Sally spent the hour warming up and stretching out her muscles and was reasonably confidant that Wufei was doing the same. No fighter worth their salt ever went into a match cold if given a choice. By doing so they'd do more harm to themselves than they would to their opponent. She had to admit that it felt good when she went through her pre-fight routine, each muscle stretching and loosening with each set she performed. It was like greeting an old friend; the exercises were comforting in their familiarity. It gave her a feeling of nostalgia when she thought about all the times when she'd been a young woman running through those exact same stretch routines preparing herself to fight for her right to choose her husband.

She ran through a few of the Forms, starting from the simplest and working her way up. Memories of learning them as a young child reached out and embraced her; memories of long hours in the dead of night (her days had been filled with chores, work and other duties to discourage her unwomanly pursuit of the martial arts) practicing over and over in the moonlight. Now the movements and breathing were so ingrained that they were natural, she didn't have to think about them. True, she wasn't as good as Wufei was, but she was no slouch either.

Don't get too cocky. Especially before a match, she chastised herself. A true martial artist was humble, and not that false humility that covered up blatant bragging either. Sally had never allowed her head to swell for she knew that her sensei would be only too glad to shrink it back down to size for her.

She looked over at the stand that usually held armor; today it held her stiff, heavy wedding regalia. She was going to fight in her under-layer for there was no way that she'd be able to fight in that robe let alone beat a martial artist as good as Wufei.

"Your hour is nearly over with," said the voice of her mentor. Sally tried not to show her startlement. That man, even though her was as old as a mountain, could still sneak up on her quiet as a cat and frighten the wits out of her!

"I'm ready sensei," she said with a smile. He still looked to her like a kindly grandfather, with laughlines around his eyes and the bright shine of a sharp mind within them. For all of his years he was still spry and quick, and Sally had no doubts that he could still easily teach her a thing or two about the martial arts. He was one of the handful of people in all of the Twelve Clans that Sally held respect and honor for. She loved him more than her own father, and could recall wishing as a young girl and as a young woman that it was he she'd been born to and not Po Tzu.

"I have been watching your opponent for this past hour," he said, feigning indifference. "He's quite good."

"I know," she said nodding in agreement. "He's the best."

"And he is a…worthy man? Honorable?" asked Dirhann, as if hesitant to broach the subject.

"Indeed. He's very honorable. I hesitate to use the word righteous, but I believe that best describes him. Otherwise I would not have partnered with him for so long. He's loyal, sincere, true and kind underneath that gruff exterior. And even if he is a pain in the ass… he's my pain in the ass."

Dirhann-sensei studied her for a long minute, then said in surprise

"You are actually in love with him, aren't you?"

"Yes," she admitted. "Completely."

"He must be a rare man indeed if he could manage to capture your heart, it was whispered that anyone attempting it would need to build a net to catch the wind. I had thought you would never find a man to match you. Why did you challenge him if you are already in love with him?"

"It's the principle of the thing," she said echoing his words to her last night. "If I allow this, Father wins."

"I see. Well we can't have that now, can we? Good luck daughter of my heart, show him what it means to fight the strongest woman of Phoenix Clan."

"Hopefully it does not mean an embarrassing loss with me falling flat on my ass for Phoenix Clan," she said with a grin and walked out to the large central courtyard where the fighting circle lay prepared for her. She wasn't sure if Wufei was going to fight just for show or if he was really going to fight her, she'd have to test him a little before she took a real swing.

Wufei stood at the edge of the Circle dressed in his dark blue tank top, white pants and soft soled shoes for martial arts fighting. When Sally stepped into the ring they both proceeded in unison to the center. Dirhann-sensei and Turvahl-sensei (from Tiger Clan) stood waiting. They would be referees and judges for the match. They went to the sidelines to watch.

"Masubi…" called Turval-sensei. Wufei and Sally moved in unison to the position masubi-datchi, fists pulled back next to the hips, then slowly turned and lowered to the front of the body.

"Rei," called Dirhann-sensei. They bowed at the waist in unison, maintaining eye contact.

"Begin."

They studied each other for a long moment, Sally said quietly so the others watching would not hear

"Are we fighting each other or putting on a show?"

"I told you to prepare for a fight," he said just as quietly. "You win or lose this one by your own strength and training."

That's when he attacked. He made a high kick to her head (the same kick that had defeated his previous wife when they had sparred together) but instead of blocking as he expected (as Meilan had) Sally countered. She just suddenly wasn't there. Sally dropped to her hands and lashed out with her right foot in a knee sweep, catching the back of his knee with her foot and pulling it forward. It bent as it was supposed to and removed the power base for Wufei's kick, sending him into a controlled tumble. Attack and counter attack, the first set had been made. There was no turning back now.

As Wufei rolled easily to his feet, Sally allowed the momentum of her own kick to swing her legs up and her body followed planting her lightly on her own feet. She looked at her partner turned opponent, and saw that he was looking back at her with his eyes narrowed in concentration. After a pause she realized that he was going to wait for her to attack so that he could assess her skills. Well it was always better to be underestimated in a fight, so Sally came at him with the most basic of movements. Her right fist shot out from the chamber at the side of her waist, he merely moved his head to one side. She pulled it back and tried the left, he batted it aside and said

"Why are you bothering with these child's moves? Fight me!"

"As you wish."

Sally's flat hand shot up and caught his chin while she brought the other around to the backside of his head. A torque of the waist and a whip of the hips and he went over her side and tumbled into the soft sands. She waited until he regained his feet and watched for the attack.

She wasn't disappointed. She heard the rustle of cloth and the sound of wind being displaced by a large mass, just in time to roll to the side and avoid his flying kick. Naturally he pursued her after his first attack didn't land. She barely managed to doge his second kick as he came flying at her seemingly out of no where.

Ancestors Blood he's fast! she thought. She caught the blur of his fist heading for her temple. She twisted, grabbed the wrist, twisted again and threw him over her back. Wufei was heavier, taller, stronger with a lot more body mass. Sally had her speed and agility to rely on usually, but in this case her agility and speed were matched by him.

Wufei attacked and kept on attacking pressing her harder and harder. Sally barely managed to dodge, block or counter his movements. He possessed a speed that she could hardly believe; it had her reacting mainly on the level of instinct. His punches came at her likes snowflakes in a blizzard, no sooner did she block one than the other was almost on her. Block high, block low, divert and counter punch. She was just barely managing to keep ahead of him, and she was certain she wouldn't be able to keep it up for long.

"Every attack has a weakness that can be countered with a proper defense," was one of the first things her sensei had taught her. "Be like water. It holds no form and is constantly changing itself to suit what it needs. It fights by not fighting, and therein lays its value. Take your opponents force and make it your own."

When she was able to get a good grip on his wrist and send him tumbling into the sands (giving her a moment's pause to breathe and some much needed space) he rolled to his feet in a heartbeat and leapt back at her. Sally really didn't want to hurt him so she played a defensive match for the most part. She tossed him over whenever she could but he just kept coming back.

I can't spend the entire match tossing him around the ring! she thought. Sooner or later he'll catch on and stop leaving me openings.

When she attacked, she liked to attack low. "Attack the foundation and the whole structure collapses," her sensei had taught her. Sally's foot lashed out for his instep, but he moved his foot, so she merely switched her target and continued her kick aiming for the knee again. No dice. He brought up his knee to waist level and shot his foot out, intending to catch her in the side. Sally caught him. He'd managed to knock her breath out and there would probably be a bruise come morning, but she had his foot trapped between her arm and her body. It was another text book throw she sent him on.

"You're no bird Wufei, aren't you a little tired of trying to imitate one?" she called, unable to resist teasing him a little. Her tone turned cajoling "Why not just let me win and we can go home happy. I'll make you a nice poultice for those bruises and we can have some tea."

"You noted yourself that I don't drink tea, Sally," he replied. "And I'm not going to let you win either so stop fooling around and fight."

"You're so difficult Wufei," she said.

"Pot calling the kettle black," he tossed her words back at her with a grin. Sally almost forgot to breathe when he smiled at her. Damn it wasn't fair! The man should not be allowed to have this kind of an effect over her in the ring, in the middle of a fight no less. Injustice, that's what it was. Pure injustice.

He attacked again, and Sally let him come at her.

Wufei came at her with a right-handed chop to her temple. She ducked and shot the heel of her hand into his side. She didn't truly want to hurt him, just get him to give in and leave her be. Really, the man was so stubborn. Didn't he see that if he won he'd be stuck with her as his wife for the rest of his life? This was for his own good.

"Sorry," Sally muttered as she sprang up from her crouched position like a coiled spring and brought her knee into his rib cage. Not finished she grabbed the wrist he'd attacked her with and used his own momentum to swing him around so that she was behind him. She brought his arm up behind his back and slid her arm around his neck so that the crook of her arm supported his chin. Lastly she took her foot and forcibly bent his knee so that she could maintain her leverage. But to her complete surprise, instead of going down to one knee clumsily, Wufei used his downward momentum, to jerk his body forward and down sending her flying over him.

Sally rolled of course but Wufei wasn't done with her yet. She'd no sooner rolled to her feet then he was at her side trying to force her off them again with a shoulder bump. As sumo wrestlers had discovered, this movement had a lot of power behind it especially with a running start. The weakness in using this move was that it was incredibly easy to counter. Sally reacted without thinking to toss him onto a throw, but he'd been expecting that and took her with him. They tumbled end over end for a bit. She tried to save her partner from the worst of it, and was warmed to note that he was trying to do the same.  When they stopped tumbling she wound up tangled up with him. He had one leg wrapped around her legs immobilizing them, and her arms were pinned by his own. She was completely dependent on him for support for she was still of balance and dizzy. She looked up into his dark eyes, his face hovering just inches above hers, and all she could do was breathe. She couldn't move, not merely because she was pinned, but because her own body wouldn't let her. Her chest heaved from exertion and sweaty wisps of hair had come out of the twist she'd confined it into. She got the vague sense that if he hadn't had his arms full restraining her, Wufei would have reached up and brushed them aside.

They waited there, frozen in tableau for a full moment, before Sally was able to bring her limbs under her own command. Her fight wasn't lost yet and she still had plenty of fight left in her to give. Extricating herself might be a little painful for him but he'd thank her for it later. She prepared to twist and send him tumbling into another roll so they could start the match again…

Then she felt something warm and soft on her lips. His lips. Sally suddenly felt dizzy, drunk on the sensation of electricity spreading out from her spine. She felt like she was drowning, all she knew was him, his lips on hers, his scent filling her lungs. She closed her eyes and felt herself melt. He didn't need to pin her arms anymore for they automatically reached up to pull him closer. He deepened the kiss as his own arms tightened around her. He felt like he was flying through the air again, only this time he didn't anticipate a hard landing. He'd wanted this for so long, why had he waited this long? She was soft in his arms and he was pleased to feel her returning the kiss readily.

Finally they separated and Wufei looked down at her. She looked dazed and dreamy, with those perfect lips of hers pulled into a sensuous smile that made him want to kiss her again. She was completely limp in his arms.

"I win," he said in and intimate tone.

"You cheated," she murmured, her voice as dazed as her expression. 

"I expanded the context of the game. As the old saying goes, all is fair in love and war," he replied. He was having an even more difficult time resisting the lips again.

"And what precisely is this? Love or war?"

"The best kind; a little of both."

"Good. Then you'll forgive me for this."

Then Wufei slumped forward onto her and they both hit the sands in a heap as Sally pinched a nerve near the base of his neck, rendering him unconscious. There were advantages to medical training after all, the one who knew how to put you together also knew how to take you apart.

Sally disengaged herself from him and stood, signaling to the judges (and the huge crowd standing nearby) that she was once again, the victor. She picked her partner up and slung him over her shoulder to carry him back to the room he was staying in, she staggered under his weight. His muscle mass and his hight made him heavy and she slumped over trying to carry him; but Sally was accustomed to carrying heavy packs of provisions and weaponry so she could handle his weight.  One back in the room she intended to treat him and dress any wounds she might have given him during the course of the fight. He wouldn't be out for long, she knew; that nerve pinch trick never lasted for more than a few minutes, but in most fights a few minutes was all it took.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. The show and its characters are the sole creative property of Sunrise, Bandai and Sotsu Agency as well as its creators Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Matate. The Twelve Clans and all of its affiliated work is the sole creative property of me.