@oddy: The Mano and Yuu thing was actually out of the blue but it was something that would match well in the story as they are the outsiders looking in and Yuu being a waitress was a nice addition to the story
@sakura: thnx for the support, I wish you can keep reading this despite the thing and for the other story, it will come around but conflict > fluff
[12]
The day of her match had arrived and she was restless over the concerns from her personal life. Her father watched intently as his daughter was losing sleep and let her rest on the trip to the arena. He wasn’t sure on how to approach the situation and had asked his wife for advice. He woke Maimi up and let her go to a private place to let her explain.
After a few minutes, Maimi felt refreshed and threw a punch at him to wake him from his daydream.
“I’m ready to go.” She informed him and he stopped her before entering the locker room.
“I need to know what is with the girl I hired to clean the gym.” Maimi gritted her teeth and walked back to the truck.
I guess I should tell him the truth.“She is someone who likes me; she started to write to me anonymously at school. She is a good natured girl but I couldn’t let her train under you.” Her father smiled.
“You didn’t want a rival who was in love with you because if you beat her, it would hurt your chances right?” Maimi nodded.
Chinami will never win but what if she has potential, I cannot be thinking this.She started to walk away before her father stopped her again.
“I think you should have considered how she is feeling now. I know that you are good but if she could produce a sparring partner that could benefit you, wouldn’t that help you in the long run?” Maimi nodded again.
“I guess so but…” He held up his finger.
“I know this will be the tail end of your career so accept her as an open invitation.” Maimi gave him a hug and carried her bag into the locker room.
The people were settling down in their seats. The school sat in the student section above the entrance of the champion. Momo dragged Maasa to the front where they had a view of the mat and gathered attention with her quirky dance to energize the crowd.
Mano-chan and Yuu were two rows above them as they observed the crowd with signs that were anti-Maimi but she acknowledged that she wouldn’t be bothered by the signs.
Captain sat on the outer edge of the section and started to lead a yell to encourage the section to cheer for their favorite student.
Rii sat at the top with her phone in hand getting updates from Miya while she returned with updates from the match.
The one who feared Maimi the most was outside with a dilemma and the ticket to enter was crumbled in her hand. She closed her eyes and held the ticket in her hand as Koha walked by her wondering what she was doing.
“Koha, do you know her?” Koha nodded.
“Chii, you should come inside and watch the fight, Maimi would appreciate if you join us.” Chinami’s throat felt dry, trying to find an excuse to not go in, but she just can’t be seen by her again.
“I will come in soon.” Her soft voice barely audible with the crowd noise amped up to the highest level cancelled out what she was saying.
She felt it was the last chance to finally give her support and she barged into the arena. The people were pumped for the match and took a seat next to Rii. Miya’s voice was loud and she started to cheer through the phone and the announcement popped up that her match was next.
Maimi got her wrists and ankles wrapped up and slipped on her gloves before shadowing the wall. Her opponent scoffed at her abilities and walked out of the room leaving father and daughter alone.
“I want to say good luck.” Her father said in a less confident voice.
“I don’t need luck, I have skills to win. I want to prove that I am worth defending my title.” He tried to smile but the nerves finally hit him and put on the sparring equipment.
He instructed her on what the opponent will be doing and she concentrated on getting the jabs down before coming in with kicks. Her first roundhouse almost caught him off guard and the pain struck him down to the floor as he let out a laugh.
“I think you have this in the bag.” The last confident words she needed to hear before the introductions.
The chance to winMaimi anticipated the crowd noise. She could hear her classmates cheering. Her opponent’s fans booing. Then, the image of Chinami popped into her mind. She knew whatever the result was going to be, she had a supporter by her side. The letters were fuel to her fire to she is fighting for, it wasn’t only a school but one person who knew that she could be proud of.
The introductions were quick and their protective gear was in place as she stared into her eyes. She saw the fear as usual but she wasn’t intimidated by the stare down. They both approached the referee and touched gloves before leaving to their sides. The bell rung quickly and they both came at each other like hunters in the wild, slowly opening up their opponents.
Chinami felt a lump in her throat as Maimi started with a jab and a low kick to her shin. Rii started her report as the noise slowly died.
Momo yelled out Maimi’s name hundred times before Maasa pulled her in before she goes over the railing.
Mano and Yuu yelled out her name, getting the students pumped around them.
Koha and Sayu cheered but were also figuring who was who and took them a minute to determine which side Maimi was on.
Captain cupped her hands as she cheered on too and then the first blow by her opponent silent the crowd.
Maimi knew the right hook was coming towards her but the blind opportunity opened up her guard. She felt the punishment as soon as it contacted her but kept her stance as she countered with a combination. Then, an opening came and an uppercut put the crowd back into the match.
Her opponent took a step back and feigned to her left with the right high kick approaching barely missing her head. Maimi took a step back and calculated a punch to her ribs causing her to pause her breathing. She had no idea of the time in her head but the crowd indicated it was close to the end and as the bell rung a solid kick to the hip finished up her strikes.
Darn, I wish I had a little more time to finish.
The crowd went to a dead silence as the fighters took their breaks seriously and listened to their trainers for advice. Maimi heard the few words from his mouth before standing back up to start up the match again.
The bell rang for the second round and her opponent came with a left and contacted her squarely on the ear. She knew she was in trouble as the irritation started to get to her and she came with a complementary right which is avoided. Maimi threw a right straight but missed by inches and then in desperation she delivered a wild leg kick connecting with her shoulder.
Her opponent stepped to the side and winced at the blow but kept her hands up in defense. Maimi hit with another right to her ribs causing her to go onto one knee. Her opponent took two seconds to breathe and walked up to Maimi again but the surprising back fist landed and Maimi went down to one knee in a daze.
The crowd cranked up the noise and Maimi looked at the section where the students were. She could see blurry items but then her mind cancelled out the noise and saw Chinami at the top. She was hesitant but when she locked eyes, Chinami nodded and pointed towards her right hand.
I see itMaimi got herself back up and lowered her head before tilting it to the right and hearing a mind-numbing crack from her neck and continued the fight.
She began to think what that message was as she avoided the major blows to her face and the opening presented itself. Maimi connected with a kick to her right side and took a step back to load up her leg. She stepped onto the mat slipping forward and the foot caught her chin.
Bingo!Her opponent’s eyes rolled up and fell quickly to the floor. The referee blocked her way to view the fallen girl and within seconds she was declared the winner.
The section exploded with cheers but Maimi only looked at Chinami and gave her a wink. Chinami closed her eyes and broke down in tears.
Maimi was given the medal again for defending the title and looked at her father as she offered the medal to him for training her. She bowed towards him as she was given a pair of scissors. The crowd became silent as she faced her fallen opponent. Maimi bowed sharply to her as she nodded towards her father.
He placed a stool in the middle of the mat and was presented a scissors. She lowered the rubber band to give enough length to cut her hair and carefully placed the blade on her black hair before hearing the crunch. Her father finished the job and held up the pony tail in his hand.
The words were swirling around the arena. Maimi waved to her fans as she left the mat and looked at Chinami for the last time before entering the locker rooms.
I can finally be in peaceChinami looked back at her and she knew it was over. Yajima Maimi had retired as champion.