Chapter 24: Fight
Yori and I had both traded our normal clothes for button-downs and slacks. Yori's clothes had been modified with slits to allow her tail and wings to move freely. Her hat was missing, her red-streaked hair exposed from the back, but her mask and coat were still very firmly in place. It made her look a little ridiculous as she dropped into splits on the floor and leaned forwards to press her forehead to her knee.
"So they all agreed to come?" she confirmed as she straightened up and leaned backwards, her rear foot coming up to brush her toes against the top of her head.
"They're at least curious," I explained, spreading my legs and dropping into a side split next to her. I leaned forwards to press my forehead to the ground and admitted to the floor, "I may or may not have mentioned that we could both probably take Steve in a fight."
"Which may or may not be true, I'm still not clear on what your super soldier can do," Yori scoffed.
"I base that on the fact that I don't think Steve could bring himself to hit a woman," I chuckled, straightening up and leaning to the side.
"Boy scout," Yori scoffed, standing up. She offered me a hand and dragged me to my feet as well. Her head tilted to the side, towards the door to the gym. I listened and heard footsteps coming down the hallway.
"Here they come," I said, nodding at her coat. "You sure you don't want to be ready when they get here?" Yori shook her head. "You're very melodramatic, you know that, right?" Yori's response was to lash her whip in my general direction. I leaned sideways, avoiding it lazily.
"Save it until the spar," I cautioned as the door opened. Steve's team all filed in looking a little drunker than when last I saw them. They were all upright though and there was only minimal stumbling and slurring, so I took that to mean that they weren't completely trashed. Even if they were, I didn't doubt that Yori's dramatic reveal would sober them up at least a little.
"We're here!" Dugan announced grandly.
"I can see that," I said drily. I gestured to Yori. "This is my friend, Yori Tsukuda. And she's not from Fresno," I admitted, recalling Dugan's reaction when Morita started to escape with them.
"I think we can forgive that if you can really do what we've been told you can," Falsworth said, eyes combing over Yori curiously.
"I'm not going to trust someone who won't show their face," Dugan said firmly, nodding to Yori's mask.
I could practically hear the smirk in her voice as Yori said, "That can be fixed."
With a shrug of her shoulders her coat slid free, her wings spreading and her tail flicking up into view. She dragged off her mask, revealing her marked face and permanently red-colored lips. With a toss of her head, she made sure they didn't miss the streaks in her hair and at the same time revealed her pointed ears.
I counted two 'holy shit's, one 'what the hell', a garbled shout of surprise, and one cry of merde that undoubtedly came from Dernier.
"Was that strictly necessary?" I asked Yori, exasperated.
Yori shrugged innocently, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I don't want to fight beside men who can't handle a little shock."
Morita was the first person who got over his shock. "I'm pretty sure you're what my mom said would eat me if I didn't eat my vegetables." Yori looked nonplussed and I had to hide a smile at that one.
"Damn," Dugan breathed.
"HYDRA really did a number on you, didn't they?" Jones said, eyeing Yori sympathetically. They all blinked when Yori threw back her head and laughed.
"No, I was like this before they got their hands on me. I was born like this. A human mutant, just like Josie."
All eyes flicked to me, and I noticed Morita trying to subtly get a look at my rear and check for a tail. I held up my hands placatingly.
"Sorry, my mutation isn't quite as obvious as Yori's. It's best we just show you what we can do. Steve?" I asked, nodding to the ring.
"Go ahead," Steve encouraged.
"You knew about the…" Unable to quite make himself say the word, Jones flapped his hands at his sides. Steve chuckled.
"Yeah, I've known since a little after we got back from the factory. Yori kind of gave herself away when we came across Schmidt."
"What'd you do?" Falsworth asked, looking at Yori sideways. She inclined her head.
"Why don't I show you?" She spread her wings and the men flinched back. Yori was a small woman, but her wings still had to be large to keep her body in the air. With two powerful sweeps she was in the air and gliding over the ropes into the ring. She landed lightly and folded her wings. Yori turned to face me and thrust out a hand.
"Coming?" she asked, eyes sparking with challenge. Yori didn't really fit into the feral category of mutants, but she was most definitely more in touch with her instinctive side than the average human. I felt the thrill of a fight starting to creep up on me as well and I was transported back to those long afternoons we spent in the ballroom of the Ealum plantation house, trading punches and kicks for hours on end.
"Of course," I purred, and approached the ring. I crouched and leaped the four feet onto the platform and grabbed the ropes to stabilize myself. I slid between them and moved to stand opposite Yori.
"Do we bow, or shall we just go?"
"Just what?" Yori replied saccharinely. I smirked. This had been a favorite ploy of hers back when she first started teaching me. I remembered falling for it a couple times before I caught on to what she was doing. But it was appropriate for this, I supposed.
"Go," I said, dropping into a crouch.
Yori spun and her tail lashed out at me. I grabbed it just under the spaded end and jerked. Yori's eyes flashed indignantly – she hated when people pulled her tail – and she staggered closer to me, pulled slightly off balance. Yori was a pro though, she quickly got her feet back under her and used the momentum of the pull to add to a devastating punch aimed at my jaw.
I ducked under her punch and spun, swinging my leg around towards her side. Yori grabbed my leg and pinned it to her side with her arm, her hand flashing forwards faster than humanly possible as she punched me twice in rapid succession before swinging me around by my leg. I went skidding across the ground.
Quickly, I forced bones from my fingers and stabbed them into the ground, stopping my wild slide and using it to spin myself around into a crouch, my right leg extended at my side. I pushed off the ground and lunged at Yori. She spun, wings and tail flying in a protective battering shield around her. I reared back – I knew from experience how much it stung to get smacked by one of Yori's wings.
She slammed her foot down, stopping her spin, and used the motion to swing her whip around as it unfurled form her fingers. The bright, crackling green light illuminated the room as she lashed it at me. I jumped back, dancing out of the way as she snapped it twice at my legs. Dimly I heard the men shout in surprise, but I was focused on the fight.
My blood was pounding in my ears and my heart was racing as adrenaline flooded my veins. I growled low in my throat as Yori smirked at me, lashing her whip at me again. I ducked under it and moved within arm's reach, forcing her to abandon her whip.
Yori and I traded a flurry of punches and kicks. Yori's style of fighting incorporated bits and pieces of various martial arts plus the brutal, instinctive moves of street fighting. She was no joke in a fist-to-fist fight and she'd taught me everything she knew. When I first started learning from her I spent more time picking myself off the ground than I did fighting. Now I could go toe-to-toe with her on equal footing.
We both made calculated risks. I traded a knee in the side for a chance to punch Yori in the jaw. She dodged and allowed the side of my fist to connect with her for the sake of landing a punch in my stomach. Neither of us recoiled from the hits we took.
Like I'd told Steve, I healed fast and Yori was durable. Her kick to the side audibly cracked a rib but it healed almost instantly. My punch to her chin would have sent a normal man staggering, but it just snapped her head back a little.
I connected a fist with Yori's cheek. She took the hit and spun with it, kicking me brutally in the side and sending me staggering again. She kept me at arm's length by summoning her whip again and spinning in a circle. Now the blur of black was punctuated by rings of glowing green. I backed away warily.
Getting hit with that whip was like getting hit by a burning, electrified knife. It cut deeply and the wound burned. The feeling in the surrounding skin was deadened. I'd taken hits from it before and they were always slower to heal than normal cuts, so I avoided the thing instead of taking a hit whenever I could.
Yori stopped spinning but lashed her whip at me to keep me back where I was. Her eyes were narrowed.
"You're pulling your punches," she said furiously. My eyes widened. "Do you think I'm still weak from my time as a prisoner? Do you think I haven't recovered?"
Yori lunged, sped along by a strong flap of her wings, and buried a foot in my stomach with more force than any hit we'd exchanged yet. Something cracked loudly and blood burst from my mouth as I went flying backward, sliding on my side across the ring.
"Stop the fight!" Falsworth shouted. "She's hurt."
"I'm fine," I growled at him, wiping the blood from my mouth and pushing myself to my feet. I glared at Yori. "I know you're not still hurt."
"Then why," Yori demanded, coming at me again in a flurry of punches, "are… you… holding… back?!"
Each word was punctuated with a punch. I leaned around or blocked all of them. Yori finished with a kick to my stomach that doubled me over. Her hands landed on my shoulder, gripping tightly and forcing me to stay in that position as her knee connected with my side five times in rapid succession. Several loud cracks came out of my ribs. I winced as she shoved me and sent me staggering back, but again my ribs were healed almost instantly. My command over my bones meant that they healed faster than anything else.
I gave myself away with a glance to the side. The men were watching on tender hooks, their eyes wide and their mouths slack. Even Steve was looking worried, his hand resting on his side in commiseration. Bucky was wincing, his eyes fixed on me.
"It's because they're here?" Yori demanded incredulously. "They're going to find out, you're going to tell them! So why the hell are you still hiding?"
"I'm not!" I snarled, and swung at her. I swung wildly, without a plan. Yori caught my upper arm easily and guided me around her, planting her foot on my rear and shoving just to add insult to injury. I growled as I turned to face her.
"You are!" she snarled. "Are you still afraid of rejection? You've told your secrets, it's all out there. I thought you were supposed to be dangerous; are you just a mouse? Show them who you are, Tigress!" Yori hissed venomously, cracking her whip across my face. I went spinning and ate floor, my head landing to face the men.
I saw surprise, shock, a little unease written on their faces. But none of them looked disgusted. None of them looked angry. None of them looked like they were headed for the pitchforks and torches. They looked concerned for me. They looked like they cared what happened to me. They looked a little discomfited, but that was probably because of what Yori was saying.
"Fine, if you're going to lie there like a rug, I'll treat you like one!"
Yori leaped, her foot angled to come down in a kick that would undoubtedly break my spine, and even I'd need a second to recover from that one.
I kicked at the ground and sent myself sliding for the ropes. I grabbed onto them and kicked again, using the momentum to flip around the ropes and back onto my feet inside the ring. I landed in a crouch and straightened up, tilting my head to the side.
Yori smiled. She recognized the gesture.
"Finally!" she shouted joyfully, tail twitching. "Now it's a fight!"
My shoulder spasmed and there was a loud crack. Blood bloomed on my shoulder just before the rounded end of my humerus tore through my shirt. I gripped it tightly and pulled it free, revealing the sharpened blade that the rest of the bone had turned into.
Yori looked at the blade wistfully. "I miss my sword," she said longingly, and lunged at me. I swiped at her with the blade and she danced back, aiming a kick for my stomach. This time I grabbed her leg and swung her around, letting fly. She connected with the ropes and hung for a moment. I threw the blade after her. Yori gave a small yelp and dropped. The blade flew over her head and embedded itself in the wall behind her.
"It's going to take more than a couple of knives to beat me," Yori pointed out as she came at me again, her wings poised to buffet me with wind. Sharpened ribs burst from my chest. Yori froze where she was to keep from getting the sensitive membranes shredded and quickly tucked them back behind her.
"Fine, be that way," she said, and lunged at me. I grabbed her, letting her fist skate past my cheek, and rolled her, trapping her on the ground between my legs. I raised a hand over her face, ready to punch.
Yori's tail wrapped around my throat, tightening and dragging me backwards off of her. I scowled as I choked for air. I should have expected that one – Yori's favorite use for her tail was to choke opponents or stab with the tip.
Yori scrambled to her feet, standing over me as her tail continued to choke me. I let out a strangled roar and jerked my legs, knotting them around Yori's and dragging her down. Surprise made her tail loosen for just a second and I used that moment to rip the appendage away. I crawled on Yori's back and straddled her. She reared up, catching me in the nose with the back of her head. My eyes watered and Yori used the moment to slide free of me.
Blinking away tears I jumped at her wildly. Yori sidestepped and I went flying towards the men, whose eyes widened. I grabbed onto the ropes, swinging myself around. I perched, balancing on the ropes. Yori's head was turning towards me, but not fast enough. I roared as I surged off the rope and bore her to the ground under me. I grabbed her wings near where they joined her back and flexed my hands warningly.
Under me, Yori froze. She was very touchy about people getting their hands on her wings. She'd broken one once before and she still turned gray whenever she was asked how it felt. I got the feeling it hurt more than a normal bone. The surest way to end a spar was to manage to get behind Yori and into a position where you could grab one or both wings.
"I yield," Yori grumbled, knowing I'd caught her, even though I wouldn't really break one of her wings.
I sat back on my heels, pleased. Yori sat straight up, throwing me off of her roughly. I willingly fell onto my rear, laughing as Yori flipped over and gave me a dark look.
"You know I hate when you do that," she scolded.
"I know. That's why I do it," I said slowly.
Yori rolled her eyes at me and climbed to her feet. I rocked back onto my hands and flipped to my feet, straightening up. We both turned to face what was without a doubt the most shell-shocked and confused group of men I'd ever seen. I couldn't only imagine how we looked – both of us dotted with blood, our clothes ripped, hair a wreck.
Unsurprisingly, Dugan was the one who summarized what all of the men seemed to be feeling.
"What the hell did we just watch?"
I chuckled, rubbing my ribs ruefully, and approached the edge of the ring. Yori soared over my head and landed near the knot of shell-shocked soldiers. I crouched and jumped, leaping over the ropes and landing in a crouch on the other side.
"What do you gentlemen know about mutation?"
Yori and I were resting in my room. Steve's men had asked us to step outside while they discussed the matter at hand. Yori and I had chuckled at that and I explained that standing outside wouldn't keep us from hearing what was said. We'd gone back to my room to get cleaned up, with Steve supposed to come by after a decision was reached and tell us if we'd be joining them or not.
"Do you think they'll let us?" I asked Yori, who was lying on my bed with her wings spread out around her. The tips brushed the ground.
"I have no idea," Yori admitted. "But I would hope they're not stupid enough to turn us away because of our gender."
I sighed. "Always comes down to that, doesn't it?" I asked ruefully. Yori scoffed.
"As if a pair of breasts keeps us from throwing a punch."
"Yori," I scolded her. She stared back at me unrepentantly, the spaded tip of her tail twitching like a cat's.
"No one's around to scold me for being vulgar, I'll thank you not to fill the role," she sniffed. Then she paused, a smile creeping across her face. "Ah, here comes our resident super soldier now."
I walked to the door and listened to the footsteps coming down the hall. Yori sat up and nodded at me to open it. I held up a hand and waited until Steve stopped on the other side. I yanked open the door and grinned as I caught him with a fist raised to knock and a startled expression on his face.
"Should have known you heard me coming," he said ruefully, shaking his head as he lowered his fist.
"Never mind that," Yori snapped, rising to her feet and joining me at the door. "Well?" she demanded.
"There were a couple who were hesitant," Steve explained. "Dernier and Falsworth took some convincing, but eventually they were all on board." He smiled at us warmly. "Welcome to the team."
I beamed delightedly and threw my arms around Steve. He jerked in surprise and I knew without even looking up that he'd gone beat red. Yori's snickering was kind of a clue too.
