"Hours. Days. Weeks. So much time had passed since our last clue that the trial we worked so hard to follow had gone cold. The Commissioner asked me to drop the case and take some time off. I refused. There's no way I could consider myself a hero after letting such injustice go unchecked. One day, after a long stake out, I had crossed paths with a stranger who gave me useful information that led me towards the Headquarters."
Undercover Agent Fei Long ducks behind a pair of bushes on the Headquarters property. His overall suspicions were proven correct upon witnessing the organizations henchman carrying about their business. "Looks like this is it. It's now or never," Fei Long turns to his new partner in law enforcement, an average sized monkey who's skillfully trained in martial arts, Mr. Peel. He opens his mouth, "You think the two of us can take them all? You must be bananas!"
"The task before us seems dangerous, but it must be done, Mr. Peel. Let's not hesitate any further!"
Fei Long and Mr. Peel burst through the front door of the headquarters to be taken by surprise by the sudden, haunting darkness that engulfs them. Suddenly, small reflections of light emitted from the eyes of assassins who slink from underneath the shadows. Their outfits are pitch black and their eyes sharp as the freshly sharpened blades they wielded.
Fei Long takes a step back and brushes against his partner, "Looks like we're surrounded. Got any ideas?"
"I always like to have a snack when the chips are down. Banana chips that is!" The primate brought a bag of name brand banana chips to his hands and tore it open. The scent alone fueled his animal instincts sending him into a blind rage. "Look out! He's going apeshit!" one assassin warned to his cohorts. The primate proceeded to lose his mind and attack everything around him that wasn't his partner. Mr. Peel's fury distracted the goons long enough for Fei Long to slip inside the mansion.
Makoto felt awestruck by the actions taken on screen. The bravery. The tactical genius provided by Mr. Peel. Not to mention, the impressive acrobatics provided by Fei Long himself. It was all so inspirational.
"Hey," whispered a voice, "Can you pass me the popcorn?" Acting on instinct, Makoto passed the popcorn to her left, "Thanks. What's the story on this one?" the voice asked again. "It's about Fei Long and his new partner, Mr. Peel, setting on an adventure to tackle the evil underground organization called Shada-HEY! WHEN DID YOU GET IN MY ROOM?!" Makoto snapped towards the voice who happened to be none other than Ibuki. Her innocent smile did nothing to defuse Makoto's short temper.
Ibuki laughed, "You just noticed? Really?" Makoto jumped from her bed and rolled up her sleeves, "I don't know how ya got in here, but I know how yer getting out." The martial artist shoved the ninja towards the door. Ibuki resisted by posting her arms at the side of the doorframe, "Oh, c'mon. You're really going to have a movie night and not invite your friend?"
"We ain't friends, got that?," Makoto grunted, "Yer my farmhand-"
"...and roommate...and training partner...While I'm here I did want to talk to you about something," Makoto stopped pushing. Ibuki slid a hand in her pocket and pulled out an envelope containing her pay for the week, "Can I get a raise?"
Makoto slowly tilted her head to the side with narrowed eyes.
"Please," the ninja urged. Makoto rolled her eyes and stopped pushing. She threw herself back on the bed then gestured towards the lone chair in the room. Ibuki tossed the pile of clothes from it and sat in it backwards.
"Talk." Makoto muttered with her eyes shut.
Ibuki waved the envelope full of bills, "I think it's great that you took a chance and gave me a job, but don't you think the pay is a little low? I've done so much for your business. The increase in sales has to mean something, right?"
"Ya don't think I'm letting ya stay for free, do ya?" Ibuki opened then closed her mouth. Makoto raised two fists in the air and placed up one finger for every fault, "There's the food ya eat, MY snacks ya eat, rent, yer hospital bill, then ya take long showers causing the water bill to go up-".
Ibuki's brow knotted, "Oh. So you're my landlord too now?"
"If you want to look at it that way, yeah. Don't like it? I'm sure there's lots of garbage cans in Tokyo just waiting to be eaten out of," replied Makoto. Ibuki let out a defeated sigh, "Sorry. I guess I just expected more."
Makoto opened her eyes partially, "That's working for ya. I'd like more pocket change myself. Over half of what I earn goes towards fixing the dojo. Can't tell you how many times I've replaced the sign. Cheap wood doesn't last long." Makoto brought her attention back towards the movie on her laptop. Ibuki's focus shifted to the room around her. Unlike the rest of the home, Makoto's room was messy and unorganized. Clothes, equipment, trash, and other things littered across the floor.
Her eyes then landed on a picture frame on the desk. It was a photo of an old man, a middle aged man, and a kid, all wearing gis and posing in front of the Rindokan dojo, "Is this your family?"
"Yep. Well...most of it. My grandpa moved to America with my brother some years ago and my father passed away when I was a kid."
"Oh, Makoto. I'm sorry to hear that." Thinking quickly to lighten the mood, Ibuki spotted another framed photo with Makoto, her grandfather, and a young man in a suit, "Oooh! Who's this?"
"That's my brother, Mokoto. We took that one before he left to work in America."
"He's one hot piece of ass that's for sure! Does he have a girlfriend?" Ibuki's curiosity was then rewarded with a forceful slap from a pillow, "You stay away from my brother! He wouldn't like a horny, sneaky, delinquent ninja like you!" Makoto stuck her finger firmly at Ibuki. "Man, you really know nothing about boys do you? When I walked in this room and saw these posters I thought you were hiding your good taste from me."
By "good taste" Ibuki referred to the posters decorating the four walls of the room. There's one of a woman with legs more muscular than a horse, another poster with a blonde American man with a flat-top combing his hair, and another with a man dressed in a torn white gi and red headband walking into the sunset, "These aren't posters to drool over. This is my motivation. You see this guy here?" Makoto gestured to another poster, this one was of a man kicking into the air with his leg surrounded by flames.
"That's just Fei Long."
"JUST FEI LONG?! He's my idol! This guy is a complete badass both on and off the movie set! He even does his own stunts." Ibuki smirked, "The tabloids say that's a lie. He clearly uses a stunt double." Makoto nearly snapped her neck facing Ibuki, "You dare mock greatness in my presence?! Why I outta..." her voice trailed off, Makoto inquisitively analyzed the woman before her, "Hey, wait a minute. Your ribs. They're healed up, right?"
Ibuki patted the sides of her torso, "Better than ever. Why?"
A wide, narrow smile grew on Makoto's face like a troublesome housecat, "I've been itching to spar with you for a while. You said you wanted a raise, right?" she pounded a fist into her open palm, "Beat me in a fight then." There wasn't much use in talking down Makoto out of a challenge. Ibuki's come to learn that in the time that she's known her, "Ok, but if I win...along with the raise we go out on a night on the town."
"Huh?" Makoto recoiled, "Night on the town?"
"Y'know. Go out, eat at a restaurant, have some drinks. That kinda stuff. Staying in on a friday night isn't my idea of fun. And I'm craving some junk food. Real bad."
Shortly after, they entered the Rindokan Dojo dressed in their respective fighting attire; Ibuki dressed in her ninja dougi while Makoto wore her gi. Makoto's visible enthusiasm for combat made Ibuki anxious. The way she stretched and shadowboxed reminded her of the everlasting energy Makoto contained that one morning at the farmer's market. After weeks of training together and their initial fight, there's no doubt Makoto had gone over their inevitable match over a million times in her own head.
Makoto took her spot near the center of the ring. Ibuki did the same. They exchanged looks of determination though said determination was fueled by different reasons, "Give me the best ya got. And don't hold back one bit, hear me?" Ibuki nodded.
The match officially started when Ibuki and Makoto simultaneously bowed.
The second after, Makoto started her approach. It was the same as Ibuki witnessed before in their training. The walk cycle taught by the Rindokan dojo was deliberately slow to inject uncertainty into the opponent. Makoto's style of fighting, Rindokan Karate, itself is very basic, only consisting of punches, kicks, chokeholds, and karate chops. However, it certainly felt effective given Makoto's sudden bursts of speed and strength to hit like a truck.
Just then, Makoto dashed with his fist held forward. Ibuki barely managed to sidestep the attack, yet still remained within Makoto's range. Makoto then let out an onslaught of strikes to which Ibuki narrowly avoided then repositioned herself at the opposite side of the ring. She beckoned for Makoto to approach.
The same thing happened again. Again. And again.
"I see what yer trying to do. You oughta know by now that the thrill of the fight gives me energy! You can't tire me out, ya sneak!" Makoto proved her words to be true by speeding across the room within a blink of an eye to bury her fist directly into Ibuki's sternum. The impact sent Ibuki crashing into the dojo wall. She gathered her bearings in time to slip past a devastating karate chop that shattered the floor underneath. Makoto spun and leapt into the air with her leg raised ready to come crashing down on her opponent.
While it was true Makoto dominated the ground game, Ibuki performed just as well in aerial combat. Ibuki shot herself from the ground towards Makoto. She twisted her body in just the right position to evade Makoto's leg and grab hold of her body in mid-air. With their momentum combined and in her control, Ibuki whipped Makoto straight towards the ground. Makoto failed to catch herself and landed face first. She scrambled to all fours when Ibuki's heel swiftly struck the apex of Makoto's head. The force sent Makoto crashing again into the dojo floor, splintering the planks upon impact.
Ibuki landed on the floor with her back towards her defeated opponent. She tugged down her mask and stretched her arms, "Good fight. Now let's get something to-" A sudden blow just below her shoulder blades sent Ibuki crashing through the dojo door and onto the rocky surface outside. Ibuki winced, reeling in pain. She looked towards the splintered dojo doors to see her opponent slowly emerge from the interior. Makoto's eyes were bolder with beady pupils of a killer animal. Her skin was just a shade or two lighter than the dark red blood seeping from her nose, "Never turn your back on an opponent!"
Just like before, Ibuki quickly scrambled to her feet just in time to defend herself against Makoto's strikes. This time around, Makoto had let loose any resemblance of restraint. Ibuki blocked the attacks, but felt the impact more than before. As if Makoto punched through Ibuki's muscle and impacted her bones. Ibuki continued her evasive maneuvers, avoiding Makoto's blows entirely.
"I need to think of something quick. Not only will I lose out on this raise, but this girl is going to put me in the emergency room!" Ibuki looked behind the dojo and spotted the forest close to it. She gave Makoto one last look before sprinting off into it. Makoto grunted and gave chase.
Ibuki's speed surpassed Makoto's own. She lost track of her in a clearing within the forest, "Where are you? Don't hide like a coward!" The rustling of a bush caught Makoto's attention. She leaped forward and brought down a strong karate chop that damaged the foliage. Beneath there was nothing.
"Oh, I'm not the one who's scared." Makoto heard Ibuki's voice above. She turned, but didn't see her. "I know you're a pretty strong fighter. No secret about that. However, I always have the element of surprise on my side."
From the shadows of the woods, Ibuki jumped out with her foot forward. Makoto spun around just in time to block the strike only to be met with a cloud of smoke. A single log of wood fell to her feet. "How?"
Suddenly, Ibuki jumped from the tree branch above and pounced onto Makoto where she managed to grapple the martial artist into a chokehold. Ibuki's hand pushed Makoto's head forward, further pressing Makoto's windpipe into Ibuki's forearm. This position meant that Makoto's offensive options were severely limited. With each attempt Ibuki pushed down harder and struggled only to further realize she had no options left. She firmly slapped her hand down on the ground signaling surrender.
Ibuki threw herself onto the cool grass to catch her breath. She couldn't remember the last time she had to fight so hard to get a victory.
It felt refreshing. Having won such a hard fought battle.
Ibuki threw herself off of Makoto and sat herself on the wood log she used as a distraction. Above, through the tree branches, Ibuki gazed at the stars in the night sky. She smiled, not able to remember the last time she bothered to even look at them since it was impossible to do so in Tokyo due to the light pollution.
After a moment, Makoto took a spot next to Ibuki.
"You alright?" asked Ibuki.
Without a word, Makoto threw her arm around Ibuki's shoulder and gave a surprisingly approving smile, "You and Me! We're going to get strong together! I just know it! I didn't know you could do such cool stuff! You gotta teach me sometime!" Relieved, Ibuki sighed, "For sure. We can save it for after we get some food in my stomach. I'm starving."
"Do we really have to? What's wrong with chicken and rice?"
"You cook that every night, Mako. Let's go have some fun!"
"I-? Mako?"
Ibuki stood up and walked toward the house, "Mako. Short for Makoto. It's a nickname. It's what friends do."
Makoto rubbed her chin like an elder learning about a new age trend for the first time, "I've never had a nickname before. Mako. Hm. Very well. Let's go get something to eat, friend."