[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

Ren learned quickly, and Sadako found her grin broadening despite herself—it was fun, in a surprising way, in a way that she didn’t often have when she was training with other people. Too often they pissed her off or she pissed them off and she ended up in a worse mood than when she started, whereas training on her own was always a solitary act of solace. With Ren, though, it felt… easy. Natural, unlike most of her interactions with her peers. Her kick landed, but Ren recovered—and a quick recovery was often just as valuable as a clean dodge. "Good,” she said, a short but genuine piece of praise. Ren was unlikely to know just how rare a gift that was, but she bestowed it nonetheless. It was a clean, easy back-and-forth; the tide shifted again, Ren taking the lead of their waltz and Sadako falling back on the defensive. She rolled more this time, relying primarily on her footwork and leg movements to maneuver around his strikes, throwing in the added dynamic of lightly parrying with a palm strike to his forearm. Just as she did, he interrupted his flow with a sudden movement—but he went up, instead of down. Sadako, confident as effort, crouched low to duck what she assumed was an incoming aerial kick—and was knocked on her ass for the effort. For a moment she was stunned into silence as her mind took a needed extra second to process what had happened. A breath as she waited for the fallout—her rising temper, the flood of anger, the all-consuming tidal wave of embarrassed rage. But she just laughed, low and amused, and hopped back to her feet. "Good,” she repeated, and re-assumed her stance. "Again?”

Ishikawa Ren -- 289

LAIKA OF THQ

[Ishikawa Ren]

     "Yeah." Ren responded with a smile, breathing a little hard. He took his stance again and approached.

     Hours passed by as their sweat rolled. Ren found himself on the floor more than a few times, each time taking a little longer to get to his feet. By the end he was lying on his back, arm resting on his forehead, breathing heavily.

     "Don't think I..." he stopped, chest rising and falling. "Don't think I've ever pushed this hard." He told Sadako with a smile. His legs were horribly sore, both from his movements and from the repeated attacks from Sadako. Wouldn't be a point in more training at this stage.

     He swallowed and wiped his face with both hands, then sat up shakily. "You're good." he said, looking at her with a wide grin. "But I'm sure you already knew that!" he laughed.

     When he'd recovered enough, Ren pushed himself up to his feet and wiped his clothes off. He shook around a little, dislodging his shirt from where it'd stuck to his skin. The shower back home sounded divine right about now.

     Despite dreading how his legs would scream at him during the walk home, Ren bowed his thanks to Sadako. "Thanks for training with me." he said sincerely. "I'd love to do it again, if you'd have me."

     After they'd said their goodbyes, Ren headed out the compound's door and waved back at her with a sore arm before trudging his way home.

Exit Thread
takeda sadako | 245 words

[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

Sadako wasn’t going easy on Ren—she never went easy on anyone—but she was careful in her decision-making, going through the same routines and combinations that Sadako herself had practiced when she was honing her reflexes. She changed her speed throughout the course of her training, threw in parries and feints that would require Ren to think quickly and react faster. Long training sessions were her daily fare, but Ren was giving as good as he was getting, and Sadako was really being put through her paces. She was drenched in sweat by the time they finished, and she collapsed on the ground beside Ren, lifting the hem of her shift to wipe at her face. Her kohl, so carefully applied, was now smeared to hell and back. "Not a hell of a lotta people can keep up with me,” Sadako said, rolling to her feet with a groan to grab a couple of flasks of cold, clear water. She tossed one to Ren, and drained the other in a single long chug. "You’re good. Gonna clean up at the exams.” The exams which she would be attending but not participating in, as far as she knew. She’d be lying if she said it didn’t sit foul in her gut, but facing off with Ren, she had to begrudgingly admit that there was just—something she still needed to work on. She hadn’t been ready last time, and she wasn’t ready this time, loathe as she was to admit it. "Come by whenever,” Sadako said. Her terminally pissy expression at some point had relaxed into something comfortable, relaxed—when he bowed, she just inclined her head, and extended one fist out for a bump. It was exceedingly rare for her to make a friend, and she’d roll her eyes at the idea—but she was one step closer today. [fin.]

Ishikawa Ren -- 305

LAIKA OF THQ