was paying medical bills. And, to top it all off, Asami had been learning martial arts since she was in second grade. Put all this together and you having the makings of a terrible idea.

The bell rang, and the match began.

Korra swung her left fist out in a wide arc, aimed at Asami's temple, curbing the move at the last minute to pull back her strength. Testing the waters. Asami ducked, landing a hard roundhouse kick on Korra's side. Looks like she was going all in after all. Korra stepped back, raising her arms to guard and prowled the arena, watching for any telltale signs of Asami's next strike. Her girlfriend shot out a hand, towards Korra's throat, which she blocked using her forearm and retaliated, causing Asami to jump back. The pair traded blows, some dodged, others blocked, and a few finding their marks. Korra had split Asami's lip with a suckerpunch. Asami had landed a blow that was surely going to be a blackeye. Korra threw a punch, intending for it to be a feign, but Asami grabbed her arm, spun around, and flipped Korra right over her shoulder in an impressive show of strength.

The move surprised Korra and she hit the ground hard, the impact jarring her shoulders and stunning her. It was enough for Asami to capitalize and she immediately went in for a hold. Asami put one leg across Korra's neck, the other just over her lower ribs, grabbed her arm and pulled, leaning back until the nearly touched the mat. Korra hissed at the pain the shot through her arm, muscles straining as they were pulled beyond their comfort. Her hand hovered over the mat, a few short taps and she would be out. But she wouldn't go down with just a whimper. If her pride was on the line, she would put on one hell of a show. So she bucked her shoulders, using her superior strength to force Asami up and off the mat until she released Korra's arm and rolled back and onto her feet.

Korra scrambled back and rose, rolling her arm around as they prowled. Asami was sizing her up once more, and thousand different holds and means of making Korra tap out running through her head. Korra smiled. That was impressive. It was the fastest someone had taken her down in a match. Asami played for keeps. They traded blows again, locked in a back and forth game. Korra was cautious now, changed her tactics. She didn't want to get in to close and fail to get out. If Asami grabbed her and managed to get her on the floor, she knew it would be game over. Asami wouldn't make the same mistake twice. The hits were vicious, and when they landed, it was a catastrophe. Asami landed a blow that set Korra's nose dripping with blood, while Korra tossed a powerful kick that had connected with Asami's thigh. It was already beginning to bruise.

They were both running out of steam by now. It was going to have to end, and soon. Korra saw an opening, a crack in Asami's defense and threw out her fist, putting all the force she could muster behind it. But Asami dodged, and the attack went right past her. She grabbed Korra's arm and pulled her back, using her own vicious force coupled with Korra's own momentum to give a solid knee to the gut. Korra doubled over, wind knocked right out of her lungs. All around he, she heard the crowd gasp. The sound of the impact must have been audible to garner such a response. She struggled to compose herself, to not throw up all over the ring. But when she raised her head, she saw a fist coming right for her. It connected with her temple, sent her crashing to the floor, and then everything went dark.

Korra came to slowly, ears ringing, head spinning and stars dancing across the edges of her vision. Her friends hovered over her, but they were doubled, their edges blurred and they moved in slow motion. She tried to sit up, but that made everything worse, and a hand pushed her back down. "Take it easy," Asami said, voice far away, like she was speaking through a mouthful of cotton. She held a bottle of water to Korra's lips and she drank hungrily.

Asami instructed her to lie down for a while longer, and it took half an hour before Korra's vision cleared and her hearing returned to normal. It was then that she took in Asami's appearance. Her face had been cleaned, blood washed away, but her lip was still split. Aside from that glaring wound, there was only minor scrapes and bruises, and she seemed no worse for the wear. But most of the injuries Korra inflicted feel below the neck line, where no one could see. "Oh, spirits," Korra groaned. "Your father is going to kill me. When he finds out I was the one who got you into pro-bending and did this, he will have my head. On a platter."

"Don't worry, Korra. A split lip can easily be explained. You should worry about yourself."

"Yeah," Bolin chipped in, from somewhere out of her sight. "You kind of look like a car ran over you. Repeatedly."

"That's pretty much how I feel. I forgot how hard you hit, 'Sami."

Asami laughed, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on Korra's throbbing temple. "I play for keeps, hon. We had the medic check you out, he said you don't appear to have a concussion or any serious injury."

"That's good. I'd hate to explain to Tenzin why my girlfriend gave me a head injury. By the way, my stomach feels as if someone punched a hole through it and tore out my insides. Could you kiss it and make it better?" Asami shook her head and smiled, but complied, lifting up Korra's shirt and ghosting her lips over Korra's stomach, which was mottled purple and yellow, an unsightly bruise. Even the light pressure made Korra flinch and hiss through clenched teeth, and Asami pulled away with a whispered apology. "Okay, maybe in a few days."

"I know you guys are having a coupley moment," Bolin interrupted. "But we should probably get going. It's late and the ring is shutting down soon."

"Alright, alright," Korra conceded, tugging Asami close. "Just one more kiss for quick healing."

XXX

A/N: Get a room you two. Or at least some self control.