This first piece is a joint RP between myself and some chick I randomly found on the internet. (Seriously, though, huge shout out to
Kasey Summers' handler).
The basic premise came about during a bit of small talk, from what had probably been throwaway comments, where we discussed the idea of Ak - who by now is a veteran - helping to train the relatively inexperienced Kasey, who has only recently returned from a year long injury.
Episode One
The bar's ceiling fan slowly span, quietly wheezing with the strain of its every rotation. In the corner of the room, the old TV talked away to itself. The news was on. More stories about the horrors of the world, no doubt.
Akragth stared down at the glass in his hand. How long had he been sat there for? Hours, probably. The barman slapped his towel down in front of the man they call Akragth and exhaled. He nodded toward the TV, which was now talking about the fire.
"That fire at the arena in town is crazy shit, eh?" The man's voice was gruff, weary. Akragth didn't move. He didn't need to see that on the news. The bar man's gaze lingered a bit longer, Ak could feel the eyes on him. He refused to acknowledge it. The bar man relented and went back to wiping the taps. "But hey, now that I think on it, isn't that where you work?"
Akragth curtly nodded and picked the glass from the bar, quietly downing what little remained of his beer. It was foamy and virtually room temperature now. How long
had he been sat there for, anyway? Before he even lowered the empty glass, the barman had a fresh one in hand and a greedy smile on his face. Akragth shook his head and stood. The barman looked annoyed, if anything, but Ak hardly cared. He unfolded a $10 from his pocket and placed it on the bar.
"Keep the change." Without ever making eye contact, Akragth pulled the hood of his jacket up and made his way out of the bar.
The evening air had a chill that made him shiver for a moment. The people of Boston were scurrying past, up and down the street like insects. He turned and places his hands into his jacket pockets, before heading away from the bar.
Ten minutes of walking brought Akragth to a quieter part of town, a rougher part of town. Not a place for the weak or the cowardly. The broken down buildings were mere husks of what they had once been. Graffiti and metal doors were as extravagant as this part of town got. Few would dare to come this way, and that was fine with him.
Arriving at his destination, Akragth jogged up the steps and into the doorway. The thick door creaked open with a reluctance. Inside Ak could hear fists impacting into punch bags, and the smell of sweat lingered in the air. Old Jimmy had been running his Gym since long before Ak had ever even arrived into the USA. Sure, Jimmy wasn't what he once was, but the guy still had a mean right hook and could teach even the most astute, the most capable a thing or two about how to lay a guy out.
As Akragth shed his coat, Jimmy hobbled over. Age hadn't been kind to him - but then neither had the car that had hit him twenty years ago.
"I saw your fight last Sunday,'' Jimmy started. "Sloppy. Have I taught you nothing, eh?"
"Not a damn thing, you senile old bastard," Ak retorted. A smile crept across Jimmy's face.
"I'm glad to see you're OK. I saw the news, quite the fine mess you guys had over at the arena."
"Yea..."
"So hey, there's a...uh..."
Akragth waited, but Jimmy seemed uncomfortable even contemplating his next words. Ak leaned in rolled his hand as if to tell Jimmy to carry on. The old man scratched the back of his head.
"There's a young lady here."
With a shake of the head, Akragth sighed. "And? I told you already, I'm not looking--"
"--she, uh, it's not like that. This one says she is here to see you. Says you know her."
Well, that wasn't what Ak had expected. Few are they who can claim to know him. Fewer still would bother to seek him out. "She asked for me?"
Jimmy nodded and pointed to the far corner, over Akragth's shoulder - the entrance to the main room. Curiosity overtook Ak and he turned, moving on into the next room. As he entered he saw who Jimmy meant straight away - even among the crowd. Was it her orange hair that made her stand out, or the fact she punching Jessica, Jimmy's employee and her sparring partner, so ferociously that she was struggling to hold her back?
For a few moments Akragth just stood, arms folded and watched. There was a fire to the girl, a rage. She had potential, maybe, but could that anger to used to forge her into something truly dangerous?
"She ain't bad, you know," Jimmy said. "Already busted Anna's lip earlier." Ak looked to the old man, then back to the girl. As she spotted him, she hesitated and Jessica scored a hit, smashing her to the mat, where she landed on her backside.
Ak exhaled sharply. “You were saying?”
The young lady got back to her feet, rubbing at her jaw--where the shot had impacted. Disappointment was written all over her face but it didn’t stop the sunny smile from breaking out as she lifted one taped-up hand in an enthusiastic wave. Waving Jessica off, she started in Akragth’s direction, a faint blush colouring her cheeks. “So… uhm… hi?”
Akragth let out almost a growl under his breath. “That was sloppy, Kasey. You got distracted and let your guard down. Look what happened: it cost you!”
She stopped in her tracks at that growl, the smile fading away completely. “You’re right. Absolutely. And I mean, normally I wouldn’t have… swear, I’m not as spacey when I’m in the ring because you know, I don’t wrestle with my contacts in because they bug my eyes and it’s easier to zone out the crowd when you can’t really see them-” as if realising that she was in danger of rambling, she stopped short, biting her lip. “Sorry. You don’t need my life story.”
Jimmy and Ak looked to each other. With a shake of his head, Jimmy slapped Ak's shoulder a couple of times and then turned away. “Oh boy.”
“All I hear are excuses,” Akragth started, “but excuses aren’t welcome in this gym. Here we don’t give reasons for our failures. Instead, we work with our shortcomings and we forge weakness into strength. Do you understand me?”
Jimmy turned back for a moment, a knowing smirk on his face. It was the same sentiment he had taught Akragth all those years ago - words that Akragth had not forgotten.
“Fear does not exist in this dojo?” She tried for a smile, hoping to at least get a chuckle from him instead of that stern reprimand. Akragth’s nostrils flared as his scowl intensified. Even in his silence, the man spoke loud and clear.
Kasey resisted the urge to facepalm, holding her ground as she straightened her spine, meeting his glare. “Sorry. Just trying for a little levity. I…” she swallowed hard, trying to bridge that foot difference in height simply with the fire in her eyes, “I understand. Crystal clear.”
“You’re nervous, scared. Good. Let’s begin then, shall we? Show me what you’ve got.”
Akragth nodded to Jessica, who understood him perfectly immediately grabbed Kasey by the hair and dragged her down to the mat.
The look on Kasey's face spoke volumes, eyes wide in shock, mouth open for a silent scream that never made it past her lips. The air rushed from her lungs on impact and then it was like a switch was thrown and the bubbly, sunny demeanour faded, replaced with a snarl as she rolled over.
The sudden change in Kasey’s demeanour took Jessica by surprise. Before the trainer even knew what was happening, Kasey had already turned the tide and was now in position to strike at her opponent. Akragth folded his arms again. Now things had just gotten interesting.
Squaring her shoulders, Kasey deliberately telegraphed a few sloppy chops, trying to bait Jessica into retaliation, grinning when the other woman swatted the first away before grabbing her wrist. Kasey dropped, lashing out with a hard kick to the side of the knee that took Jessica down before spinning to face Ak. “Listen, all due respect to everyone else here and junk… but I didn’t come all the way to Boston for
them.”
Akragth stood statuesque. The young lady was panting a little. He relented from his stern gaze and nodded. Perhaps it was time to truly test her?
“Alright, fine.” He hopped up onto the ring apron and entered between the ropes. Jessica slid out, still clutching at the impact area on her leg. Kasey silently watched as he taped both wrists. Akragth rolled his wrists around a couple of times and threw the tape roll to the outside of the ring. “Be warned, though, you will get no mercy out of me.”
“Good,” Kasey snapped, smoothing the tape on her own wrists, “because if I wanted a friggin’ tickle fight, I’d have gone somewhere else. You hold back, I’ll tell everyone that you’re afraid of some teeny, tiny little girl!”
Akragth scoffed and for a moment he smiled. Did she seek to taunt him?
Him? “Don’t let your mouth dig a hole that your fists can’t get you out of, girl.”
He cracked his knuckles and lumbered forward. His shadow loomed over Kasey and she looked tiny beside him. But Akragth knew all too well that there is no room for mercy in the ring. Sure, he hadn’t come here to hurt her, but then, sometimes pain is the best teacher of a lesson.
Kasey measured Ak up, watching him move as if looking to see if he was feeling any stiffness after his tag team match. “Bet you’re scared you’re gonna hurt me,” the words came out with a breathless, nervous little laugh as she bounced on the balls of her feet, sidestepping as he came closer, keeping the ropes in her peripheral vision. “And my mouth? Pretty legendary, really. I never shut up. Just ask anyone-” turning on a dime, she took two running steps, sprung off the middle rope and nailed him with a knee to the middle that would have probably taken down someone her own size. He barely rocked and she landed with a look of ‘
oh shit’ on her face.
Before she could react, Akragth grabbed her, both hands wrapped around her neck, and thrust the far smaller woman into the corner. He pinned her, his forearm dug into her collarbone.
“Fear you?
You?” he roared. “I fear nothing. I fear no one. I
am fear.”
With his weight pushed up against her, Kasey had nowhere to go. He could feel his fist clench, the muscles in his hand tighten, and yet a part of him didn't want to strike her down. She wasn't his enemy, but she did need to be taught if she was to ever grow as a fighter.
Kasey's eyes were cool as she stared at him, no hint of fear now. Maybe just a little flicker of… was that disappointment? “At least buy me a drink,” her voice came out a bare whisper since he was all but crushing her, “before you get... so kinky.” The last word hadn’t even dropped before she had a knee up between them and into his chest, creating a little space before weakly clawing at his chest.
Akragth looked down at his chest, his shirt slightly twisted around from where it should be. Well, the girl has spirit, he had to give her that much. But she talked too much, she risked her mouth digging a hole that her fists might not be able to get her out of.
Akragth began to pace around the ring. She followed his every step, turning to maintain her facing. “Do you fight with your mouth, or with your hands?” He scoffed. “I see through this facade, you know? You talk tough...but underneath it all, you’re soft. You're innocent and weak. You speak of fearing you, and yet there’s nothing to be afraid of.” He stopped pacing and faced her. “Why are you even here little girl? Who are you trying to prove a point to, me? Yourself? Or perhaps you seek to impress another?” He raised a finger to his chin and paused for a moment. “What
was that boy’s name, anyway? Oh, that's right: Landon.”
“You leave Landon out of it!” She took that bait-- hook, line and sinker, eyes narrowed as she glared. “You think I wanna prove a point? Yea! Maybe I do!” She charged at him, not even caring how dumb it was, how everyone was probably watching and laughing as she flailed like a total spaz, barely able to tag him once with a flurry of strikes.
As Kasey shot lefts and rights toward him, the bigger man managed to avoid most her punches or barely seemed to register that ones that did hit. Her emotions had overtaken her too easily. She was angry now, but not a controlled anger. More a frenzy. Akragth sidestepped another of her shots and forced distance between them with a shove.
“So you fight to prove yourself to a boy?” Akragth mockingly laughed at her, then returned to his scowl. “Perhaps he should just fight in your place?”
“No, you stupid assbutt jerkhole! I fight because I wanna prove to myself that I'm not done, okay?!” She threw a wild elbow, catching him in the face.
Akragth’s cheek bemoaned the blow, but his mind was focused on other matters. He had found her weakness, measured her response and weathered her retribution. Still, a small part of him was impressed. She had fought back where a lesser person may have instead allowed his words to distract them. He fought to deny a slight smile.
“Not done?
Did you ever even begin?” He smirked and rubbed his knuckle. “Do you think that mediocrity will win the boy’s heart over?” Ak braced, already knowing how she’d react.
She made a sound of disgust, shaking her head violently before throwing her head back, screaming at the top of her lungs, “I'M NOT TRYING TO WIN ANY STUPID HEARTS!” She came at him again, more precise now, anticipating his deflection, getting through with more and more strikes until she was panting and he'd been forced back a few steps, almost to the ropes. “I'm here to fight! I'm here to win and there isn't room for any,” CRACK! She caught him with a hard palm strike, “fear in this fuckin’ dojo!”
Akragth recoiled and then laughed. He flexed his jaw to stretch the muscles. Oh yes, there definitely was potential in her, he could see it, he could feel it. His face ached a little, but it was nothing that he wasn’t used to. Ak nodded slowly, knowingly. He understood her now. And then suddenly burst into action.
“No fear,” he began, as he grabbed her wrist. “No mercy.” Using his size and power, he forced her to the mat. “No pity.” He pressed his forearm across her chest again again, pinning her in place with his weight and strength. Akragth raised his fist.
“No remorse.”
He punched down. Kasey never closed her eyes, he made sure to look for that. His fist made its mark, landing squarely on the mat beside her--a shot hard enough that the ring shook beneath them. Akragth could feel Kasey exhale under him, even as she panted. After a momentary pause, Ak released his grip and stood. He half wanted to see if his nose was bleeding from her stiff blow mere moments ago, but there was no room to show such weakness.
The young girl had done well, he had seen enough. Akragth turned his back on Kasey and moved toward the ropes. He didn’t get too far before she kipped up, launched off the bottom rope with the intent to do some sort of modified enzugiri and instead misjudged and somehow crashed into his chest, latching on like a spider monkey.
With her arms and legs wrapped around him, Akragth stared into her eyes for just the briefest of moments, before his scowl returned. He pushed her legs down and broke her hold from his shoulders. He half looked like he was going to say something, but he instead exited the ring.
“You did well,” he more or less muttered as he started to undo his wrist tape. “It’s a promising start.”
She leaned against the ropes, head hanging down so that her hair hid her face from view even though it was clear from the slump to her shoulders that she was mortified at that last botch. “Promising,” she echoed, mumbling to herself, “yea… sure.”
Akragth threw his tape into a trash can and looked back, actually making eye contact for once. “But it
is only a start.” He turned away again. He walked only a few steps before pausing and then sighing. “Just...let me know when you’re going to be here next time, OK?” He continued on his way without ever looking back to see her reaction.
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Wed Apr 27, 2016 2:11 pm