Deep exhale. Crouch low. Eyes forward. Watch carefully. Shift feet a bit.
Many students sat around the perimeter of the dojo, watching the two in the middle with great interest. At least three times a week this would happen: at the end of the night classes at the school of Izumo-ryu Jiujutsu, the floor would be opened up to the black belts for rolling.
That wasn't what usually happened, though. Not for most of them. Instead, they'd watch as the school's star student answered a challenge or two.
Ryoko Izumi, daughter of the Izumo-ryu school's founder and top student, watched her challenger carefully, looking for any openings she might've been able to exploit. Said opponent matched her stance and gaze, looking for the same kinds of vulnerabilities he could jump on.
The two slowly circled around one another, watching as closely as they could, zoning out the calls of advice and encouragement from the other students. They shuffled around the floor so slowly that their feet barely grazed along the mats. Suddenly, the man shot forward, arms splayed wide to try and catch Ryoko in a clinch. The younger woman, though not by much, braced herself. As soon as the man was close enough, he cinched the dojo master's daughter around the waist. For a split second, he grinned at his advantageous position. All he had to do now was ignore the arm wrapping itself around his neck and the fact that his feet were no long on the floo-
Ryoko, as soon as the man grabbed hold of her, slung her arm around the back of his neck, then snapped around. The unprepared man blinked in shock as he felt himself being lifted into the air before being driven spine-first into the floor. Luckily for him, the padding covering the floor made the landing a lot less painful than he thought, though that did nothing to help him against the woman who pushed herself along his chest, grabbing his gi lapel and harshly pulling it across his neck. The man barely had time to dig his heels into the mat to try and leverage himself out of the inverted side control position before Ryoko tightened the grips she had with each arm, cutting off his air supply in a hurry. He quickly tapped her side with his hand, drawing a smile from the young martial artist as she released her hold. The class clapped and cheered for both fighters, despite how quickly the roll ended, and the two fighters pushed themselves to their feet, offering one another a bow as they did.
Ryoko smiled, bowing to the other students watching as they continued their applause. Her opponent did the same, offering Ryoko a handshake when he finished, which she eagerly accepted.
"Any other challengers for Izumi-sensei?" Another man off to the side called, looking around the room. Nobody else volunteered, however, which prompted the students to start moving about the dojo. Ryoko walked over to a nearby wall, picking up a bottle of a generic sports drink and taking a healthy swig from it. She sat against the wall, watching with interest as the other students in the dojo took to various activities around her. Some began their own rolls, others sat back and chatted, while a small group began their own little game using various techniques they'd made up, trying to see if they could one up each other.
Ryoko couldn't help the small smile that she grew, seeing her father's dream alive and well in front of her. She might not have won the previous World Heroes tournament, but her performance was more than enough to draw in people who were interested in her father's style of jiujitsu, and she was more than happy to assist with that.
The young martial artist took another sip of her drink, wiping a bit of leftover sweat off of her forehead.
Outside the dojo, the quiet, dark air of the night settled over the part of the city the Izumo-ryu called home. Most nights, this calm was welcomed. The area typically knew less crime than most other parts of Tokyo, which meant that anyone could become a student of the martial arts in peace.
On this night, however, in an alley a couple of blocks away from the dojo, sat something nobody in the area would expect to find: a motorcycle, tucked away to minimize the space it too. A hand pulled a cellphone off of the holder on the handlebars, with a thumb deftly flicking its way across the screen. Pink eyes fell onto the screen as the phone was brought up, the phone's camera app already active and zooming in on the young woman resting against the wall.
A wicked grin spread across the phone-and-bike owner's lips as she watched the screen, taking joy in how oblivious the Japanese woman was to the storm coming her way.
"Oh, you are cute, aren't you~? Can't wait to see how much cuter you get when I'm breaking you~"
The eyes went wide with interest as Ryoko's attention was drawn to someone. She watched carefully, wanting to see what would happen next.
"Ryoko-sensei!"
The excited tone of the voice calling out to her caught her by surprise. She looked over to where it came from, seeing a pair of young women waving at her. Ryoko recognized them immediately. Like her, both were black belts, though not quite at her level just yet. The two stood next to one another, both smiling widely. The woman on the left waved at her, her braided pigtails bouncing with every shake of her arm, while the other beckoned her closer, her short hair swishing quickly from side-to-side as she nudged her neck toward the group.
Behind the two, who Ryoko knew as HIbana and Tohru respectively, two other young men stood holding a set of wooden boards. Ryoko rolled her eyes, but laughed. She already knew what they were going to ask for, but she decided to humor them.
"Yes~?" Ryoko called back, getting up and walking over to the girls.
"Come on! Come on!" HIbana said.
"It's time!" Tohru cried, grabbing hold of Ryoko's wrist as soon as she was close enough and pulling her forward.
"Oh, no," Ryoko said, giving the girls a nervous smile of her own, "I don't know if I can…"
"You said that last week, Sensei!" Hibana replied, "And look how that turned out!"
"Yeah! You got this!"
Ryoko sighed, then looked at the targets in front of her. Six boards were held tightly together by the two men, making sure they couldn't move or slip against each other. She thought back to a week previous, where she said the same thing to the same girls, only to prove herself wrong. She considered it for a brief moment. There was one more board than last week, which made it that much harder to do what they wanted.
But that was the challenge, wasn't it.
"Alright, alright."
The quartet cheered, with the two girls stepping aside while the boys settled themselves into bracing stances. Ryoko herself moved so that there was a little distance between her and the boards. She closed her eyes, letting out a low, long breath of air. As she inhaled again, she could feel the beginnings of energy dancing along her arms. The World Heroes veteran began to move her arms in slow, wide circles, feeling her Ki flow through her arms. The young woman continued to shift her arms, directing her Ki into a single focal point, with two small balls of light forming in the palms of her hands.
When she felt she'd built as much energy as she could, her eyes snapped open, her expression becoming one of sharp focus as her eyes fell on the boards.
"SEY-AHHHHH!"
In one smooth motion, she threw her hands back behind her, then brought them back forward again, slamming them together. The Ki burst forward through her splayed fingers, shooting toward the boards like a blade.
Half a second longer, the energy wave burst, signaling its dissipation. The group watched as pieces of wood fell to the mats, all hopeful as board after board fell apart.
Until the last board remained. Untouched.
All five fighters groaned, excitement and disappointment mixed together in equal measure as they witnessed the result.
"Dammit!" Tohru cried, putting her hands on the top of her head as she fell to her knees, clearly exaggerating her reaction to the sight. The other four burst into a round of laughter at her antics.
Once they settled down, and the boys began picking up the pieces of the broken boards, Hibana gave Ryoko a smile.
"That was sooooo close, though!"
"Yeah," one of the boys chimed in, "that was stronger than last week, too. Really thought you had it."
Ryoko giggled again, scratching the back of her head. "Yeah, I've been training it, too. Oh well. We can try again next week."
Through the screen of her phone, the woman spying on the class watched as Ryoko tested the strength of her against the boards. The mad smile she'd developed only grew as her toes curled into the ground in excitement.
"Oh, I'm gonna have so much fun breaking you~"
A few minutes later, the class began to wrap up. Several of the students of the dojo had already changed and gone home, while several others stayed behind to help clean up. The mats that had covered the wood floor of the dojo had been pulled up, with Hibana and Tohru carrying them to the storage room toward the back of the building, where they were normally kept. One other student helped Ryoko with wiping the floors down, while the rest celebrated both another fun class and not having to be part of the cleanup team.
Ryoko, along with her fellow student, ran along the length of the floor, pushing their cloths ahead of them to polish the wood after a hard night's training. After one run across the floor, Ryoko sat on her knees, sighing and wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead. It wasn't until the girls that stayed behind that she realized where she'd ended up.
"Oh, Ryoko-sensei!" Tohru said, as Hibana walked up behind her, "Good timing! We're out of fabric cleaner for the mats."
Ryoko gave Tohru a puzzled look. "Wait, really? You sure? We just got some not too long ago…"
"Probably Takahata," Hibana said, shaking her head, "You know how he likes to soak the mats in the stuff."
"It's fine," Ryoko said, standing up, "lemme go grab my shoes and I'll go get some real quick."
"Okay!" the two girls chimed together. Ryoko stifled a small giggle as she stood up, and the two watched as Ryoko made her way to the locker room. A moment later, Ryoko emerged, a pair of flip-flops in hand as she'd opted to not change out of her gi, and made her way to the front door.
"I'll be back in a few minutes!" she called as she slipped the sandals on, then made her way out of the building. The girls watched as Ryoko circled around the building, the windows giving them a clear view of her until she moved past the building and out of sight. The girls waited a moment, watching the spot they'd lost track of her. The young man that was helping Ryoko with the floors raced up to them. The girls, seeing he was still there, traded a quick look with one another.
"Hey," Hibana said, drawing the man's attention, "You can go ahead and head home."
Tohru nodded. "Yeah, we'll help Ryoko-sensei with the rest of the cleaning."
The young man gave them a confused glance. "Uh, you sure?"
The girls nodded, with Hibana speaking up. "Yeah, it'll be okay. There isn't a lot left to do, so we should be pretty quick."
The third student sat for about a half-second before he flashed them a sly grin.
"Sweet! Thanks! See ya'll later!"
With that, the young man ran into the men's locker room, doing as Ryoko did and simply grabbing his stuff before racing out and to his home.
Tohru and Hibana, again, traded a look with one another, staring for a moment before sly smiles crossed their faces.
Ryoko decided to jog down to the local convenience store, not wanting to take too long to get back and finish the cleaning. She had a bed at home waiting for her, and some manga she needed to catch up on.
She jogged down the road, taking in the cool night's air. She wasn't fond of the late classes, since it meant she had less downtime before she needed to go to bed, but the relatively quiet town meant the air was a nice refresher after a training session.
Though, the sounds of a motorcycle engine cutting through the air was kind of out of place.
Ryoko barely registered the pink and black streaks passing her by on the road as she approached the corner.
"Huh."
The young woman jogged in place as she waited for the lights to change and let her cross the street. She didn't think about the motorcycle that passed her by, instead hoping that the store had some fabric cleaner in stock.
She blinked, though, as she noticed the bike making its way back up the road.
On the wrong side..
"What the…"
Before she knew it, the bike came to a halt in front of her, the driver powersliding to stop it just inches away from her. The jiujitsu student barely had time to register what was happening before a foot buried itself into her midsection. The sudden kick drove the air out of Ryoko's lungs and forced her back. The young martial artist fell back, rolling until she ended up on her knees, clutching at her gut with her face scrunched tightly in pain..
The rider climbed off, pulling off the customized helmet to reveal a malicious grin and sinister, mismatched eyes.
"Well, that sucks," Juri said, slowly walking over to the downed woman, "Thought you'd be better than that. Oh well, I can still have some fun~"
She pushed Ryoko over with her foot, causing her to roll over onto her back. Jusri strolled over to her, lifting a leg high into the air. Ryoko managed to get enough air back into her lungs for her eyes to snap open and see what was about to happen. She acted quickly, spinning on her back slightly so she could snap her own leg out to sweep Juri's out from under her. The Korean, still smiling madly, found that smile evaporating as she fell to the ground. She landed hard on her hips, giving Ryoko the time she needed to roll away and get to a crouching position.
The mad taekwondo fighter recovered in a near instant, flipping herself onto her feet. She then launched herself forward with a mad cackle. Ryoko barely had time to get up to her feet and bring her arms up to block the spin kick Juri threw at her chest. The power of the attack sent her reeling back, though she managed to keep her footing. Juri flew forward with her momentum, throwing a spinning back fist at Ryoko. The Japanese woman ducked under the blow, reaching forward to grab Juri by her top. She then threw her weight backwards, rolling onto her back and planting a foot into Juri's midsection in a picture-perfect tomoe nage.
The Korean woman sailed through the air, twisting around so that she would land on her feet in a low position, the momentum of the throw causing her to slide a few inches. Ryoko, having gotten herself back to her fighting stance, ran forward, leaping into the air and launching a knee forward. Juri took a step back, causing the flying knee to fall short of its target, then lifted a leg to hook her foot around the back of Ryoko's neck. The jiujitsu expert yelped in surprise as she found herself being drawn forward until the Korean fighter leaped into the air, driving Ryoko face first into the ground. Juri then spiked a hard kick into the back of Ryoko's neck, twisting it hard to grind her foot into the neck, and Ryoko's face into the ground.
The Japanese woman cried out in pain as she felt her face scrape against the pavement and her neck being crushed. The instant she felt her assailant hop off of her back, she rolled over, clutching at the main source of pain. Juri looked down on her with a wicked grin, watching the younger woman writhing on the ground with a couple of small cuts on her cheek.
"Come on," the taekwondo fighter said, waving Ryoko up with one hand, "You're not done yet. Not until I say you are~"
The brunette slowly got to her feet, trying to push the pain of the last few moments out of her mind. She slid into her fighting stance, though she struggled to keep herself completely upright. Her vision swam for a few moments, the blow to her neck taking its toll on her.
"There we go," Juri purred, licking her lips as she watched her target ready herself, "Time to really have some fun!"
The Spider leaped forward, delivering kick after kick after kick to the jiu jitsu expert's upper body. Ryoko defended herself against the onslaught, her forearms blocking or deflecting every shot thrown her way. Juri, for her part, continued undaunted by the younger woman's defense, small laughs of excitement mixing in with her shouts of effort. Every swing of her legs cut through the air with vicious speed and accuracy, shaking every bone in Ryoko's arms with every strike. The barrage of kicks, despite Ryoko's best efforts, wore her down with every passing second, and she felt herself being pushed back.
Ryoko, biting her lip to fight down the pain in her arms, decided to try and take the offensive. She watched as Juri spun around on one foot, firing a back kick to her head. Ryoko broke her guard, weaving her head to the side just as the heel of her assailant shot at her. She acted quickly, grabbing the Korean woman's leg. She quickly spun around, hefting Juri over her shoulder. The Spider yelped in surprise as she sailed through the air, coming down hard on her back against the sidewalk. The impact, like it had to Ryoko, forced the wind out of Juri, as well as a touch of spittle.
Ryoko panted, feeling a bit of pride as she watched Juri.
Until she saw her hunter moving almost immediately. Once again, Juri slithered up to her feet, though a little slower this time. Ryoko acted quickly, running in and closing the distance before the former S.I. N agent could react. Ryoko, as she seemed to run past her, slung an arm over the surprised Korean's shoulders, keeping her momentum going.
"Kukbi kiri nage!"
Ryoko's cry was followed by a short leap into the air, using her strength to once gain drive Juri into the ground shoulders-first, drawing another cry of pain from the older woman.
"You hear that?" Hibana asked, blinking. She and Tohru had taken to leaning against the wall, waiting around.
"Yeah, that sounded like–look!" Tohru cried, pointing to the windows Ryoko had run by earlier. The two watched as Ryoko threw Juri to the ground, the fight having carried the two of them from the street corner back to the dojo. The two women on the inside traded looks with one another, then looked back to the fight outside.
Once again, Juri recovered from the throws quickly, much to Ryoko's dismay. The two women locked gazes with one another, both of them taking a moment to work some of the aches out of their bodies.
"Not bad, girlie~" Juri said as she rotated her shoulder, "This is almost as much fun as I thought it would be~"
Ryoko glared back. "What do you want with me?!"
Juri giggled at the question. "Oh, not much, really. Just in the mood to play!"
She darted forward, prompting Ryoko to act on instinct. The Japanese fighter fired a snap front kick, hoping to catch Juri off guard.
Her hopes were dashed when she saw the crazed fighter duck under her kick, sliding to her side. Juri let loose with a hard side kick to the grappler's side, sending her staggering into the side of the building and slamming against the window. Ryoko had no chance to try and recover, as Juri struck with a series of rapid kicks. Each one found its mark on a different part of her body, and she let out various grunts and shouts of pain.
At the end of her assault, Juri jumped up, twisting her body in mid-air and unleashing a heavy spinning kick to Ryoko's head. The foot slammed full-force into Ryoko's cheek, hard enough for the energy of the attack to go straight through her and into the window.
The window that shattered on impact, and that Ryoko sailed through, flying into the floor of her family's dojo.
The two girls shrieked as glass shards flew through the room, and the dojo proprietor's daughter crashed heavily into the wooden floor. They cowered down for a moment, hoping to protect themselves from the debris, though they recovered when they realized that none of it flew close enough to them to be a danger. The two girls held each other close, watching in fear as the woman who'd sent the star pupil of their dojo through the wide window stepped through, glass crunching beneath her feet as she did.
HIbana and Tohru watched as Juri stepped over to the fallen warrior, chuckling darkly as she did. The Korean Spider noticed the two women in the dojo, shooting them her sinister grin.
"You the ones that called me?"
That one question snapped the two women out of their fears, and Tohru returned Juri's grin with one of her own.
"Yeah, that was us."
Hibana stepped forward. "Well, both of us, really. I put up half."
Juri looked down at Ryoko, who was slowly struggling to get up to her hands and knees.
"Lucky for you two. Not often my clients get a front row seat to a breaking~"
The Izumo daughter managed to get herself up onto all fours, gagging a bit as she did. She let out a heavy cough, forcing a small spot of blood out onto the floor.
"Ooh, and she's just now starting to!" Juri cried in excitement.
"...why…?"
The question was choked out with almost no breath behind it, but the three other women heard it clearly. Tohru walked over to the downed grappler, delivering a swift kick to the side and abdomen of Ryoko. The act forced another wad of blood out of the dojo daughter, with the force of the kick lifting her slightly. HIbana laughed as she watched Tohru take her shot, then walked over herself. She put her foot on the back of Ryoko's head, pushing down and grinding it into the wooden floor.
"Oh, that's so cute!" Hibana said mockingly, pressing down as hard as she could, "She looks pretty adorable when she's getting knocked around!"
Ryoko's moans of pain were drowned out by the floor being forcibly pressed against her face. Tohru, with a grin, knelt down next to her.
"Because, 'Princess'," she said, dripping with sarcasm, "we're tired of you. You and your little act."
"Do you have any idea how annoying you are?" Hibana asked, grinding her foot, and Ryoko's face, in a bit, "Week after week, we have to hear about how Ryoko's advanced so far, and how Ryoko's going to all the big tournaments!"
"Daddy's little girl's doing him so proud," Tohru continued, "and none of us are even getting looked at! You know how hard the rest of us work to get where we are? And how many of us get to go to the big events? Huh?!"
"All the trophies in the office all belong to you, and it's frickin' annoying!"
"God, I felt sick cheering for you during the World Heroes tournament," HIbana hissed as she pushed down on Ryoko's head one more time, walking away when she was done, "It should've been me fighting for the dojo."
"Or me," Tohru said, joining Hibana as they took their spots against a wall, "Or anyone else in this dojo. But nooooooooooo. Daddy says the 'Dojo Princess' is the only one. Working my ass off for nothing."
All the while, Juri stood, having folded her arms behind her head. She'd stayed silent while the two women got their licks in, grinning the whole time.
"So, you two done? You paid me to break her, y'know, and I'm not done playing with her~"
The girls nodded, which was all the signal Juri needed. She walked over to the Izumo daughter, who'd slowly pushed herself up to all fours. She hooked a foot under Ryoko's chin, forcing the Japanese fighter to tilt her head up. The Korean then bent down, offering the woman at her mercy a look of pure sadism.
"Hope you can last a little longer, girlie. The night's still young, after all~"
Juri then moved her foot away from Ryoko's head, rearing her leg back to deliver a kick to the jiujitsu fighter's face.
Ryoko, however, felt a surge of adrenaline wash over her the second she saw Juri move her foot away. She reached forward, grabbing at the taekwondo fighter's grounded leg and pulling at it hard. The act caught the Spider by surprise, and she found herself suddenly dropping to her back.
Acting on instinct, Ryoko quickly scrambled over Juri, trying to get her in a position to choke the woman out. Juri, however, recovered quickly, shoving the young woman off of her. The two fighters quickly got to their feet, Juri growling as her back ached while Ryoko panted, trying to get her energy back in a hurry.
The two fighters stared one another down, Juri's smile having faded into a snarl that matched the one Ryoko shot her. Tohru and Hibana watched with wide eyes, surprise and a bit of fear coming over them as they saw Ryoko start to fight back.
Ryoko, for her part, pushed the presence of the other two women out of her mind.
'If I can get through this, then I'll deal with them later.'
The Japanese woman barely had enough time to take a breath before she found herself under assault again. The Korean rushed forward, throwing a series of punches at the smaller fighter's head. The fists were met with forearms, both fighters feeling the stings of the strikes hitting arms as Ryoko tried her best to keep her guard up. The madwoman, however, seemed unfazed, continuing to try and pummel away at Ryoko. The two walked around the dojo, with Juri's strikes forcing Ryoko backwards in an attempt to put distance between them. Juri, seeing a chance at an opening, snapped a quick side kick to Ryoko's leg, slamming her foot into the grappler's thigh.
The kick didthe trick, causing Ryoko to wince in pain and bring an arm down to try and defend against any following low attacks. Juri, with a wicked grin, put her flexibility on display as she snapped the leg she struck with upward, a vertical front kick allowing her to drive the ball of her foot into her target's jaw.
Ryoko felt her mouth explode in pain as her teeth were slammed viciously against one another, and a small blood trail followed the arc in which her head snapped back. She managed to keep her eyes open just enough to see a black-and-white ki trail follow behind Juri's foot before she stumbled backwards. She just managed to keep herself on her feet despite the world spinning around her, shaking her head to try and everything to sit still. She recovered from the strike just in time to see Juri spin around with a cackle and throw a roundhouse kick. Ryoko only had a split second to question why the clearly expert-level martial artist would throw a kick from so far away, with Juri being several feet away from her when she threw it. Her question was quickly answered, as a wave of ki that matched the trail she'd seen Juri create cut through the air, rapidly approaching her at shin-level.
Juri quickly rushed in, following her Saihasho projectile attack. The usual response was for her victim to drop down and try to block the Ki wave, which would leave them open for her to strike from above. What she wasn't expecting was for Ryoko to leap backwards, throwing herself high into the air.
"The hell?!"
The Korean watched as Ryoko slowly flipped into the air, the Japanese woman locking her fierce gaze with Juri's confused one. She knew the jiujitsu fighter could use Ki, but she wasn't expecting her to be able to use it like that.
Ryoko, for her part, spun in a backflip as she sailed through the air, hoping she'd judged the distance right. Just as she met Juris eyes, she felt her toes push against the wood of the wall that was behind her when she leaped. Her gaze sharpened as she began to focus her Ki. She felt her power building in her forearms, and when it was at its peak, she pushed off from the wall toward Juri.
The taekwondo expert had no time to realize what was happening, as Ryoko shot through the air at her, her body enveloped by a white aura as she crossed her arms in front of her face. Juri threw herself into a backflip, forcing Ryoko to land short and slam hard into the ground. Luckily for the grappler, her ki kept her safe, allowing her to simply roll forward in pursuit of her attacker. The gap between the martial artists closed in a hurry as Juri landed on her feet, choking out a gasp of pain as Ryoko thrust her palm into the kicker's midsection. Before the Korean woman could do anything to retaliate, Ryoko pulled her hand back, firing a hard knife-hand strike to the more experienced fighter's thigh. The blow worked as intended, forcing Juri to wince and lean toward that leg. Ryoko then stood up quickly, stomping down on that same leg with her foot. She then finished her combo with a leaping front kick to the larger woman's jaw, sending her flying backwards.
Juri flew back for several feet, crashing down in a heap on the dojo floor. Ryoko focused on Juri as she came down to the ground, watching her opponent's fallen form carefully. For a few seconds, the only movements she witnessed were the slow rise and fall of Juri's chest as she breathed, and Ryoko allowed herself a small smile.
The smile faded quickly, though, as Juri swung her legs so that she set her feet squarely on the ground, then pushed up against the ground with her hands, allowing her to snake herself up to a vertical position. She glared at the Japanese woman in front of her with narrow eyes, and the smile she'd worn for the vast majority of the fight had been fully replaced with a snarl and a small trail of blood running down the corner of her mouth.
The Korean fighter let out a hot breath. "Now you're starting to piss me off!"
Juri then leaped forward, launching herself high into the air. Ryoko watched as Juri sailed in an arc toward her, extending a leg out in a leaping side kick. Ryoko tried to bring her arms up to block the kick, but a sudden rush of Ki over Juri's body launched the Korean forward faster than she was prepared for. The kick struck her in the face, causing her to fly backward. The Korean laughed as her Ki continued to flow, carrying her forward and allowing her to kick Ryoko three more times before they came to the ground. Just as Juri had moments before, the Japanese grappler fell to the ground in a heap, groans of pain coming from her as she lay in agony.
Hibana and Tohru watched on in a mix of fear and excitement. They were certainly getting their money's worth, seeing the assassin they'd hired working the dojo's favored daughter, though the fact that she was able to put up a fight worried them. The two spectators moved along the wall away from the action, making sure to not get caught up in it. The two looked to one another after the last exchange, grins stretched across their lips.
"Finish her off!" Tohru shouted, pumping a fist in excitement.
Hibana bounced on her toes, feeling the energy of her friend nex to her. "Yeah, put her on the shelf!"
Juri wiped the blood from her lips, sauntering over to the fallen form of her target with a wicked giggle.
"You heard the girls," Juri said, licking her lips as she took in the sight of Ryoko's pained expressions, "Just consider yourself lucky they didn't pay for the full job. Means you get to wake up in a hospital bed."
Juri lifted a leg high into the air as her eyes narrowed and her smile widened.
"I still get to play with you, though!"
Ryoko recovered just in time to see the heel of Juri's raised foot begin its descent. She acted quickly, rolling toward the Korean's planted leg and wrapping herself around it. She twisted herself into a kneebar, leveraging her legs around Juri's thigh and pulling to force the taekwondo expert to the ground. Juri landed with a pained thud, and Ryoko quickly repositioned herself to lock the kneebar in.
The dojo was filled with the sounds of the two fighters crying out, though in different manners. Ryoko wrenched the leg she captured as hard as she could, while Juri thrashed and screamed in pain. The two women on the sideline watched in horror as the Izumo daughter worked her advantage as best she could.
Juri, in an act of desperation, began to hammer her free foot down on whatever parts of Ryoko she could reach. The Japanese fighter held on as long as she could, but the flexibility and strength of her assailant eventually overpowered her, forcing her to break the hold. Juri quickly rolled away, as did Ryoko. The Korean woman, growling in pain, struggled to get to her feet, her leg having nearly been torn apart by the kneebar. Ryoko, feeling the pain and agony of the brawl washing over, had a hard time getting herself to a vertical base as well.
Tohru and Hibana clutched each other as they watched the two martial artists get to their feet. Both women whimpered, terrified by the sight before them. Both Ryoko and Juri stood, clearly injured and bleeding. Glass crunched underneath both women as they squared off again, both now worse for wear. Juri could barely put any weight on the leg Ryoko had twisted, and Ryoko's head swam from the barrage she'd endured.
Juri, with a shout, leaped into the air again, launching herself forward for another Shiku-sen. Ryoko, however, acted on instinct, taking to the air herself. The grappler met with s surprised spider in the air, grabbing her by the top. With the smallest burst of Ki at her feet, Ryoko managed to spin the two of them in the air, building momentum for the sharp shoulder toss that sent Juri viciously to the ground. The Korean slammed directly onto her shoulders, letting out a choked groan of agony as the rest of her body hit the ground. Ryoko landed shortly after Juri had, and pushed herself to rush the downed woman as quickly as she could. Just as she was within range, however, Juri instinctively fired a kick upward, catching Ryoko in the jaw. The Japanese woman's vision flashed white with the impact, and she collapsed to the ground.
Both fighters lay on the dojo floor, glass shards from the shattered window surrounding them. After a couple of seconds, Juri rolled over, letting out a groan of pain. Ryoko managed to get her head about her, shaking enough dizziness from her head to see the spider's back. Seeing her chance, she quickly scrambled over to the writhing form of Juri, ignoring the glass pieces she crawled over to get to her. She slung an arm and a leg over Juri's body, catching the older fighter by surprise and puling her into her chest. She then rolled onto her back, forcing Juri to follow her. Before she could do anything about it, she found the Japanese woman's other arm wrapping around the back of her head and legs clenched tightly around her waist.
The two women who'd hired Juri looked on in fear as Ryoko completed the rear-naked choke, watching as the assassin they hired struggled to try and break free of the hold. Ryoko groaned, grunted and strained with effort against the woman struggling in her grasp. She pressed down on her throat with her forearm as tightly as she could, though that came with much effort as the fight had worn her down.
Before long, however, the flailing limbs that tried to find any kind of purchase began to slow, and Juri began to relax against Ryoko's grasp. Ryoko held on tightly, however, continuing to cut off her victim's air supply. Juri fought as long as she could, but darkness quickly overcame her vision, and Ryoko watched as the arms that clawed at the air above them eventually slowed and fell limply to their sides. The jiujitsu fighter gave the hold one last wrench, making sure that her attacker was well and truly out, not simply faking it to be released. Once she was satisfied, she released the hold, pushing the unconscious fighter off of her.
Tohru and Hibana traded another look with one another, this time their eyes wide in fear. The only sound that could be heard in the dojo was that of Ryoko's heavy panting, though the two spectators gulped hard enough for each other to hear. They turned back to the downed fighters just in time to see Ryoko begin to stir. The two women watched as Ryoko slowly picked herself up from the ground, the crunching of glass accompanying the groans she let out as she got to her feet. The pain of the battle kept her from completely standing up straight, though it made the glare she shot the girls against the wall much more intimidating to them.
"Get…" she said between labored breaths. Her eyes bore holes into the two, forcing them to clutch one another in fear, "Get…out…"
The girls needed no further instruction, both of them racing out of the dojo as fast as their feet could carry them. Ryoko watched as they burst through the front doors. She sucked in a few more heavy breaths before the effects of the fight took their toll on her, and she collapsed to the ground.
The next day, she'd find herself in a hospital bed, with her father watching her with worry. When she was able to, she'd tell him about the previous day's events, and he in turn would tell her that she was found in the wrecked building alone, with no sign of the attacker. Hearing that put a wave of worry in her. She'd won, but given what she'd experienced about Juri, there was always going to be the chance that she'd return.
Ryoko sighed. Knowing that made the knowledge that Tohru and Hibana withdrew from the school feel less important. Her life as a martial artist had become that much harder.
If you like what you've seen and want to keep up with the Internet's Eternal Phenomenon, then be sure to follow me on social media! I'm on Twitter ( MysticDeadman), Instagram ( mystic_deadman), AO3 (MysticDeadman), DeviantArt (MysticDeadman), Fanfiction (Mystic Deadman) and Bluesky (mysticdeadman dot bksy dot app)!