Hello~
Welcome to my new OS~ It's close to about 14 words ![XD](http://forum.jphip.com/Smileys/default/XD.gif)
It'll be a Mayuki fic.. A fencing fic I wrote for CLUBHAPPY for doing me a favor of drawing a fanart for my series ![XD](http://forum.jphip.com/Smileys/default/XD.gif)
Before you proceed, I wrote down some fencing basics right below. You just have to understand these terms and you're ready to read the whole fic. It's not much ![XD](http://forum.jphip.com/Smileys/default/XD.gif)
ENJOY~!
The sport of fencing consists of three distinct disciplines: foil, épée, and sabre. Fencers often specialize in just one weapon. The weapons differ in the way they are used to score hits: in foil and épée, only a thrust with the point of the weapon counts, whereas in saber a hit can also be made by the side of the blade.
Lamé is an electrically conductive jacket worn by foil, épée and sabre fencers in order to define the scoring area.
Riposte is an attack right after parrying. Think of it as a counter attack.
Not much to know right? ![XD](http://forum.jphip.com/Smileys/default/XD.gif)
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OS # 19 En Garde (Mayuki OS)Yuki sized up her opponent, shifting her weight between the balls of her feet as she ran through her options. She'd fenced Coach Akimoto before, and while the woman was a former Olympian, age had slowed her...somewhat. Not nearly enough. To be honest, the former Olympian didn't really need speed. She had timing, experience, and Yuki had seen her time and time again go up against the odd arrogant student who thought they could challenge the older fencer. It always ended the same way: 5-0, with one ego bruised and an untouched ex Olympian. She should never have let herself get suckered into this.
Some freshman simply had to bring it up. They had to ask if the team's resident ace could handle their infamous coach. Sayaka being Sayaka, she'd been more than up for a 'friendly bout'...with everyone watching. At least her coach had agreed to go with épée. It was no secret that their coach preferred saber, but épée was Yuki's specialty. It evened the odds...a little. Coach Akimoto was taller, more experienced, more skilled, and honestly, a lot more devious.
Yuki didn't like her chances. Granted, she could probably land a few hits on the older woman. It wouldn't be completely one-sided, and she would make Sayaka work for it. Still...she wanted to win. She wanted to show her coach that she could manage a victory, even in a thoroughly unbalanced fight.
"Let's make this fast. First to touch?" It was the best solution. It ended this little show as quickly as possible, and a single touch meant almost nothing. It could be put down to luck, or the timing, or any number of factors other than the fact that Sayaka was simply better, and about to kick her ass. Plus it saved at least some of the loser's pride. Maybe they'd tie. She could always hope.
Sayaka nodded, fixing the zipper of her jacket before smiling at the assembled students. "That's fine with me."
Resigned, Yuki slid the mask down over her head. The two women saluted, then sank into the ready position, their guards up, both blades aimed at the other's chest.
"En garde."
Her body wanted to tense up, to coil, to spring forward the second the starting gate opened. She fought the urge, doing her best to relax, stay loose. Tensing up would just slow her down.
"Ready." The referee's hands came up.
She could do this. She could do this.
"Fence."
They darted forward, keeping just on the outside of each other's range. It was a fruitless dance, the two of them teasing each other's defense, their shoes squeaking on the metal plates set atop the hardwood floor. Everything faded but for the much taller woman in front of her, the two of them inching back and forth, making the occasional flick with their weapons, testing for reactions.
Sayaka extended a little – another test, another tease – only this time, Yuki saw it coming. She moved, body singing as her feet pounded the step it took to get her within range. Her fingers twitched, the small movement flicking her blade around Sayaka's, trapping the opposing weapon between her blade and guard, twisting to force the spring-loaded tip away from her body. She didn't flourish, didn't try to throw the blade away. She didn't need flair, she just needed the tip out of her way.
She felt the point of her épée hit the edge of Sayaka's chest protector, the molded plastic deflecting the blade away from her center of mass. A surge of pride swelled in her, only ruined a little when she felt Sayaka's tip flick her stomach at almost the same time. Yuki heard the buzzer, and allowed herself to breathe. She'd done it. Both red and green lights lit up the score counters. They'd tied.
"Good move, Kashiwagi!" Sayaka already had her mask off, clapping her on the shoulder as the other members clapped appreciatively.
"It was one hit."
"Sometimes, that's all you need. Better a tie than no point at all."
The other members had started to move, dragging themselves off the ground to pull weapons from oversized bags, running wires down arms and clipping themselves to the fencing strips. The spectacle was over; it was back to training as usual. Yuki nodded, happy to see them not wasting any more time. Everyone needed the practice, especially so soon after summer vacation. She was a second away from finding one of her teammates, asking for a round or two, before Sayaka tapped her shoulder.
"Yes, coach?"
"I think someone's looking for you."
Just inside the gym door stood a short girl in a red hoodie over a tank top and yoga pants. She was gazing around the room with rapt attention, her face shining as she watched the other members pair up as practice started once again. Soon the room filled with the buzz of score machines, squeaking shoes, and the sharp notes of clashing blades. If anything, the girl grew more excited, her eyes widening as a pair of saberists began their bout, clashing into each other in the way that only they could.
"Why do you think she's here for me?"
"Because she wouldn't take her eyes off you until you looked over there." Another pat on her back and Sayaka was whispering in her ear. "Good luck."
Submissive to her duty as the club captain, Yuki unclipped the wires from her weapon, tucking her mask under her arm as she went over to the newcomer. The girl stayed by the door, shifting awkwardly as Yuki got closer.
"Um, are you Yuki?" The girl asked before the fencer could even open her mouth, the wide-eyed wonder now replaced by nervous fidgets.
"... I am. Can I ask wh-"
"Oh, good. Jurina just told me you had long, raven-black hair, so I had no idea where to start and I was soo gonna get lost. I mean, you guys were all fighting and you had your masks on and I-" Yuki could feel herself being driven back by the onslaught pouring out of the short girl's mouth. The girl must have seen it in her eyes, and stopped herself. Coughing to clear her throat, she took a breath and started over. "Sorry. I'm Mayu. Jurina told me to say that she'd 'vouched for me.' Guess you're supposed to know what that means, 'cause she didn't explain."
“Jurina?” Yuki scowled. Thanks Jurina. She would send this girl now, when Yuki was sweaty, with mussed hair, still hopped up on adrenaline from her bout, and in absolutely no shape to deal with the bubbly girl staring at her with wide, excited eyes. Wide, excited, round eyes.
She almost growled. She wanted to growl. It was the curse of having your best friend as your roommate – it didn't take long for them to figure out your type, even if you only grudgingly admitted you had one. Short was a plus. When you were as short as Yuki, it was a nice ego boost to have someone who looked up at you. Yuki shook herself, trying to get those pesky thoughts out of her head.
"Are you looking to join the club?" Perfect. It was diplomatic. Professional. Totally and completely in control and not at all tempted to check out the new girl.
"Is it okay? I know it's a little late."
"We let anyone join during the first two weeks of a semester. Try-outs for the team are a...whole different issue, which you're probably not interested in." Yuki turned back towards her coach, nodding her head at the newcomer and giving Sayaka a look that said in no uncertain terms that this was supposed to be her job. Shaking her head, the ex Olympian smiled before giving her a small thumbs-up. Great. Thanks so much, Coach.
"If you'd like," Yuki grumbled, fighting to keep her teeth from grinding, "I can give you the tour, maybe show you the basics. Apparently, I don't have anything else to do tonight."
"Actually, that sounds awesome!"
Yuki waved her over to the rack of practice weapons. Most of the members had their own, but they kept a small set aside for new students. "Do you have any background in martial arts? Any sports at all?"
Mayu grinned and rocked on the balls of her feet. "I know kung fu."
The fencer twitched, the part of her brain that reacted to bad jokes already starting to throb. Especially overused bad jokes. And puns. God-awful puns. "Did you take a few classes, or-"
"First-degree blackbelt."
Of course. "Why come here? If you don't mind my asking. There has to be a dojo nearby."
"There's only two groups who practice within an hour's drive from of campus, and they're both not related to the martial arts I took." Mayu grinned, pulling a glove from the basket Yuki handed her. "Plus, it's college. I'm supposed to try something new. Hitting people with a stick sounded fun."
"It's not just about hitting someone with a metal stick."
"Really? Those two seem pretty good at it."
Yuki spared a glance over her shoulder at the pair fencing behind them. They were doing saber, pounding down the strip with abandon as their weapon flicked towards each other. Wonderful. "It's much more complicated than most people think."
"It looks awesome."
"... would you like to try?"
"Sure!"
Yuki shrugged, grabbing a weapon off the rack, and holding it out. "Fencing 101. This is a foil. It's the first weapon most people work with."
"Cool." Mayu swished it through the air like a pirate's hanger, ending in a particularly impressive pose, ruined a little by the girl's striped knee-socks.
Yuki rolled her eyes. "Come on. Heel-to-heel. Make a ninety-degree angle. Good. Now take two steps with the right foot. Now bend your knees."
Mayu followed her directions without complaint, slowly settling into the stance. A few minutes later, and the girl was making deliberate steps, advancing and retreating, pausing only when Yuki stopped to correct something. Then, Yuki brought up her arms, moving her into the basic closed six position, her weapon up and in front.
Oh god. She was finding excuses to touch Mayu for some reason. Yuki moved back, fighting the urge to twine herself around Mayu's arms and guide her through the motions, holding her from behind while Unchained Melody played in the background ... ‘Dang it, Jurina!’ She'd known movie night was a bad idea. Her favorite nerd's overactive imagination was starting to rub off on her.
A half-hour later, and Mayu was watching as Yuki showed her the basic lunge, her foot whipping out as she pounced, tip spearing the practice target through the chest. Each thrust ended with her tip square in the center of the little padded target that hung on the wall, years of practice having burned the movement into her bones.
She spared a glance back at Mayu, making sure the girl was paying attention to the movement, ready to try it herself after Yuki finished the demonstration. “Good. She's watching the footwork, not my hands. Too many people-” Yuki stopped and followed the line of Mayu’s eyes.
She wasn't looking at her feet. She was zoning out.
"Ahem."
"Yes?" Mayu's head snapped up, eyes wide and guilty.
" ... would you like me to show you that again?"
The small girl's face went completely red, eyes snapping down to the floor before glancing nervously back up at Yuki. The fencer wanted to groan. Mayu was so obviously embarrassed about zoning out, and yet somehow Yuki was the one who felt guilty. She hadn't even snapped at her, hadn't done anything, and yet that vulnerable look left her feeling terrible. "Yeah. If you don't mind."
Yuki forced a smile, then turned back to the target, the foil flicking back up into the guard position. Another lunge, another thrust, and the tip thudded into the padded square.
"Could you ... maybe ... I'm still not sure I ... One more time?"
"Sure. One more time."
XXXXXXXXXX
Yuki had to hand it to her, Mayu was a fast learner. Having some martial arts experience helped. It would hinder her later, the old footwork movements interfering with the new ones, but the muscle was there, along with the sense of timing that only came with years of practice. Her lunges were hesitant and slow, the girl focusing on moving correctly, rather than quickly. By the end of practice, Mayu had definitely made progress, hitting the general area of the target more often than she missed.
Yuki took the foil back from Mayu, sliding it onto the rack before unzipping her jacket, feeling the colder air rush against her sweat-soaked skin. "Why try fencing, anyway? Wouldn't something like karate or tae kwon do be more familiar?"
Mayu paused for a second, trying to pull off her glove as she looked over at Yuki. "Not really. It's like learning Spanish when you already know French. You can do it, but it takes a while before you stop mixing up the verbs." She finally managed to her the glove off, tossing it back onto the pile. "This is...Russian. Different sounds, different letters. Plus, I don't want familiar. My sister...she made me promise I wouldn't fall back into the same habits from high school. Then Jurina mentioned you, so..." Mayu trailed off, fiddling with the foil before getting ready for another lunge.
"What did Jurina tell you about me?"
"That you're the best the club has." Mayu grunted as she moved, the tip landing about an inch from the center. "That you can be kinda mean, but you demand more from yourself than you do from your teammates. And that you're...well, I think her words were 'drop-dead gorgeous.' which turned out to be very true."
Yuki blushed. Yuki doesn’t blush. What the hell. She probably wasn't reading the signals wrong, and if she was, better to get it over with now. But then again, who could resist Mayu’s adorable charm? Taking a breath, Yuki ran a hand through her hair, wishing it wasn't matted and messy. That she wasn't covered in sweat and smelling of practice gear. "Normally, the club grabs bubble tea after practice. Wanna get one?"
“Sure!!”
XXXXXXXXXX
“Ready?” was all Yuki said, stepping forward with her white jacket she wore for lessons.
Mayu gave a brisk nod, flipping her pony tail over her shoulder before they saluted each other with a quick flick of their blades. As soon as she pulled her mask down over her face, she sank down into en guarde, knees bent and perpendicular to one another, back straight, right arm slightly outstretched, her blade resting against Yuki’s.
“Lunge!” Yuki barked, stepping back.
Before Yuki even finished the words, Mayu had already leapt into action, sore quads aching as she launched forwards, arm out.
And then as soon as her point had rapped him quickly on the shoulder, back up again, falling into the empty mindset of pure physical action and mental absorption. Out there with her mask down and blade in her gloved hand, there was no one else but her, Yuki, and the sounds of her pounding lunges, the sharp rap of steel on steel.
The training wore Mayu down to the bone until she was sweating like a pig and her lungs were screaming for enough air to power her lunges. Still, Yuki chased her up and down the strip, calling out actions a split second before she expected her to execute them.
By the time Yuki held up a hand for her to stop after their final training, she was trembling, pulling her mask over her sweaty forehead with a shaking hand, her hair clinging in curls to her cheeks and neck.
They shook hands, Yuki’s grip firm, and she gave Mayu a sharp pat on the back over her damp shirt. “Good lesson today. Keep it up and soon you will be fencing like a professional.”
“Thanks, Yuki.”
“Your face is all sweaty.” Yuki pointed out at the curls stuck on Mayu’s cheek and neck.
“Your face is also really sweaty. Seemed like I gave you quite an exercise despite being an amateur, huh?”
“You were goo-” Yuki was left silenced when Mayu suddenly placed her right wrist on Yuki’s forehead and dabbed the sweat off her. Yuki literally froze. She didn’t know how to react. Maybe Mayu was doing this out of courtesy but Yuki felt her heart beat fast from her little gesture.
“Oh..sorry.” Mayu giggled as she realized that Yuki’s bangs went out of place when she was dapping the sweat off Yuki’s forehead.
“It’s fine.” Yuki took a step back and rearranged her fringe once again before Mayu could make her heart leap once again. At that moment, Yuki thought it would be shameful to act like this as the captain of the fencing team. One thing for sure was that Yuki really likes Mayu. She knew she had to step front and make the first move instead of letting Mayu make the first move instead. “Now that our training is done, we could go get our bubble tea.”
"Yeah! That sounds grea-"
"Or." Yuki cut her off. She had to say this now. It would be stupid to let herself develop feelings for someone who wouldn't or couldn't return them. Especially if the girl kept showing up to practice. She didn't need an unrequited crush sitting under her nose, distracting her during training. If Mayu felt the same way, wanted to give her a shot, great. If not, she'd get over it. It’s already been two months since they first met. What could go wrong...right? "You and I could grab something to eat. Just the two of us. Give us some time to talk."
" ... like a date?"
Yuki gave her a short nod, her bound hair bobbing against the back of her neck. "If you don't want to, it's fine. I just thought-"
"No, that...that sounds really nice."
"... okay." Great. They'd gone from awkward to happy and awkward. Not that it made the soaring feeling in her chest any less gratifying. "I'd like to grab a shower, so...twenty minutes?"
Mayu beamed before turning away, leaving Yuki to wait until her heart stopped hammering. Oh, she was in soo much trouble. Her phone buzzed when she went to grab her bag, vibrating inside the pockets of her jeans. She fished it out, trying to get as little of her sweat-soaked arm on the clean clothes as possible. It was a message from Jurina. ‘So? You ask her out yet?’
Yuki glared down at the little white slab of plastic, the lit screen flashing, mocking her. ‘Stop teasing.’
Yuki didn't waste any time ducking out of the shower, towel wrapped haphazardly around her chest as she fumbled for her phone.
‘Jurina. Jurina!’ she typed one-handed, flinging damp hair over her shoulder with the other. She glared into the locker mirror, scowling at the wet length that spilled over her shoulder. Still, Mayu had seen her with a matted and messy bun streaked with sweat, so...anything would be an improvement. Yuki had just started work on a braid when the phone beeped again.
‘What?’Finally.
‘What food does Mayu like?’‘Cookies.’‘You know what I mean. Italian? Thai?’‘Cookies.
’Yuki glared at the screen, wishing a 4G connection could transfer sheer rage and annoyance as well as her roommate's stupid emojis.
‘Not helping.’It took Jurina a little while to reply, giving Yuki the chance to finish the French braid and start pulling on her clothes, half-wishing that she'd asked Mayu for enough time to go home and grab something a little more date-worthy. Her jeans were half-on before the sharp ring heralded another text.
‘Her diet is 50% cookies and 50% chocolate. She has chocolate milk in cookie cereal for breakfast. Every. Morning. Miracle she doesn't have diabetes. Just go somewhere nice – she'll enjoy being there with you. And you still owe me lunch.’XXXXXXXXXX
Mayu was waiting for her by the entrance, her breath a cloud of mist in the November air. She was back in the red dress, wrapped in a crimson hoodie just big enough to swallow her. The front rippled in waves every time she moved, the sleeves constantly slipping down over her hands. It looked the most comfortable thing Yuki had ever seen. Straightening her collar, she stalked over to the younger girl, careful to keep her face calm as she looked down at the adorable creature. She was the older one, the responsible, calm team captain who just happened to ask out a brand-new member. Not like it hadn't happened before – there had been more than a few couples come together within the club.
“You seem to love red a lot.”
“Oh, do I?” Maybe Mayu herself did not realize that most her clothes were either red or pink in color. 50 shades of red.
"It’s no big deal actually. Are you ready?" she asked, reminding her stomach of all the horrible things she could do to it if it didn't stop its nervous churning.
"Yup!" Mayu chirped, twisting on stockinged legs as she turned to face Yuki. "So, where are we going?"
"How does pizza sound?"
Mayu’s red lips split in a grin that would have been positively sinful on anyone a little less cute. "Sounds delicious."
Moving along with the trickle of students leaving the gym, the two walked past the parking lot, pausing just long enough to lock her fencing bag in her car. Mayu seemed to enjoy the weather, and Yuki wasn't going to complain about a few extra minutes of walking. Not with the way the cold air made the younger girl's cheeks flush.
"You'll like Minami's Pizza. They used this buttery dough for the crust that just crumbles when you bite it."
"Sounds like someone's been there before."
"It stays open late. Plus, it's wood-fired in an oven from the forties that gives it just the right amount of charcoal."
"Hipster," Mayu accused lightly, her smile taking any possible bite out of the accusation.
"I am not. I just like the food."
Another half-block, and they were well into the heart of the university village, boutiques and coffee shops sitting low to the ground alongside the parking structure that still wasn't finished. Yuki clocked the second of four Starbucks as they moved through the sparsely crowded path. Street lamps were already hung with unlit strings of lights, floating in purgatory till the thirtieth of November, when Christmas decorations could be hung in earnest. Ceramic, plastic, and paper turkeys sat in more than a few windows, preserved and faux pumpkins framing the displays. Customers moved sluggishly, strolling from one storefront to another, the ever-present coffees scenting the air with pumpkin and cinnamon.
Their destination sat in front of what was once the local bookstore, replaced by some furniture depot after the shopping center raised the rent. The stylized sign hung out over the sidewalk, swinging doors releasing warm waves of bliss, scented with garlic, tomato and toasted cheese. Light strumming trickled out the door, the Italian folk music unapologetically out-of-place with the season.
The door jingled as Yuki held it open, letting Mayu slip in ahead of her. Never let it be said that Kashiwagi Yuki was not a courteous date.
One look, and the older girl knew she'd been right: Minami's Pizza was perfect. This late, the place was nearly empty, wonderfully absent the occasional crying child or incessantly chattering students that normally made Yuki get her pizza to-go. The whole room was warm, almost stifling after the frigid conditions outside. Red-and-white checkered tablecloths stayed on just the right side of camp and cheesy, dodging the serious romantic for a cozier, playful feel.
The waiter led them to their booth, menus pulled from a shelf mounted into the table. Mayu scooted in, sweeping her skirt behind her legs as she sat down, drawing Yuki' eyes to the slice of skin sitting between her knee socks and her skirt. She tried her best not to notice how much that appealed to her, but some primal part of her brain wholeheartedly approved.
"Miss-a Yuki. So-a good of you to come," the clearly not-Italian lady called as she came up to their table, her accent far too horrible to be genuine.
"Really Takamina? Still faking the accent?"
"Only when you walk in. Mario, baby." The rail-thin pizza chef grinned at the two as she whipped out his notebook. "I'd offer your usual, but this doesn't look like take-out night. Now, what can I get you girls?"
Yuki was halfway to ordering a beer, when she remembered the girl sitting across from her. The girl who had to be a year or two younger – too young to drink. Granted, it would steady her nerves, something she could really use right about now, but it would mean drinking alone. "Just water, please."
Mayu grabbed for the menu, flipping through in search of beverages. "Do you have lemonade?"
"Yup. Strawberry lemonade too, if you wa-"
"Yes. That. Definitely that." It seemed Mayu really loved lemonade. Or simply just because the lemonade was red.
The proprietor jotted down their drinks on her pad, flipping the cover shut with a smile. "Be right back."
And she was, before either girl could get out so much as a word, glasses in hand and asking for their orders. Yuki bit back a smile as Mayu pawed through the menu, desperately panning over the combos list. She shouldn't enjoy this as much as she did, but Mayu made for a cute frantic. It wasn't until the younger girl bit her bottom lip with indecision that she chose to take pity on the poor thing. "Mayu."
The cute little head jerked up from the menu, pupils shrinking as they adjusted.
"What do you like on your pizza?"
"Meat. Peppers. Onions."
Yuki smiled and ordered a medium Deluxe, passing the menu back to Takamina. The aging chef bobbed her head, heading off for the kitchen with another snap of her notebook.
"Do you think that'll be enough?" Mayu asked, trying and completely failing to hide her doubt that it would be enough food.
"Trust me, you want to save room for dessert."
"Oooh. Does she do those giant sundaes with brownies or something?" The younger woman reached back for the menu, already eyeing the dessert section.
"Or something." Yuki laid her hand on the binder, gentle but firm as she slid it away from her date. "You'll like it. Trust me."
"Mysterious," Mayu laughed, but she didn't argue as Yuki hid the menu. "You're lucky I like surprises."
Her laugh trailed off into silence, both of them waiting for the other to speak, neither particularly wanting to be the one to start. But there were only so many places to look, so many times Yuki could adjust the placement of her napkin, so many packets for Mayu to fiddle with.
"I think this is the part where we try small talk," Mayu chuckled, crinkling the paper wrapper from her straw into a ball.
Yuki nodded, grabbing the glass to give her hands something to do. Mayu was right; even worse, Mayu was the one bringing it up. It should be her. Yuki was the older one, the more grounded one, the more experienced – dear God, she hoped she was more experienced. It should be Yuki reassuring Mayu, the one making sure the date went smoothly.
"So, how's Tokyo treated you so far?" Good start, now get it together, you idiot! Yuki scolded herself.
"I'm liking it."
"You have a major in mind yet?"
"Not really." Mayu toyed with her straw, whirling it in little circles inside the red plastic glass. "What's yours?"
"International studies." Well, that was the easy answer anyway, and few people outside the department really cared which area your focus was. Western Europe with a focus on post-war Germany was usually a little more information than most people either wanted or needed.
"Is that...fun?"
"Depends on the day. My modern history class is a pit of soul-crushing despair, but I like the cultural studies." Yuki kept her voice dry, rewarded by chuckle at her misfortune. Good. Humor. That was definitely a good place to start. "What classes are you taking?"
They settled into an easy rhythm, complaints about professors mixing with jokes about classmates and roomies. Yuki took the chance to introduce Mayu to any parts of campus she hadn't seen, lips twitching when Mayu’s eyes went wide at the news that the aeronautics department had a laser in their basement. In the girl's defense, it was a very impressive laser.
Then the pizza came, in all its cheesy glory, and their mouths were too busy for talk. Vegetables cooked into perfect softness mingled with sausage and pepperoni, all coated with tomato and mozzarella, all of it devoured and downed by the two young women.
Mayu was halfway through her third slice when her eyes caught on the obvious scar on her face, just staring at it. Everybody always asked Yuki. Although, to be fair, how could they not? She couldn't really blame Mayu for staring – the slash went down from above her eyebrow, ending at the edge of her cheekbone, the scar tissue prominent and pink against her otherwise pale skin. Apart from her long, raven-black hair, it was her most noticeable feature; Mayu's gaze had lingered on it once or twice already. If anything, her date had been fairly restrained in not asking before now.
"Do you want to ask?" Yuki swallowed her bite while Mayu cringed, looking all the part like a child caught misbehaving. "You keep looking at it."
"Sorry," she apologized, and Yuki believed her. Whatever else this girl might be, she was definitely expressive. Someone that open, that honest – she seemed like the kind of person who couldn't tell a convincing lie if she wanted to.
"It's fine." That lie came easily, second-nature after years of practice. Practice with parents, teachers, the occasional therapist ... too much practice. "Do you want to know?"
"You sure it's okay?"
"It's a little...heavy for a first date. But, if you want..." and she meant it. She actually meant it. If Mayu asked, she would tell her – something that surprised her more than anything else.
“I...uhm....” It was definitely hard for Mayu not to question about it.
“I guess I should tell you about it then.” Yuki smiled.
“Sorry. I was just curious.” Mayu felt apologetic.
“Don’t be. You’ll ask me sooner or later anyway, so might as well I tell you right now. I got this scar while fencing without my gears.”
Mayu was literally surprised. “You fenced without your gear?”
“I was 11. I didn’t understand the importance of the safety gear at that time and my dad was away. I was playing around with the foil with my cousin and this accident happened.”
“That’s dangerous!”
“I know right? Any more to the left, and I would have lost an eye.”
“Must have been painful..”
“But then again, I got injured doing what I loved to do so I just shrug it off and try not to care too much about it even if the scar stays there for the rest of my life.”
"....Let's just talk about something else." Mayu suggested.
"Probably a good idea." Yuki forced a smile, although the relief she felt was genuine. It was odd – she normally didn't feel this guilty talking about the scar. It was human nature to stare, to wonder, and she always refused to let it bother her, refused to feel shame over the wound. “Since we’re talking about fencing, I have something to tell you.”
“Hmm?” Mayu tilted her head and she simply looked adorable in that pose.
“There’s a fencing tournament coming up near Christmas. I was thinking you may be interested to join, maybe? It’s for beginner fencers with three or less years experience in fencing, so no worries.”
“Hmm.... Fencing competition, huh? I don’t know.... I’m still quite new to it...” Mayu was doubting a lot.
“You’ve done nothing but impress me for the past few months. Might as well give it a try. You might not know what the outcome will be if you don’t try. Besides, it’s a good experience.”
“But it’s near Christmas.. That’s like a little over a month from now..”
“That is more than enough time for you to improve more.”
“Hmm... Sounds interesting but I’ll think about it.” Mayu pushed her empty plate to the side. "So, what's this secret dessert I was saving room for?" Now the empty plate had another meaning, and Mayu bobbed her head to the side - half-shrugging her apology.
"I'll go get it." It was only a few feet to the counter that separated the booths from the ovens, giving the curious onlooker a perfect view of the cooks prepping sauces and tossing balls of dough, turning into circus tents around Takamina's practiced hands. Any other time, Yuki would be happy to simply watch them work, admiring the care and skill that went into something that was still always devoured minutes after its creation. But this wasn't any other time, and the crow she was about to eat ruined the normally welcome sight. She fished out the twenty-dollar bill with a sigh, allowing herself a particularly malevolent scowl. Clearing her throat to get the chef's attention, she slapped the bill on the counter. "Do it."
Takamina's eyes flicked from her to the carefully folded note, widening with recognition. "My god, is Kashiwagi Yuki asking for the special? Because I remember a very precocious girl in pigtails saying she would rather chug a bottle of turpentine than take one bite of something so crass and tacky as my-"
"It's not for me, Takamina, it's for her. If you ruin this, I swear-"
"Whoa there, little lady. Never let it be said I stood in the way of your love life.” Takamina reveling in her long-awaited victory. "She's cute too. Although, you're robbing the cradle a bit, ain't cha?"
"She's two years younger than me, that's not-"
"That makes her a freshman." Takamina sang the word, pitching her voice just low enough for Yuki to hear. "A vulnerable, impressionable freshman being taken advantage of by a world-weary, cynical-"
"I know this place almost as well as you, Takamina. It would take me exactly eight-and-a-half minutes to burn it to the ground, and leave no evidence."
The aging chef merely grinned wider, slipping his hard-won money out from under Yuki's fingers. "One chef's special coming right up."
Yuki caught herself before she stormed back to the table, deep breaths pushing the frustration to the back of her mind. She was not going to let herself ruin this date out of irritation over a childhood bet. It should make the girl across from her happy; that was all the justification she needed.
They settled back into easy conversation, Mayu trying and failing to explain her martial art methods. Yuki was just about to surrender to the girl's obvious enthusiasm when Takamina returned, hands filled with a serving dish hastily topped by a slightly too-large lid.
"Ladies," Takamina purred, drawing out the 'l' as she set a covered dish atop the table. "I bring you the Chef's Special."
Yuki watched as Mayu’s eyes went wide when Takamina swept the lid off their dessert. Red lips split as her jaw dropped, pupils as wide as the monstrous dessert the pizza chef had delivered.
"No," Mayu gasped, her voice feeble with wonder. "You didn't."
"I heard you liked cookies," Yuki shrugged, refusing to show how pleased she was at Mayu's obvious glee.
Mayu practically drooled over the mammoth cookie pizza, the cream cheese frosting layered with fudge and caramel, sprinkled liberally with chocolate chips.
"One cookie-dough pizza, as ordered," Takamina winked at Yuki, drawing a scowl from her. "Enjoy."
It took the girl in the red hoodie scant seconds to devour her first slice, satisfied moans rolling from her throat as she closed her eyes in chocolate-induced bliss. "You are the best date. Ever."
"I'm glad you like it." Yuki took a bite, eyebrow twitching skeptically at the taste. It wasn't terrible, but she had never been a fan of anything that tasted like distilled diabetes. But Mayu liked it, and in the end, wasn't that what mattered?
It was pitch-dark by the time Yuki pulled up in front of Mayu's dorm, stepping out of the driver's side door to walk the younger girl to the door. "I had a really good night."
"Me too."
"So, would you..." The words died in her throat, her tongue tripping over itself as she tried to speak. What the hell was wrong with her? She wasn't some hormone-ridden teen, struck dumb by a pretty girl's smile. Kashiwagi Yuki was not going to get flustered over asking a girl on a second date. She swallowed, the motion freeing her tongue from whatever nerves had trapped it. "Would you like to do this again?"
"Y-yeah. I'd like that." Yuki blinked as Mayu grabbed her hand, confusion melting into relief as a felt-tipped pen dragged across her skin. "My number." Mayu let her go, careful to cap the pen before letting it disappear back into her pocket. "Tonight was fun, and not just 'cause you found the best dessert ever."
"Good to know you're not just looking for another cookie."
"Nah." Mayu smiled up at her, lopsided grin flashing in the burnt orange light of the street lamps. "The date made me want to give you my number. Dessert made me want to do this."
Standing on tiptoe, Mayu stretched, her lips pressing gently against Yuki's own. The older girl froze for a moment, her body paralyzed with shock. She hadn't expected this, would have been fine wishing her goodnight and calling the next morning. For a moment, Yuki forgot what she was supposed to do, where to put her hands, how to react to a gesture this intimate. Then she noticed the strain in Mayu's legs, arched up onto the balls of her feet to reach Yuki's lips.
The older girl bent down, sanity restored by the other girl's needs, letting Mayu relax back as the kiss lingered. There was a second where Yuki fought being swept away by the girl in her arms, tried not to let the world fade away but for the young woman pressing herself against her. Then she surrendered, letting the feel of Mayu wipe everything else from her mind, leaving the two of them alone, safe and secure in their own little private world.
Mayu's lips were warm and soft against her own, pulling away only to return, pressing and pulsing against her mouth. She was gentle and tender and all those adjectives Yuki couldn't remember, with just the hint of passion still held back. It was cautious, testing, and Yuki was not about to give her any reason to stop. Her hand stayed safely on Mayu's spine, as possessive as she dared be without pulling her any closer. Mayu didn't have her reservations. A hand slid up Yuki' neck to the base of her hair, cradling her head as the young woman kissed her just a little deeper, just a little harder.
An eternity later, Mayu pulled away, eyes sliding open as she smiled up at the older girl, her face flushed, lips a few shades redder than they had been a moment before. "Good night, Yuki. Call me."
Then she was gone, dormitory door clicking shut behind her and leaving Yuki stunned and swaying on the stoop. Her heart pounded in her chest, telling her to run, to cheer, at the same time her legs begged to collapse against the wall, her lungs burning for air. She'd tasted like chocolate chips and cookie dough, and Yuki couldn't bring herself to mind.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Watanabe and Sashihara, report to strip eight!" the referee called, dark suit particularly conspicuous among the competitors clad in white-and-silver.
Now here she sat, minutes before her bout against the third seed of the competition. She looked down at her new foil she got from the gym storage. The original blade had snapped the week before, bent a little too far one too many times, finally giving up the ghost after a particularly close lunge. She'd felt awful after it happened, looking down at the two broken shards of Yuki's old foil, the edges jagged where the metal had snapped in half. She'd used one of the club's weapons for the rest of practice, but her heart hadn't really been in it.
She'd hung back after everyone else left, staring blankly into her bag and wondering how to tell Yuki that she'd broken her foil. Which, of course, is where Yuki had found her, already showered and dressed and gorgeous enough to leave traffic collisions in her wake.
She'd tried to apologize, and was mortified when Yuki had actually snickered. "That's why you get new blades from the gym, you dolt," Yuki said, smiling down at the younger girl and squeezing her hand, a rare display of affection from Yuki in public. It wasn't that they were hiding their relationship, but the heiress was the club captain. She needed to at least look impartial, or so she said. Mayu had a sneaking suspicion that it had more to do with the way her girlfriend tended to blush when caught off guard.
After that, it was just a matter of showing Mayu the suppliers, telling her the differences between various makers, and thoroughly failing to explain why Yuki preferred German blades to French or Russian ones. Mayu nodded and humored her, ordering a set of the glinting blades and asking Yuki to show her how to put them all together.
Which was how she'd ended up here, with several foils under one arm, her mask under the other, juggling the equipment as she futzed with the neck of her lamé. She'd done well in her pool: three wins, one tie, one loss, and that was to one of the D-ranked fencers trying desperately for one of the top spots. There were several of them here, even some from their club, and all were just a little more cutthroat than usual.
Then it was onto the direct elimination round. Mayu had ended up around the middle of the pack – the upper middle, Yuki had been quick to point out – and fortunately for her, her first bout had been easier than she'd expected. She'd fenced Shimazaki before, and she knew to look for her habit of twitching before she lunged. She went down like a sack of bricks. All she had needed to do was watch her feet and wait for the attack. Several ripostes later, Mayu had a commanding lead.
She doubted this round would be nearly so easy. It’s called the semifinals for a reason.
R. Sashihara – the call sheet only had the first initial – was a young woman, maybe a year or two older than Mayu, but only a couple inches taller. ‘Good’, she thought, leaving her backup foils by the end of the strip and hooking up to the strip's wires. ‘Someone who won't have too much of a height advantage on me, for once.’
Body cord snapped into the reel, she marched down the marked-off strip. Sashihara was already there, eyes staring out from beneath her bangs. Mayu nodded politely, bouncing on her toes while they waited for the ref to finish speaking to one of the organizers. Mayu checked the scoreboard – she had the red light, and Sashihara the green. Red had always been her lucky color. She had scored quite a number of lucky shots when she had the red on her side. So, she would be able to score a few lucky shots against the third seed too, right?
Finally it was time to start, their test setting off both of their lights. No broken wires or jammed springs. Mayu was rearing to go, and from the look on Sashihara's face beneath her mask, so was she. It was time. They saluted when told, then settled into the stance, foils held out before them, their off-hands held loosely at their sides.
"En garde."
Mayu resisted the urge to bounce and fiddled her hand, trying to stay loose and ready to go. She had this. ‘Come on, come on, come on.’
"Ready," the ref called, his hands raised to signal the start. "Fence!"
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The buzzer rang, and both fencers lowered their weapons as the ref called for the rest. Turning around, Mayu trudged down to her end of the strip before crouching down on the balls of her feet, bouncing to stay loose and trying increasingly hard not to lose her temper. She looked back at the scoreboard, seeing the little yellow lights shining out their scores. Seven-one, and not in her favor.
"You doing okay?"
She looked up to find Yuki standing over her, Mayu's water bottle held in one outstretched hand. "I can't get her," the younger girl sighed and drank, more annoyed at herself for losing her temper than anything else. Glancing over, she watched as her opponent raised her mask to wipe the sweat from her eyes. Dark skin shone above the white and silver outfit. ‘At least I gave her a workout.’
"Can I give you some advice?" Yuki asked, crouching down by the side of the strip. Mayu sipped and nodded, only half-listening. The bout was basically over already. Her chances at even getting close to Sashihara's score now.... Still, it was nice of Yuki to want to help.
"Most fencers are like dogs, Mayu. You ring the bell, and they'll come for food." The heiress poked her in the arm, making Mayu look up at her, and took the water bottle back. "You've seen how she reacts, now make her give you an opening. Set it up, then go for the touch."
The buzzer rang. It was time to start.
Yuki held out her hand, offering to help Mayu up. She took it, and Yuki squeezed just a little longer than she needed to, held her just a little tighter. "She over-commits and tends to aim high. You can still win this."
"Thanks," Mayu said, adjusting her mask and turning back to the line.
She was halfway down the strip when she heard Yuki call after her, "And move your feet!"
She chuckled and settled into position behind her starting line. Yuki was right. She could do this. ‘Don't get frustrated,’ she reminded herself, grip tightening on the grip of her sword. ‘Focus on what she does. Don't wait for an opening, make her give me one.’
The ref raised his hands, ready to call the start of the round. Mayu looked over her shoulder at the spectators, namely the woman with the long raven-black hair streaming down her back. Yuki was watching.
She could do this.
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The buzzer rang, both red and green lights shining from the board. Mayu waited for the ref's decision, already knowing what it would be. Sashihara had taken the right of way; it was her riposte that should get the touch. Unless the ref hadn't been paying attention, or missed it-
He hadn't. His hand went up on her opponent's side, and he pushed the scoreboard's remote to add another point to Sashihara's score. Fourteen to thirteen, with Mayu down by one.
‘Honestly, I did really well,’ she reminded herself, trudging back to the starting line. In the second and third round, she'd gotten two points for every one scored against her, but she was still just barely catching up.
"En garde!"
Slow breaths escaped Mayu’s mouth.
"Ready!"
She has to score this one.
"Fence!"
Her club members cheered as loudly as they could, making sure to stay in the polite range of it. She pushed most of the words out of her mind; the support was nice. Then one voice cut through the din of sneakers squeaking on the floor, of buzzing strips and clashing blades and cheering friends.
"You can do it, Mayu," her girlfriend called, sounding absolutely sure, as if there wasn't a single shred of doubt that the younger girl wouldn't win.
She moved and thrusted.
The buzzer sounded, and Mayu pulled out of her lunge. She glanced over at the board, just to be sure.
One red light.
Her friends clapped and cheered, ecstatic that their clubmate had gone from six points down to tied in two rounds. Not that she noticed. Right then, all she had eyes for was Yuki standing at the side of the crowd, face beaming with pride at her girlfriend's success.
Fourteen-all, with three seconds left on the clock. There’s only time for one attack.
"En garde!"
Sashihara was the third seed for a reason. She was better and more experienced. By now, Sashihara had seen all her tricks. Mayu could pull back. Run down the clock, let the match go into overtime. They'd flip a coin to see who got priority, who would win by default if neither scored during that last sudden-death round.
"Ready!"
To hell with that. Yuki was watching. She was gonna win.
"Fence!"
Sashihara pounced from the line, bolting towards her, lunging for her chest...and then Mayu simply wasn't there.
The scoreboard buzzed. One red light. Sashihara stood on the strip, her foil extended out in front of her, little spring-loaded tip hovering in midair. Mayu sat on her haunches, crouched on the balls of her feet, her foil angled up and pressing right into the center of Sashihara's lamé.
Sometimes it pays to be short. The fourteenth seed had won against the third seed.
The club lost it, barely contained shouts of joy audible across the gym before they died down. Even with such an unlikely victory, they weren't about to risk a penalty from the refs.
Only half-hearing the order, Mayu pulled off her mask and saluted her opponent, staring over at her mortal enemy of the past fifteen minutes. The two girls were positively drenched. Sweat streamed down the other girl's face, tricking down to her chin and ripping onto her collar. Mayu had no doubt she was just as sweat-soaked, her heart still pounding from that last touch.
They shook hands, both of them completely exhausted, before returning to their separate sides and unhooking from the strip. Well, Sashihara did. In Mayu's case, she jittered in place while Yuki unhooked her from the wires.
"I did it! I did it!" she said as she bounced, still hopped-up on adrenaline, and wrapped her arms around Yuki' chest.
"Mayu!" Yuki scolded, but there wasn't any heat in her voice, and the arms trying to pull her off seemed very reluctant to do so. Eventually, Mayu let her go, collapsing onto one of the benches that ran along the wall, her legs aching, her feet sore.
Yuki sat alongside her, their shoulders just barely brushing, and squeezed her hand. "I am very proud of you. But, you do know that you have another bout in a week time, right? And it’s the finals."
Mayu gave her a mock-glare, annoyed at the trespass of reality on her righteous, victorious joy. Then she smiled, the perfect revenge already coming to mind. "Hey Yuki, could you take a look at my lamé? I think the top might be rusting."
Ever the responsible one, Yuki leaned down to look. "It doesn't look like i-"
Quick as a flash, Mayu turned her head and leaned in, pressing her lips against Yuki's before the taller girl could pull away.
The heiress blinked, stunned into silence by the unexpected and completely forbidden kiss in public. Mayu grinned as her girlfriend's face went beet-red, taken aback and completely unprepared for Mayu's teasing. "Y-you little ..."
Mayu merely stick out her tongue at Yuki and hopped towards her clubmates to celebrate her victory.
XXXXXXXXXX
Flurries whipped by the windows as Yuki traveled down the unlit road, headlights gleaming out onto the snow-covered lane. The wipers swished back and forth, trying to keep at least some of the snow from blinding her. It was a futile struggle. She knew it. As soon as the plastic rods pushed aside the piling snow, fresh powder took its place. At least she could still see the road. Mostly.
Yuki growled as another blast of snow hit the windshield, wipers working furiously to clear the glass. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. She should have left earlier, or called ahead, or...something. There had to be a better plan than a two-hour drive in a snowstorm.
At least she was warm – the radiator working overtime to heat the vehicle – and the roads were almost completely deserted. She hadn't seen another car on the road in the last hour, and only a few others before that.
Then again, of course they were clear. What kind of idiot would be driving in a near-blizzard on Christmas Eve?
Her kind, apparently.
If anything, Yuki had felt relieved. They'd spent the last few days cramming for finals, hiding from the cold in the nearest coffee shop, Mayu constantly trying to make Yuki laugh at her antics.
She'd gotten all the way to the driveway, staring up through her windshield at her father's house, and she couldn't do it. She couldn't bring herself to put one foot past that door. So Yuki had backed out, turned around, and took off to see the girlfriend who did not know she was coming. Who didn't expect her and probably would not be pleased to have an uninvited guest arriving on her doorstep. At least she didn't plan on staying.
She even had time to swing by the dorms and pick up Mayu's gift, hidden away after they agreed on no presents this year – a promise Yuki was cursing herself for agreeing to in the first place.
Especially now that she was going to break it.
She pulled off before the next intersection, the knot in her stomach growing until she was sure that this really was the right turn. The GPS on her phone was being particularly unhelpful, local coverage or the snowstorm itself making the connection unbearably slow.
Waiting for the map to complete, Yuki glared down at the radio, wondering if she could risk turning it back on. The constant loop of holiday songs had grated on her nerves for the first hour, until she finally gave up and settled for silence over artificial cheer. Christmas songs had quietly snuck onto the radio, into the malls, the coffee shops, and everywhere else that had a sound system. She wouldn't mind, except they'd played on a loop since October, the constant cycle of reverent carols mixed with upbeat jingles and sarcastic parodies only fueling Yuki's dislike of the season.
The phone pinged, and she was off again, turning onto small suburban streets, the houses decked out for the holiday. Twenty minutes later, Yuki found herself staring down at the little white rectangle, a mechanical female voiced informing her 'You have arrived at your destination.'
Yuki looked up, a lump swelling in her throat as she stared at Mayu's home. Someone had tied red ribbons around the lamps, and wreaths decked with holly hung from the garage doors. Small white lights ran around the roof, with smaller, colored sets ringing the second-story windows. One pane was covered by a crude rendition of a foil, little lights blinking down the blade, curving into the guard. It had to be Mayu's room.
Compared to some of the displays Yuki had passed, it was positively restrained. No giant Santas loomed over the lawn, no tacky plastic reindeer danced on the snow-covered grass. Light beamed out from curtained windows, making it seem impossibly warm and welcoming against the freezing cold outside. It was actually festive, rather than some illuminated red flag of the owner's possible psychotic tendencies. Somehow, that just made it even more intimidating.
Yuki parked at the end of the drive, wrapping her coat tighter around her shoulders as she marched through the snow, Mayu's wrapped gift in hand. Before she realized, she was on the step, her hand hovering over the brass knocker.
She could go. They probably hadn't heard the engine, not over the sound of the wind. She could leave, find a motel or a car park to crash at, maybe a late-night diner to give her the energy to actually make it back to her father's.
At the idea of her family's home, Yuki's jaw clenched with determination, her hand shaking slightly before bringing the brass ring down in two sharp knocks.
"I got it!" a cheery cry echoed, even through the walls. Panic set in as Yuki heard rustling inside, her heart pounding in her chest as she waited, dreading the moment when that door opened. A shape slipped past the shrouded glass, no doubt moving to look out through the peephole. Yuki smiled, nerves making it shakier than she would like.
"Yuki?" a muffled voice cried through the door, followed by metal scraping as the lock came undone. Mayu swung the door open, complete with a mug of coco and a Christmas sweater covered in wings of wolves and reindeer. The shorter girl's eyes were wide with surprise as she stared up at Yuki, her mouth just a little open with disbelief. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry," Yuki apologized, clearing her throat before Mayu could realize she hadn't said what she was sorry for. "I know it's only been a month, and that I agreed not to do the holidays this year, but I..." Yuki paused, the woods catching in her throat as she looked down at Mayu. "I wanted to give you this." She pulled the neatly wrapped tube out from behind her back, half-shoving it to the younger woman in her haste to be rid of the damn thing.
Mayu glowered at the present, before turning her accusing glare on Yuki. "Not fair. We agreed no gifts this year."
"It's not from your girlfriend – it's from your coach."
One dark eyebrow raised in blatant skepticism as Mayu gingerly took the long tube, cradling it awkwardly in her arms. "My coach IS my girlfriend."
"Fair enough." Yuki said, her weight shifting onto her other foot. "Could you open it?"
"It's not Christmas yet."
"I know but ... I'd like to see you open it. If that's okay."
Mayu sighed, closing the door behind her and stepping out onto the welcome mat, pulling at the carefully taped paper around her present. "Gee, thanks," she said, voice pitching with sarcasm, "A PVC pipe. Just what I've always-"
"Don't be a pest," Yuki scolded before she could catch herself. "Sorry. It's inside the tube.”
Giving her a look that promised retribution, Mayu twisted off the cap of the large tube, pulling it aside before reaching her hand into the white plastic. Her brow furrowed as she looked down, staring at the foil that she pulled out. The blade gleamed a dark, metallic red, the colored steel glinting as Mayu drew it from the cylinder. The untouched hilt gleamed, an unmarred shine that only unused blades ever kept for long. The pistol grip's plastic was a deep, dark crimson that fit perfectly in the younger woman's hand, looking as if it was made for her. It should – Yuki had taken it apart herself, making sure the springs reacted perfectly, that the tang was solid within the grip.
"Do you like it?" Yuki waited for her answer, hand clenched to keep from trembling.
"Yuki...it's," Mayu looked up at her in disbelief, awe and confusion plain on her face. "Why?"
"I thought you might want your own gear instead of using the ones back in the gym. And it’ll be your finals tomorrow, so-"
"Yuki," Mayu cut her off, eyes still locked on the gleaming weapon. "It's perfect." She slid the foil back into its tube, looking almost reluctant to strap the hilt back into the protective plastic. "Would you..." Mayu took a breath, an odd look on her face before she smiled up at Yuki. "Do you want to come in?"
Yuki wanted to say yes. She really did. But they had decided to keep Christmas separate this year, and she had respect that. This was Mayu's family. Her home. Yuki shouldn't be here, shouldn't have come....
"... no. I just wanted t-to give you your gift. You were right, it's still too early for something like this."
"How long did you drive to get here?"
Yuki hesitated. "... not that long."
Mayu's eyes narrowed, her lips pursing slightly as she arched one eyebrow at Yuki. "How long?"
"Two hours."
"Uh huh." She rolled her eyes, grabbing Yuki's hand and pulling her into the house. "In."
"Mayu, I-"
"You came all the way here after agreeing not to, so you could give me the gift we said we weren't giving. The least you can do is listen when I tell you to sit down and let me get you some coco."
"... okay," Yuki said.
Propelled onto the sofa, the heiress settled herself as well as she could, only half-seeing the room around her before Mayu rushed off to what she assumed was the kitchen. Trying to ignore the voices she could hear from upstairs, Yuki gazed around the room, forcing her breathing into a steady rhythm, trying to calm herself.
Homemade ornaments hung from every branch, Christmas balls and candy canes dangling between colored lights and miniature reindeer. A fire crackled in the hearth, the heat spreading through the room, banishing the blast of cold that had swooped in when Mayu opened the door. It was quaint, and cozy, but most of all, it was familiar. It deserved being called 'festive,' far more than the clinically dressed tree waiting for her at home.
A quiet cough came from behind her. Yuki turned, looking up to find Mayu standing behind the sofa, flanked by a particularly tall woman, and a man that could only be their father.
Mayu smiled reassuringly down at her. "Dad, Miyuki, this is my girlfriend. Yuki, I want you meet my dad, and my sister."
Yuki moved to her feet, not quite jumping as she came up to her full height, still well short of the blonde woman staring down at her.
"Ooh. So you're Yuki. Nice to meet you." Mayu's sister grinned, leaning down to whisper about as quietly as a bullhorn, "Nice catch, little sis."
Mayu scowled, elbowing her sister in the side. The ghost of a smile crossed their father's lips as he looked down at Yuki,
"Let them be, Miyuki. I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to talk tomorrow morning." He shot Yuki a look that promised they would have the time, then ushered Miyuki back up the stairs, pausing only to look back at the increasingly nervous heiress. "It was nice to meet you, Yuki."
Yuki nodded, her throat working around a steadily growing lump. "You too, sir."
Mayu waited until they were gone before pulling her girlfriend back onto the couch. "It'll be fine," she promised, patting Yuki' leg, squirming closer until she was flush against the taller girl's side, snuggling deep into the sofa.
"This is nice, right?" she asked.
"Yeah. It is."
"So," Mayu pulled just far enough away to look up at Yuki. "You wanna tell me why you don't like Christmas?"
"You knew?"
"When you answer every 'Merry Christmas' and 'Happy Holidays' with a surly grunt, it's pretty obvious. I know you're not religious, so ..."
Yuki paused for a second, her jaw working as she decided how much to tell her.
"I've never had a Christmas I remembered fondly, Mayu. So, let's just leave it at that for tonight, okay?"
"Okay." Mayu shifted back down against her, her head leaning against Yuki's shoulder. "You know, Dad will have put out a mattress for you."
"Thanks. I am sorry I just showed up out of nowhere, I-"
"But," Mayu cut her off, staring at her until she was sure Yuki was suitably chastised. "If we happened to fall asleep down here, it wouldn't be fair to wake us up until morning."
Mayu snuggled closer, pulling Yuki down until she could rest her head on the taller girl's shoulder. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather sleep down here, next to you. Now," Mayu looked up at her girlfriend, a smile on her face. "Are you gonna kiss me or not?"
"... sorry." Yuki leaned down, breathing in the scent from her hair, lips pressed against the top of Mayu's head. She felt the smaller woman stiffen beneath her, an annoyed little sniff coming from her nose. Obedient, Yuki kissed her forehead, her cheek, her twitching nose, feeling Mayu wriggle a little before finally pulling the younger girl's chin and bringing Mayu's mouth to her own.
She tasted of gingerbread and chocolate, of childhood memories Yuki dearly wished she had, and new ones she desperately wanted to make. It was soft and giving, Mayu pressing up into her as she lingered on her lips. Yuki could feel her warmth through their clothes, the quiet beating of the Mayu's heart pulsing against her side. It was comfort and joy, warm and welcoming, perfect in every way she could imagine, and when it ended, Yuki nearly groaned from the profound sense of loss. All she wanted to do was kiss this sweet girl, to spend every waking moment in front of this fire, this tree, with this gorgeous, forgiving person wrapped around her.
She settled for snuggling a little closer, tucking Mayu's head beneath her own. "Merry Christmas, Mayu."
Yuki thanked whatever spirits had guided her here that the younger girl couldn't see the smile that crept across her mouth as Mayu's arms wriggled their way around her, pinning them together as Mayu yawned and laid her head down to rest. "Merry Christmas, Yuki."
XXXXXXXXXX
Doing her best to shake off the pre-bout jitters, Mayu from the bench, smiling as she pulled the dark red blade out from its capped PVC holder. She let herself stare down at it for a second, warmth rising in her chest at the sight of Yuki's gift, checking one last time that the new blade fit perfectly in the grip. A crimson blade, radiating from the lights all around, staring back at her.
In five minutes, she would be facing the top seed of the competition for the champion title bout. The fourteenth seed against the top seed. What are the chances of winning, really? But then again, this fourteenth seed won against Sashihara who happened to be at the third seed. That might have boosted her confidence a little, but not much. That moment, she would be in front of a crowd of several hundred people, challenging someone with more experience and she was nervous. Actually, that may have been an understatement. Nervous meant butterflies in the stomach. Mayu felt like a swarm of bees were doing backflips in her stomach.
And then the ref anounced. “Ladies and Gentleman. In a few minutes, we will be holding the final bouts to decide the Men and Women’s foil champions of the 2015 Annual Amateur Foil Championship. The women’s bout will be held on the North platform and the Men’s will be held on the East platform. Would the fencers please report accordingly.”
The announcer finished speaking over the PA system and his words sank in and Mayu no longer felt nervous... She now felt rather sick.
“Mayu?”
Mayu’s head shot up at her girlfriend’s voice next to her shoulder.
“Are you alright?” Yuki sounded really concerned looking at Mayu’s pale face.
“I think so.” Mayu said, straightening up and forcing a long slow breath out. “I don’t know actually..”
“Believe in yourself, Mayu. You can do it. No matter what the results are, I could not be prouder of you. You did really well reaching the finals.”
“Thanks, Yuki.” Mayu said with a slight smile, before grabbing her mask and foil from the chair on her other side.
“Now let’s get to the north platform.”
Mayu’s opponent was taller than her and lean, though she had kept her back to her or had her mask on so she couldn’t see her face. Here she was... 19 and readying to face an older bigger and taller opponent for the Champion title. Mayu was indeed no longer nervous nor does she feel sick. She was now terrified. All her anxiousness hit her hard and she felt like vomiting. The Judge called both fencers to their marks on the platform to begin the bout. After a brief salute to each other and a handshake, they introduced their names respectively.
“Miyazawa Sae.” said the taller girl.
“W-Watanabe Mayu.”
“Take it easy. No hard feelings.”
“Thanks.”They took the on guard position. Mayu got the red light side while Sae got the green light. She won Sashihara from the red side so she had to win this time too. Cause this time, she had her new crimson foil with her.
“Mayu, you can do it. Whatever you’ve learnt, just pour it back out. And remember. Move your feet.” Yuki wasn’t too sure if Mayu heard her from all the nervousness lingering within her.
“En Garde!”
‘You can do this, Mayu. You beat Sashihara who was definitely faster and better at parrying. So you can do it this time as well.’
"FENCE!" and all thoughts but the bout were driven from Mayu’s mind.
Sae advanced and Mayu parried her thrust before pressing her own attack. Mayu used Yuki’s technique against Sae‘s defense by tapping her blade aside just enough for her to
slip her blade in and score a touch on her torso for the first point of the bout.
Mayu’s teammates went crazy over the first point scored by Mayu against the top seed of the tournament. Mayu couldn’t believe it either, but the match was far from over. Mayu may have one point lead as of now, but the first fencer to 15 hits would only be pronounced the winner. It’s still too early for Mayu to even celebrate. But one thing for sure, Mayu’s confidence boosted up a lot from getting the first point.
“Be on guard, Mayu. Chances are, she might just be testing you for the first point.”
Mayu gave a slight nod to her girlfriend then sank into the ready position, both their guards up, both foils aimed at the other's chest.
“En garde!”
‘You got the first point, so you can do it, Mayu. Just keep this form up.’
“Ready! Fence!”
In an instant, Sae managed to leap over towards Mayu and landed an attack just within one second into the bout. Mayu did not even have the time to react to it. Losing her confidence immediately, Mayu looked over at Yuki with her face carved with nervousness once again.
“Don’t worry about that, Mayu. You’ll get that one back. Don’t let it bring you down.” Yuki convinced. “Watch out for her attack and parry, then go for the riposte.”
Mayu nodded. Mayu could literally feel it. Sae was no amateur. Her pose and everything was too good. This really doesn’t look good on Mayu. Sae was so much better than Sashihara whom Mayu even find it so hard to deal with. ‘Just remember, Mayu... Parry and riposte.. Parry and riposte..’
“En garde!”
Mayu let out a couple of heavy breaths as she reminded herself of the lessons learned.
“Ready! Fence!”
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The buzzer rang, and both fencers lowered their weapons as the ref called for the rest. Mayu was panting from the amount of energy she used to parry Sae’s attacks. Turning around, Mayu walked down to her end, bouncing to stay loose and trying increasingly hard not to let her anger consume her. She looked back at the scoreboard, seeing the little yellow lights shining out their scores. Eight-one, Sae’s lead. This was worse than the time she went up against Sashihara.
“She got 8 points out of me, Yuki.” Mayu literally felt like crying. She did not see an ounce of hope to win at all. “She even countered my riposte!”
“Calm down, Mayu. Just calm down.” Yuki placed both her hand over Mayu’s shoulder and tried comforting her girlfriend which doesn’t seem to be working at the least bit.
“She’s really fast, Yuki. I don’t know if I can.. I don’t know.... I’m down by a lot..” Obviously Mayu was starting to lose her cool. “I can’t win, Yuki! I can’t! It’s impossib-”
Mayu was suddenly silenced with a kiss on the lips which gained some woos from her clubmates. And boy, did that calm her down a lot. As Yuki pulled away, she encouraged Mayu one final time. “You can do it, Mayu... Just calm down and concentrate. Watch out for her footing.”
Mayu nodded softly.
“Remember your lessons, Mayu. Attack, parry, riposte.”
Mayu could only let out a loud breath and got up on the platform again.
“En garde.”
‘Don’t panic, Mayu. Just do what you do best.’
“Ready! Fence!”
They darted forward, both teasing each other's defense, making the occasional flick with their foils, testing for reactions. Sae seemed to like to tease Mayu a lot as she kept on extending and retracting her foil again and again. And then she went for the offense, only this time, Mayu saw it coming. Just like Yuki taught her. Mayu moved, body singing as her feet pounded the step it took to get her within range. Her fingers twitched, the small movement flicking her foil around Sae's, trapping the foil between hers, twisting to force the spring-loaded tip away from her body. And then the riposte.
One red light.
Mayu’s clubmates burst into applause from Mayu’s second point. Yuki as well, was cheering for Mayu loudly.
‘That’s good, Mayu.. That’s good. Keep this up.’ Mayu reminded herself as she looked at her red foil. ‘Red’s your color. You can do it.’ The match commenced and Mayu was really getting her head in the game this time. She was a lot calmer now. Who would have thought a kiss could be this effective? She managed to score a few more points out of Sae level. That really meant a lot for her.
The two finalists traded blows for almost ten minutes. As soon as one would score a hit, the other would retaliate with an even more inventive attack and score a hit. The bout was tied at 13-13 after ten minutes, and Mayu had scored the previous hit.
It was a really tight match between them as both exchanged blows once again. A very close match, and it ended with both of them sticking the tip of their foils on each others’ lamé at the same time. Mayu heard the buzzer, and allowed herself to breathe. Both red and green lights lit up the score counters. They tied for the last point, making it 14-14.
“Just one more, Mayu!” Yuki shouted from her place.
“En garde!”
This was the final en garde call of the tournament and everyone became silent from the tension. Mayu should be happy. She'd done really well. All of Yuki' advice, her coaching, had paid off – this bout had gone from one-sided to a fair fight thanks to her. No one would blame her if she didn't win after working this hard.
She spared the scoreboard one last look as she got into position. Just like her match with Sashihara. Fourteen-all. There wasn't time for anything fancy. No time to set anything up. This would come down to one final thrust, one last parry, one finishing riposte, the match going to whoever could manage to pull this off.
“Ready!”
Sae would win. Her parry was faster, and Mayu didn't have the time to set up another trap for her to walk into. Sae learned all her tricks, knew the openings she liked to take. Screw that, it’s now or never.
"FENCE!"
Mayu braced for Sae’s advance. It never came. Mayu was confused. She always let her opponent come to her, and so far this bout, she had obliged. Now she seemed content to wait for Mayu to press an attack. Does this mean Sae was actually suppressed by Mayu’s consecutive point gains and tried to play it safe during the final point?
Deciding to test Sae, Mayu took a small shuffle step forward. Sae ever so slightly shifted her weight in preparation of a retreat, but otherwise Mayu got no reaction from her. Another step towards Sae yielded a single step in retreat. Deciding to end the bout, no mater the outcome, Mayu lunged, and employed her attack. Sae wasn’t Sae for no reason. Of course she managed to parry Mayu’s lunge attack and went for the deciding riposte. Things definitely did not look good for Mayu at this point and then....
Slow pants escaped Mayu’s mouth. The whole stadium was silent. Her body was turned sideways as she looked upon Sae’s foil tip hanging in the air from in front her face. As she turned her face front, she was greeted with her foil angled up and the tip connected with Sae’s lamé.
The scoreboard buzzed. Red indicator lighted up.
The crowd literally went wild and burst into cheer for both fencers as they straightened. Mayu’s fencing club lost it. Inaudible shouts of joy echoed across the stadium and it doesn’t seem to die down. Mayu was crowned champion on her very first tournament. Why wouldn’t they be excited? It was a completely unexpected victory. Mayu was the dark horse of the tournament being the fourteenth seed and winning the competition. Who would have thought something like that could even be possible?
Returning to their starting marks, both fencers were instructed to remove their masks and salute by the judge. Mayu’s hair was literally stuck all over her face from all the sweat and her heart still beating heavily from the tension of the last strike. Even Sae was drenched in sweat. They shook hands.
“Well fought, Watanabe. I look forward to face you again sometime in the future.”
“Thanks. I got lucky. You were definitely a better fencer.”
“See you around.”
“See you.” And they got back to their respective sides.
“You did it, Mayu!” Yuki came rushing in and landed a hug on her girlfriend and then a kiss on her forehead before she could even get off the platform. “I am so so proud of yo-”
Before Yuki’s brain could catch up, Mayu cupped her cheek with her hand, pushed herself up to kiss her. Yuki made a happy noise, bumping her nose against Mayu’s, and everything felt weird but good, with the entire stadium watching them. They didn’t even care what was happening around them. It’s just them in their very own world. They broke apart at length and Yuki pulled back, reaching for Mayu’s hand and leading her towards the seats.
"My first tournament and first gold medal thanks to you, Yuki!" Mayu said as she hopped around like a bunny, still pumped-up on adrenaline despite sweating so much. Curls stuck on her face made her look even more adorable while doing that.
“When did you learn how to dodge a riposte??” Yuki wanted to ask.
“Uhm.. Actually I didn’t..” Mayu giggled and whispered into Yuki’s ears. “The platform was a little slippery. So...I kinda slipped a little at the last minute and well, accidentally dodged her riposte. But let’s leave it as that.”
“Red really is your lucky color.” Yuki giggled.
Mayu raised her crimson foil and smiled. “Which is why this foil landed so many lucky strikes.”
“We must go out for celebration tonight.”
“So, where are you taking me?”
“Uhm... How about pizza?”
Mayu’s red lips split in a grin that would have been positively sinful on anyone a little less cute. "Sounds delicious."
OS # 19 En Garde (Mayuki OS)
END