Chapter 0 Part 1: Brawlers with Benefits
"Remember this: You don't have to be an athlete to learn how to use your fists. And it doesn't matter whether you're short, fat or skinny, timid or brave. Regardless of your size, shape, or courage, you already have the weapons with which to protect yourself. I repeat: All you have to do
is learn to use them correctly."
- Jack Dempsey
[Metro City, New York]
[Tony Redgrave's Gym]
(Y/N's POV)
My big fight felt like it was coming too soon.
The lumbering weight of the dusty old punching bag flew around, effortlessly being carried by the force of my strikes. I sunk elbow after elbow, kick after kick into it, dying to drain away every ounce of excess energy away from my body. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't punch away my anxiety. I collapsed, almost all the way to the floor, sweat dripping from the tip of my nose to the concrete floor...bent over, holding my knees...I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked at my reflection.
The mirror was set by the bag so you can pick out the flaws in your strikes and stance, but I normally ignored it, I knew staring into it wasn't going to help me at all in becoming the best fighter I could be. All it ever did was demoralize me. I stood up to my full, unimpressive height, and for once, gazed at myself. I never was built like a 'fighter', and my training still did very little to fix that.
I didn't have the presence that filled the room that most other monsters had, I only stood around 5'5 in height, nor did I have the overwhelming weight to strike fear into people. With the countless hours of work I was putting into becoming a combatant people would still describe my body as feminine. But this, in the end...was working out in my favor, whether I realized it or not...
Despite my little, huggable frame, I could hit...and I could hit hard. Bruce, one of the top brass in my Muay Thai gym, called me a 'Hard Puncher', supposedly it means I strike several weight classes above the one I'm actually in. The way he put it, 'it's not genetic, and it's not technique, some people are just built like that'.
I really had nothing to worry about, I was undefeated in that ring. I wasn't actually worried about losing the fight. I was scared I was going to win.
Because they wanted me to lose.
They didn't care how much I protested, nor was I informed until just yesterday that my boss was throwing all their money behind the opponent and telling me to dive. I already deconstructed his form, already ingrained his weakness into muscle memory, and now...I was expected to throw it all away.
I was born to win. I was never built to lose. True greatness, in all things, comes from creating a self which can not fail. Not training so you can win, training to the point that failure simply is not an option. Punching a bag until your hands go numb, running until your body can't take anymore, drawing until you have not a drop of ink to your name, doing what you desire as hard as you can until you reach your limit and go beyond.
For no other reason other than dirty money, I needed to unlearn this, with my life likely on the line. Even if I was the farthest one can be from true perfection, striving for pristine execution was ingrained in every single muscle in my body. Every broken bone, every bruise, every single lost sparring match, every time I had my ass beat, was all in pursuit of that one goal. To be the best person I could possibly make.
I rose back to my feet, ready to have another go at punching all my fears away-and then POMF~
"Hey wa-" A cheery voice came out of the impossibly soft thing I had run into, I fell back onto the bench dazed from the impact...and found myself staring up at the familiar green gi of a very bohemian lady; both socially, and in her attractiveness.
"Oh-sorry!" I put my hands up, looking away from Laura, trying to hide my eyes away from her as best I could, "You snuck up on me!"
"From the front?" She smirked, cupping something in her hand and bending down to meet me face to face, "No way! You did that on purpose, didn't you?" she giggles, outstretching her hand with a hot paper cut, "I got your favorite~!"
I took it, holding it to my chest, almost instantly forgetting about what she handed me because of her comment, "Why would I do that on purpose?!"
"I think you know why, if only you were a little shorter it would work out better for you!" She dropped the satisfying heft of her body down next to mine and nearly instantly had me in a headlock, "Trying to 'start' something with me, are ya?" Her off hand cupped mine, quickly adding in , "don't drop your coffee, little dork!"
"St-start something? What do you mean-?"
"Oh I think you know what I mean~" She let out an exaggerated purr that I could feel vibrate throughout every curve of her body. "You're trying to get me to fight you!", When she quieted down and expected a response to her teasing, she barreled right through my words without giving me a chance to speak. "Something's wrong!" she so eloquently put it, letting go of my head and shifting over to the other side of me. Despite the generous helping of weight her body had, the girl could move with all the grace of a cat no matter the restriction...the benefits of being a fit Jiu Jitsu queen.
"You're shaking like it's freezing in here!" She took my hand in hers, pulling me into the relaxing sauna of her hot abs, feeling me shake on her skin. "What's wrong?" She frowns with deep concern.
"I...I think I'm having a panic attack," I look away from her, feeling redness grow across my cheeks from the sudden close proximity, "...an-and..." I stop, voice turning into a mutter at the end. What I wanted to say was 'getting me flustered probably won't help', but couldn't bring myself to.
"You're going to be fine, just breathe!" She suddenly jerks my hand, pulling my chest into hers and rubbing my back...I hold my breath instantly, doing my best not to awkwardly wrap my arms around her and embrace the pillowy softness of her thick, strong body.
"I said breath!" she scolds, pulling ,me tighter into her, squishing her breasts hard against my chest, her intimidatingly large sweater stretchers now the only thing keeping any kind of distance between me and her...squishing them almost right out of her ripped up gi; thank god she had on a workout bra, if anything were to happen to make them pop out I might explode with embarrassment.
"...Youre not helping..." I let out a heavy sigh, her chest quickly taking up the space I just freed up by letting my lungs empty. I reached up, pushing onto her shoulders, "Laura...Laura-" I pleaded, feeling my back pop from the slightest movement. She loosed me, almost sending me off the bench and onto the floor.
She caught the coffee cup that I almost dropped, somehow not spilling a drop."See...you aren't shaking so much anymore!~" She smirked, "Is getting all wrapped up with my elegant 'techniques' helping you?" she questions rhetorically with a giggle, leaning onto me while I laid across the bench and letting the pillowy weight of those 'techniques' fall onto my chest, "A quick match always helped me out..." She insists with a playful smile and a devilish gaze.
"Right...yeah...good idea..." I clear my throat, pulling myself out from under her, and this time I do fall off the bench, landing on my back, "...You're gonna kill me one of these days..." I note, standing up and inspecting my body for gym dust.
"Nah~!" she chuckles,"You're too much of a tough little man for that," She sits up, putting the coffee between her thighs and beginning to fix her hair, "Finish your coffee before it gets cold and then we'll throw down in the ring, got it?" she winks.
"...Are you gonna hand it to me?"
"I'm all tied up, just get it yourself," she reaches down into her pants and pulls out a hair tie, starting to methodically put her hair up. And she never puts her hair up. "Wouldn't want your gym friend's gift getting cold would you?" she adds, making sure to stress that I needed to get it now.
She really was trying to kill me...
I reached down sheepishly, gingerly taking the cup from her legs and meekly sipped it, standing up perfectly straight and holding it close to my chest. "...How is Sean?" I idly ask, trying to shake off the heart fluttering thrills she had just put me through.
"Oh, he's around here somewhere," she scans the room, letting her hair drop and flicking the hair tie around her wrist, seemingly having suddenly changed her mind, "It only took a little convincing to get him here," she planted her palms onto the bench and casually flexed her biceps, her veins pushing out of her skin, "You know how easily I can get him to come out of his shell..."
"...By bullying him?" I quirk a brow.
"He needs the training anyways, I can't always be there to scare people off of him you know!" She reasons, letting her muscles relax, "He wants to be a fighter anyways...but I can't get him to wanna learn Matsuda style..." she grumbles with frustration, "All he cares about is all that flashy shoto nonsense..."
"Maybe he just realizes its better to knock them out before they can touch you than it is to try wrestling with them?" I smirk, trying to get my confidence back, "I could teach him Muay Thai..."
"Yeah good luck kicking me in the head after I've folded up all your clothes with you still in them," she flashes her teeth with a confident bass to her voice, "Hurry up with that coffee so I can fight you!"
I look down at the drink she had gotten me after taking a deep gulp of it, "How'd you know I was even going to be here to get me this?"
"Simple, if you weren't here I'd just make you get here!" She tilts her head, flipping her hair with her hand, "You know how convincing I can be."
"...Right..." I swallow a rising dryness in my throat and set my coffee down on the bench, "I guess I'm as ready as I'm going to be..." I roll my shoulders, bringing my arms up in front of me and quickly threw an elbow into a phantom jaw; cracking it and sending teeth in all direction. I stepped back, angling my body and sweeped the air, sending my invisible opponent tumbling down and then front kick booted his head into the ropes. I backed away from Laura, widening my stance and slapping both sides of my face, before gesturing to the ring with my nose. "So am gonna I kick your ass or what?"
[Start a Fight and Finish it Quickly]
I finished wrapping my hands up, leaning off of the ropes and raised my front leg, stretching my knee before dropping it back down. I made sure my shorts were tight, before throwing a combination of practice punches to make sure none of the protective wrapping was going to come off in our impromptu match. "I'll try not to hit you in the face I promise, this ass beating is gonna make you look ugly enough!"
"And I'll try not to embarrass you too much!~" Laura stretched her back, leaning forwards, catching the attention of everyone in the small crowd we had assembled by this point, "No promises though..." she steps towards the center, taking the Matsuda stance. She was so confident in using only Matsuda Jiu Jitsu that she didn't even bother to wrap her hands to strike me, "And this ladies and gentlemen, is how you put a tough little guy in his place!"
"I'm going to dishonor the entire Matsuda bloodline before you even think about putting me anywhere!" I shoot back, which instantly took the light out of her eyes...
And replaced it with disappointment. "Really? That's what you got for me? I even set you up for a better come back than that, you had such a golden opportunity to say something like...'You don't know any other place than the kitchen' or something! But you went with that? Lame..."
"Quit stalling!" I growl, putting my fists up to my brows, palms facing out, and squaring off with her towards the center in the ring.
"So you're ready then? Alright, here I come!" she dropped her weight low and barreled towards me elbow first, I forgot how utterly outlandish 'Matsuda' style was compared to other regular Jiu Jitsu, and this caught me off guard.
I tightened my stance and thew my lead leg forwards, jabbing her in the stomach as she leapt towards me. Legs are longer than arms. Jabs kicks are called teeps, like your standing light kick in a fighter. Not only will they stop you in your tracks, they win rounds.
And if she's in teep range, she's in round house range. I dropped my lead leg down hard and slammed my back shin hard into the side of her knee, making her stumble to keep her balance. And the neat thing about round house kicks, if you step into them...it loads up a round house for your other leg. Your leading leg is for keep out, your back is for power, but if you step you change which sides those are.
This one I threw higher on her body, aiming for her liver as she stepped back, but she threw her arm up and deflected it. I stepped away from her, knowing the longer I pressured, the more openings she had to exploit. And with Laura just one opening was deadly.
I expected another big, flashy strike, some kind of brute force grab attempt, but instead she battered my shin with hers. I almost fell over from it, even with such a simple strike the power of her legs almost tripped me, and as I was catching myself she leapt at me like a pouncing jaguar.
She jumped, latching onto me and lithely wrapping around my body-somehow taking my back and pulling me down to the floor, dropping me on top of her. Thankfully she was the softest woman I had ever met, but unthankfully my back was exactly what the Jiu Jitsu queen wanted.
"You're right, kicks are awesome!" She beamed, hooking her legs around mine, working her superior arms under my armpits and snaking her way to my neck. I rolled and thrashed, but I was quickly faced with the conundrum of being completely worthless on the ground...unlike her...
She grabbed my head and pulled tight like a noose, bracing me against her chest...Against her chest. My heart started to race, the all too familiar embarrassing thrills started to set when when I realized she pulled my head into the deep cleavage of her gi. I blushed, fruitlessly fighting against the arms that were holding me.
"Awww...are you getting flustered?" she giggled, doing something one would never do in an actual Jiu Jitsu match...she took the arm that was supposed to be tucked behind my neck to let her choke me and instead wrapped my forehead in it and shoved my head back into her chest.
I stopped thrashing when I felt my cheeks being engulfed by her shapely breasts, a hold was supposed to be painful, uncomfortable, but this was so decidetly pleasant, her amazing 'techniques' were far too powerful for me to comprehend what was happening...she was short circuiting my brain.
"What? Are you not going to break out~?" She teased, "Can you even bring yourself to do it? My holds can be very demoralizing...people forget the idea that they can even leave my arms once I get ahold of you!" She leaned back, wrapping her entire arm across my face and holding me blind, squishing me into her bosom. I held my breathe, now fighting against her legs...but not to escape, but to hide the pants tightening issue I was starting to have.
"So hopeless..." She smirks, "Think you deserve another chance to beat me? I did use your strategy to win after all..." She loosens her grip and lets my face go, but still my head rested against the bare skin of her lush breasts, "What do you guys think!" she calls out to the spectators, "Does her deserve another shot?"
Oh fuck that's right people can see me getting manhandled like this...being pressed into her womanly...uh...'parts'...
I can see them getting jealous of the position I was in, when she faced anyone else she took them out respectfully...but with me, she felt it necessary to tease me with this torture. She giggled, unwrapping her legs and rolling over, throwing her entire body on top of me, making extra sure to squish all her softness into the back of my head before she dismounted me.
"Alright...round two! Well I guess round one still since you didn't tap!" She backed away, putting her arms back up into neutral position.
I rose to my feet, putting my hands up...this time my stance was shaky, I was having a hard time standing up while I watched her movements. Just watching her body, enjoying her features, was almost making me faint now that she had distracted me...
"Alright...get ready!" She beamed, charging into me with no technique whatsoever this time-simply charging and pouncing, grabbing my arm with both of hers and pulling me to the ground. I landed on top of her before I even realized what happened, and only started to fight against her then... but it was too late for me.
She wrapped her thighs around my arm, holding it much higher up on her legs than you usually would, and effortlessly pulled me into an armbar...I grit my teeth, ready to tap the instant I felt pain...but to my surprise there was none. Instead of bending my arm in all sorts of ways it was never supposed to, she decided to plant it firmly between her breasts and pin me there.
My heart fluttered, getting flustered was only making getting out of the situation harder. I could feel the eyes of the other gym goers grow jealous from her show of force
"You know you can't get out of this~!" Laura giggled, "Just go ahead and tap out."
I grit my teeth, reaching up and slapping her thigh loud enough to make an audible 'smack', which instantly made her let me go. "Getting a little handsy now?" She rolled back, getting to her feet with a smirk, "Round 3~!"
Every 'round' went like this, I would get in a few good hits, and then have her pin me in an embarrassing way. Forcing my face into her chest, head scissoring me and shaking my head to make it appear to the crowd that I was doing something lewd, but most disrespectfully, she tripped me and sat on my face!
Once she was satisfied with bullying me, she fell back into her corner, catching her breath. "...Man, you have some crazy stamina, little guy! Ive seen champions tap out after the fourth round...let alone ten!" She stands up, putting out her arms and starting to approach me, "Feeling better?"
"...A..." I blink, tilting my head as she comes up to me... and blushed profusely with a yelp once she strapped a muscular arm around my waist, "...Laura?!"
"I'm all sweaty and gross, let's hit the showers..." She nonchalantly starts walking me down out of the arena and towards the locker rooms. I steel myself, realizing she was likely about to part with me and we'll go our separate ways, sparing me from even more embarrassment.
But I quickly learned, even outside of the ring, she had absolutely no intention of letting me go.
She shamelessly leaned into me, pressing as much of her heated, sweaty body against mine as possible, her wide hips and firm grip around my waist guiding me with her to the woman's locker room. I held my breath, heart sinking into my chest...I was afraid of what she was going to do to me, and the reactions of anyone who might be in there to see her take a man into the room with her. But worst of all...I was afraid that this was some kind of joke, that she was just toying with me, that seemed more likely than what was going to happen next...
But I was also somewhat ashamed that she had beaten me...and now was ushering me around like a plaything...but I really, really shouldn't be...Laura Matsuda was close friends with me. So close she didn't mind how easily flustered she could make me...In fact...she seemed to enjoy getting me worked up...We were about as close as friends could get...
And we were about to get oh so closer to each other...