It had been three days since Akane last saw Nekomaru in the gym, purposely avoiding the place mainly because she didn't want to hear Mirai's voice as she mocked her for her recent failure. That and she didn't want to get disqualified for throat punching her "accidently". She was putting the children to bed after another long day of waitress labor, being asked way too many times about what happened to her fingers and leg, and earning a decent amount in tips that she used to purchase sushi for everyone. They were so excited to have one of their favorite meals, promising to grow big and strong so they could repay Akane someday for everything she had done for them. She rustled each of their heads, simply thankful to see them eat another good meal, before offering some to her stepmother who returned home alone for the first time in weeks. Though confused by her unusual generosity, she accepted, staggering away to the crappy couch to eat alone before falling asleep.
Akane leaned against the door frame, watching her siblings rest as she ran a comb through her tangled hair. The competition was only two days away, and she had failed to even consider preparing a routine. She needed to practice, despite her lack of wanting to, and if that meant sneaking into the gym when they were closed, she would take advantage of the option since there weren't any freaks staying the night to threaten the little ones' safety. Another advantage of going at night meant she didn't have to wear her leotard since no one would see her. She slipped outside, careful to not disturb her family, and raced off to the gym. Wandering the streets alone at night were far more dangerous than during the day, but there were usually less people to deal with thankfully. However, less people didn't make it better by a long shot.
Akane relied on her instinctual feelings on which shadowed streets to avoid on her way, arriving at the gymnasium safely. She made her way to the back; the owners had a bad reputation of forgetting to lock the back entrance as she had found out many months ago on an investigative night stroll. Sneaking her way inside after checking if the coast was cleared, Akane navigated her way through the dark halls, listening to the soft clomps of her white shoes on the tiled floors while her fingers traced over the walls. Oddly enough, she could see light pour from where she undoubtedly recalled the gym being, the path easier to follow. While the owners tended to forget to lock the back door, they never forgot to turn off the lights at least. She peeked around the corner, finding the room empty.
Maybe she was overthinking things since the lights were on, but she swore someone was in the building somewhere. It was a gamble she was willing to take if it meant getting at least a short routine in mind. She flexed her fingers, grinning when it didn't hurt her intolerably to perform the action.
Kicking off her shoes, Akane sprinted forward, barreling into a series of cartwheels and flips on her excursion to the main floor. Acrobatic gymnastics weren't difficult to perform, Akane simply hated the monotonous routine put into them. She was guilty of changing up her act last minute sometimes, and while it had an impressive quality to it according to the judges, they seemed to recognize the unpredictability of it as well. All she had to do was win and take home easy money, that's all that mattered. Every part of it came naturally to her, the balance and flexibility, the agility and refinement. Sometimes she couldn't understand how the other females struggled with some of the moves, and while she might have been willing to offer her advice to them, no one seemed to appreciate her appearance in the first place.
Akane did a mid-air split, falling into a cartwheel that merged into a double backflip to the other corner of the floor. She continued her practice for some time, probably a single hour of boring repetition until she was satisfied enough to move on to the balance beam. That routine took less time; she more or less repeated the moves she copied from Mirai during their small head butting competition, but revised it into a way that she found to be better than the original. Next was the uneven bars, requiring many flips and rotations while jumping from bar to bar carefully. She disliked this contest the most since it was the most monotonous of all the performances requiring core strength and arm strength mainly. Akane lost interest in the practice rather quickly, her stomach growling, her will to continue decreasing.
Flipping onto the mat, she flopped down spread eagle with a sigh, giving in to her bodies wants. Her momentary rest was interrupted faster than she had a chance to take another breath as an all too familiar voice called out to her.
"Giving up already?"
Akane groaned, shifting her head with disinterest to view her spectator. She was rather impressed since she hadn't noticed his presence somehow, but she was too hungry to care.
"Why do you care?" She grumbled, eyes locking onto the ultimate manager as he began to approach her from the shadowed hallway. "I'm hungry and tired, I need a break."
"You just started." Nekomaru remarked. "Besides, everything you just practiced was pathetic on your standards."
"What!?" Akane had a spurt of energy at his comment, jumping onto her feet to glare at him closer than if she remained on the ground. "Shut up! I bet I did better than everyone else!"
"Just because you've been recognized as an ultimate gymnast doesn't make you instantly better than the others who actually practice their move sets." Nekomaru grunted, regarding her with dissatisfaction. "You won't win the competition from skill alone."
"Listen old man, I have won these things before, I can definitely win again. You're better off helping Mirai or someone else, I don't need it."
"First of all, I'm pretty damn sure I'm as old as you are. Second of all, you're not gonna win with those routines. I can't force you to accept my help, Akane, but if you want to have a chance against Mirai this time, you should keep practicing these routines until they're perfected."
Akane gritted her teeth, disregarding about her hunger and exhaustion and replacing the feelings with aggravation. She swung out a fist, Nekomaru moving aside to avoid it easily. He stared at her inquisitively, not angry or even remotely upset by her unprovoked attack. She kicked out her leg, shouting with frustration when he ducked swiftly to dodge it, now grinning slightly at her attempts.
"What is with you?" Akane growled, keeping a defensive stance. "I don't get you, you've been around me way too much lately! Do you really want to touch my boobs or something?"
Nekomaru felt his cheeks begin to burn, "Wh-what!? No! Why would I want to do that!?"
"Then what do you want with me?" The frustrated female asked. "You're so damn persistent!"
"I only want to help you become the best gymnast, to get the fundamentals down so there is never any doubt on who is the true winner of every competition!" Nekomaru sincerely explained. "I've lead teams to victory when they started at the bottom, I've helped a baseball player get accepted into major leagues in middle school. I want to help you too, because I know there is something about you that can be enhanced, including your martial abilities! I can work out a plan for you, work with you on anything you need! And I am aware that you are doing this for the sake of your family."
He paused when Akane's eyes widened from him mentioning her siblings, her stance faltering progressively. "However, I can't perform my duties as a manager if you do not wish to use me. That said, I will still be willing to assist you should you ever need it in the future. I'll come running the day you require my aid."
Nekomaru turned from her and stalked away, Akane staring after him, completely dumbfounded. How did he know this was for her siblings? They must have informed him at some point, they were never exactly ashamed to admit their troubles to others who seemed compassionate. She had always survived alone until now, no one extended benevolence to her or her siblings when they needed it. Her pride was getting the best of her even now, but it began to sting the longer she regarded Nekomaru's backside. If he could ascertain her win… maybe she needed to let her barriers down for once and accept his offer.
"Wait," She called to him, the word bitter on her tongue.
Nekomaru halted, glancing back at her and waiting.
"If you can help me do better in this, so I can always get the reward money, I'll accept your help." Akane bargained. "And if you can make me stronger, so I can beat you up someday, that would be an awesome bonus."
Nekomaru laughed loudly, turning to face her completely once more, "Then it's a deal. I'll be your manager from now on, so don't ever hold back on anything! We start your training right now."
Akane deadpanned, "Now? But I'm so tired!"
"Not after I give you my special treatment." claimed the boisterous male, cracking his fingers suddenly as he encouraged Akane to follow him. "Once I do 'it' to you, you'll have boundless energy to keep you going for hours! Now then, let's do this!"
FINALLY HAD TIME TO WRITE SOMETHING. Dang work.
