[Sora Minami]

It didn’t take long for Tsugime to collapse. His punch landed, the elation on the boy’s face palpable… only for every muscle in his body to fail, the young Yuki’s small frame crumpling in a heap at her feet. He had done well, pushing past his limits and fighting to the bitter end to try and achieve the objective she’d set out for him. True, she had let him win in the end, but the exercise had never been about beating her in a fight; it had been about pushing him to do, to grow his muscles through combat and toil, to show him where he needed to improve without a thousand hours of tedious form work getting in the way.

"You did well, Yuki-san." Sora said, sliding her bokken in the small space on her hip she had made for it earlier before she knelt down and, with great care, removed the Hung Gar rings from the boy’s ankles and wrists. There was no point in making him wear them any longer; she would gift him this pair, once he recovered enough to get up, but for now he deserved the chance to recover without the things draining his energy every time he breathed.

"That’ll be it for today. Once you recover, we can head out and get you something to eat. You deserve it, after that performance."

Yuki Tsugime