Akeno's Secret

(This is Part 1 of the story, Part 2 will be posted tomorrow.)

“Mmmmm, having fun back there…?” Rhea cheekily asked, no pun intended, as she pushed her backside into my groin. I had a firm waistlock on her from behind, my grip had gotten considerably tighter in my lengthy stretch of training. The petite, yet skilled fellow trainee held onto my wrists but couldn’t squirm out of it… whenever she got into situations like this, she liked to play on sexuality. She definitely had a nice backside, made to look bigger than it was thanks to her small frame. Her thighs had been thickened in the past several months as well, as she’d begun working a bit of an amatuer wrestling style… and it looked quite nice on her to say the least.

Not long ago, this would’ve worked flawlessly. When I first started training under my beloved master, I had a huge issue with fighting beautiful women, my urges always got the better of me and distracted me, typically resulting in a dominant loss. But from the start, fighting against that through simple conditioning to get me more used to it has been the goal, and I’d finally made some real headway. That booty felt nice, but it didn’t control me anymore.

So I was able to confidently reply, “Yeah, feels real good being in control of a match!” before lifting the still quite tiny Rhea up into the air and powering her onto the mat. Lifting her was never the hard part, it was keeping her up there as she squirmed that was usually the challenge. I wasn’t trying to hurt her or anything, it was a friendly sparring session after all. I wanted to do just enough to get that leverage and pin her.

She wasn’t going to allow it that easily, however. As I tried to press my weight down on her, she coiled her ever-strengthening legs around my waist like a snake and rolled me over. She pushed her chest against mine, looking to put what little weight she had down. The referee, another trainee went down to count on the mat, but I was able to push off before the hand went down. Rhea backed up, letting me scramble to my feet rather than take the time to gain an advantage.

As she danced back and forth there, biting her bottom lip just a bit as she was focused on looking for an opening, I have to admit she was really cute… I mean it’s not like I’ve denied that, it was always really obvious, but it struck me for just a moment there. 4’7 and just about right at 100 pounds now, she was a lightweight to say the least, even with her best efforts at bulking up. She’d styled her natural red hair into lengthy pigtails that went just about to her shoulders.

After staying tough despite being brutalized and humiliated by that bully Roland months ago, she was rewarded for her bravery and loyalty by being promoted to a Purple Belt, actually skipping green. This also came with allowing her to customize her gi a bit more, a sign of respect. She now wore a very light pink gi, cut very short at the bottom. Aside from some white tape over her breasts which just barely peeked out behind it, she wore nothing else. The competitive fire burning in her green eyes was admirable, but somehow it also just added to how adorable she looked, through the contrast with her pretty face and plucky spirit.

She charged in on me, wrapping her arms around my waist and pushing her cheek into my groin to again try and test me… let’s just say she and some of the other girls were keen to ‘test’ my weaknesses, for the sake of helping me train atleast in theory. It honestly felt like humiliating mockery at first, but I’d gained a lot of respect since my efforts against the invading Clan Naito rogues.

As she wriggled her head against my crotch, I again knew I’d be aroused by then not long ago. But I managed to keep my cool, kneeling down to wrap my arms around her head, pulling her up into a front facelock. Having entirely denied the takedown attempt, I looked to repeat the same thing that worked before, whipping around and putting in a waistlock. This was actually considered good form, to target something they’d shown a weakness to, so as to allow them practice at defending it.

“Looks like you’ll be beneath me again in a second, Rhea...” I teased, a little friendly chiding. 

“Heh, you wish...” she laughed. 

This time she had a solid counter, reaching down for my ankle and, with a strong jerk that again saw her ass grinding against my nuts, she managed to trip me onto my back. Still holding my leg up, she opted to leap back as she dropped down, landing assfirst onto my face. She put as much of her weight down onto my head as she could, grinding her barely covered buttcheeks against me.

She truly seemed to get a kick out of pinning me with this, it’s happened more times than you’d think… the ref went down for the count as I struggle, and managed to pound the mat twice before I’d lifted her off of me. With my hands on her mighty hips, I managed to force her back up to her feet. She whirled around to try and face me, but I’d timed my charge well, diving in to get her with a double leg trip.

Rhea let loose a little feminine gasp as I took her down, her legs extended and splayed out across my shoulders as I drove in. Our crotches nearly interlocked as I put down as much leverage as I could. The ref went down for the count, and despite trying her hardest, Rhea couldn’t power out. 

“Halt! This sparring session is over!” the ref declared as I sprang to my feet. Rhea snapped her fingers with a little ‘tsk’, clearly a bit annoyed at herself. 

The referee grabbed me by the wrist and raised my arm into the air in triumph. I smirked and pumped my fist a bit, as Rhea sat up beneath me, pouting. She sent her foot up from the ground, playfully tapping my nethers with her foot, yelling “Kyai! Kyai!” as if she were actually kicking at full strength. I chuckled and backed away, meeting her mischievous little smile.

Ever since Rhea momentarily took it to Roland via his unprotected balls, I’ve gotten the sense that she’s been really interested in taking a man down with a swift kick to the groin. It goes against Akeno’s teachings to do this in a fair fight however. She looks at it as dishonorable, and thus something she only does to punish those who do something despicable themselves. 

Of course when she does do it, as I’ve seen, it’s one of the most brutal scenes imaginable. It really made me want to walk the straight and narrow, because the bigger bastard you were, the worse she would give it to you. Of course she’s also given me some controlled busts to swiftly bring down my pesky erections... she was certainly holding back, but it was still up there with the worst pain I’d ever received. She had actually honed the art of maximizing testicular pain without any risk of rupture, which I had to bear witness to. So she’s definitely trained herself to go for it when absolutely necessary, but I suppose it takes a huge level of trust before she’d pass it on. Thus it’s not something permitted to the others as of yet, and everyone accepts that… still, I swear sometimes Rhea looks like she’s just itching to try it when we fight.

As the official left, I sat next to Rhea, the both of us panting, a bit weary from what had been a lengthy sparring session. 

“Hoo… I miss the days when you never won a never single match against the rest of us.” she exhaled, giving me a playful nudge.

“Heh… funny, I don’t share the sentiment.” I wryly replied.

“Mostly, I just miss feeling your boner poking me as we fight.” she shrugged, then began to giggle at her own confession. “Heheh, is that weird?”

“Uh, yeah, a little.” I chuckled back.

“Well, what can I say? It was flattering… I mean it used to happen without fail, even though I knew you were trying your hardest to prevent. It felt good…” she admitted. “Er, made me feel good about myself, rather… heh.”

As she gave me a wink, I blushed a bit. “Well… hope you don’t take offense. It’s definitely just a sign that the training we’ve been going through is working. If it’s any consolation… I absolutely would.”

She snickered, knowing better than to take my flirting too seriously. I never had the confidence or comfort to talk to girls like that before but I knew Rhea well by this point and she really wasn’t the type to care. “That’s nice of you to say, but it’s okay, I know the deal. There’s only one person here that you still get stiff around...”

That made my blush intensify in a hurry, and Rhea of course caught on quickly. “Ahhh, look at you! Man, you got a huge crush on sensei...”

There was no denying that. I knew long ago that I’d fallen head over heels for Akeno, though I’d accepted that she was way out of my league…

“Eh… it’s true.” I admitted, trying to play it off. “But… let’s be real here, every guy here does. It’s hardly a ‘me’ thing...”

“True enough, true enough… buuut I gotta say, I don’t think she’s near as sweet on the others as she is on yooou~” Rhea noted with a playful wink. 

“Pfft, nah…” I replied, waving it off. “She’s good to me, and… I mean we’ve had some intimate moments but, I’m an apprentice to her first and foremost, I know that.”

“Ooooh I don’t know about thaaat...” she responded in a mischievous singsong voice. “I mean have you ever really gone for it? Have you ever brought it up with her? Because she can be really restrained with her feelings, I doubt she’d bring it up first. Try talking with her in a different setting for once, I think you’d be surprised!”

I was a bit bewildered to hear her come out with this. Hesitantly, I asked, “You… you’re serious, aren’t you? Do you really think… you think I’d have a chance with her?”

“You fell in love with her after she saved YOUR life, right?” she shrugged. “I’m just sayin’... what have you got to lose? It’s not like she’ll kick your head off for trying. I mean, obviously she COULD, but she wouldn’t...”

I laughed and shook my head. “...Honestly, I don’t… even know what she does when she’s not here at the dojo.”

“Oooh, I do...” she replied, with a little smirk. “Didn’t you know? She’s part of the UFG!”

“The… the what?” I asked, unable to mask my confusion.

“Wait, she seriously never told you? She let me know about it long ago...” she replied. “The UFG is an underground fighting league, featuring all of the strongest women from across the world. They have climactic battles with each other, and are also often seen beating the ever loving hell out of overmatched dudes. I’ve been to one once, it’s so much fun! Akeno kicks all the ass!”

I cocked my head, bewildered at all this information. “How… did I never learn about that…? Why didn’t she tell me.” 

“Maybe it slipped her mind? Or she thought you wouldn’t be interested… or she’s embarrassed to tell her boo~” Rhea winked. “I dunno, but you should definitely go sometime. They’re actually having a show in a few days if you wanna come with, she’s on the card against some nobody!”

“That would be really fun… I’ll ask her about it.” I replied with a nod.

“No no, actually… why don’t we surprise her?” Rhea suggested. “I can sneak you in without her ever finding out! She goes out there, beats some serious tail, and then… she sees us there cheering her on! It’d be super triumphant!”

“Huh… that does sound, pretty good.” I hesitantly agreed. “I guess we can try it.”

“Heh, come on, be more enthusiastic! This’ll be awesome!” Rhea excitedly noted. “Plus if her beloved Kohai cheers her on to victory, that’d be some real brownie points for you~”

I couldn’t help but blush the more she railed on this. Was there really even the slightest hope that I had a chance…? I did have really, really strong feelings for her, it’d be wonderful to think there it was true… but I figured it was best not to think too much on that. I’d just get hurt, and I’d worry about damaging the relationship we already have…

Besides, something about this revelation bothered me. Was there a reason she hid it from me? And if so, was it something as innocent as what Rhea suggested…? I couldn’t put my finger on why, but I had a bad feeling about that.

And I would soon learn that my feeling was correct...

-----

I was mesmerized by the sight. A large blue MMA-style octagon was at the center of the ovular stadium. For being an apparently secret league that was quite literally hidden underground, it was a huge, glitzy arena with seemingly a few thousand spectators in the audience, much more grandiose than I was expecting. The promoters made good money here, no doubt about that.

The performers might as well… maybe this was how Akeno could get away with training us all for free. 

The fights themselves were something else as well. We saw some truly remarkable clashes, as an extremely strong girl named Nao had this thrilling bout with a sweetheart named Mia. They were seemingly a bit uncoordinated, both were apparently rookies, but they hit each other fantastically hard, sending each other flying. The difference though was that Nao seemed to feel no pain. At one point she grabbed her opponent by the ankles, swung her body around and tossed her way up into the air, far above the cage, only to land on Nao’s shoulders for an immediate, wicked powerbomb. That put an end to the spectacle of a match.

We also saw plenty of curbstomps though, as just as Rhea said, their women happily dismantled some clearly outmatched men. Notably, a girl called Filrina had a twisted amount of enjoyment torturing her foe. I swear it sounded like she was reaching a climax just as she snapped his legs… brutal stuff.

And then… came Akeno’s fight. Rhea and I were cheering our hearts out the moment she came in, and she too was against a man.

I actually recognized him… it was a man named Corbin, a local karate guru that’d made a mint off his online self-defense seminars. He was supposedly a master, a legit black belt. And even though I’ve come a long way since my helpless beginnings, I had a strong feeling that I would have absolutely no hope against him. 

Akeno was of course fearless as she stepped up to him, giving him a respectful bow… one he did not reciprocate. He earned some boos for that one, most audibly from Rhea, who jeered, “Stomp his nuts to a pulp, Akeno!”

Yep, she had an obsession alright…

The match began and, though Corbin’s attacks were swift and ferocious, Akeno had absolutely no issue avoiding them. Within seconds, she had countered into a judo throw that sent him crashing down onto the canvas with a resounding thud. She stood back, allowing him to get up; this was notable because UFG was clearly a no holds barred kind of promotion, seemingly very few rules in place. That meant what she did was purely by choice, refusing to fight dirty based on her own code alone. 

He scrambled up and tried his best to attack her, throwing everything he had at her, but she would continually counter him, tripping him with spinning legsweeps, dropping him with emphatic double leg take downs, scooping him up and sending him tumbling over her head… no matter what he did, he ended up flat his back, or down on his ass. He was clearly getting frustrated, unable to so much as lay a hand on her… it was truly something else to watch her dismantle such a skilled fighter to the point of making him so upset.

He got to the point of just blindly throwing lefts and rights, putting everything he had into blows that, if they had connected, may well have caved her skull in. But she continually backed up to evade them, and seemingly just let him tire himself out. The moment he finally dropped his hands from weariness, she spun into a roundhouse kick to the temple that took him out like a light, he was unconscious before he hit the ground.

The officials hesitated to stop the match, but she quickly signalled she was not going to advance until they checked him. They swiftly confirmed that he was knocked out and the match was awarded to her. 

She took the time to stop and bow before the adoring crowd. Admittedly they weren’t as loud for her as they were the more brutal women, but she certainly got the loudest reaction from Rhea and I. I couldn’t help but be blindingly proud of her… so strong, yet so very noble, refusing to play into the bloodsport aspect of the fighting arena in the slightest.

As she showed her respect for the audience, attendants came to Corbin and used smelling salts to wake him from his stupor. Drowsily, he rose to his feet and saw what had occured… and he looked outraged to have been defeated by Akeno so easily.

She had her back turned to him… and he showed his true colors, rushing up to try and attack her from behind. Thankfully, her reflexes were off the charts, and she managed to duck this, causing his own momentum to carry him forward so much that he actually slammed facefirst into the cage, quite comically if I do say so myself.

His actions earned some serious boos from Rhea and me. This hardened her stance even further as she cried out, “C’mon Akeno, scramble his eggs! Crack his nuts! Neuter the son of a bitch!”

Honestly, it got a little scary hearing the mild-mannered Rhea talk like that…

In contrast to our anger, Akeno stood there, stoically zen as could be. She didn’t seem at all visibly bothered by this, even as he yelled in her face loud enough that I could hear her from the stands. “You got lucky! You’re not better than me you stupid little one-eyed, big-tittied bimbo! I’ll teach you to embarass me!”

He swung his large fist right at her gorgeous face. Of course, she caught his wrist. And as the enraged man tried his damnedest to pull away, she calmly spoke to him. She would later let me know more or less what she said. “You’re arrogant, Corbin. Too arrogant to admit defeat, which means you’re too arrogant to show the proper respect needed to succeed.” were her paraphrased words. “You need help… you need a humbling. And if you insist, I will be the one to give you one.”

She released him, letting him yank his hand away. Again he ferociously roared, “Stupid bitch! Don’t talk like you know me, I’ll kill your skank ass!”

With that less than eloquent threat hanging in the air, he unleashed a roundhouse kick aimed right at her head. Naturally she got her hand up to catch him by the ankle again. She simply shook her head, as he muttered, “So be it...”

Her leg was an absolute blur of tan and white legging as it lashed out between his own. The whole audience groaned after the brutal, sharp crack rang out throughout the arena, echoing for a good few seconds afterwards.

Akeno had delivered a truly wicked snap kick to his testicles. Although I had a feeling, and she confirmed this later, that she went easy on him so as not to cause permanent damage as per usual. Still, the pain was obviously immense, his face contorted into shocked agony as she released his leg and he dropped to his knees, immediately in tears from the intense, overbearing anguish.

She stepped behind him and placed her socked foot onto the back of his neck, pushing him down to where he was laid out facefirst on the canvas. She continued to press down, keeping him pinned in that position. “Apologize.” she clearly and concisely demanded. “Apologize and I’ll let you up.”

“Ffffffuck no!” he yelled. “Ugggh my balls… you fucking bitch, my balls…! Get off me so I can rip your whore head off!”

“That you even still have both testicles is a sign of my mercy. I recommend you not test it.” Akeno warned as she pressed down harder. “Apologize and you will receive no further damage. Last warning.”

“Burn in hell!” he spat.

“So be it...” she sighed.

She proceeded to kneel down, pushing one knee into his upper back as she straddled the back of his head. I’m pretty sure he could feel her panties grind against him as she grabbed his arm by the wrist and pulled it back as far as it could go… and then a little further than that.

He immediately began to squirm and struggle and howl as he strained against her submission hold, his arm bending back further and further as it was pulled between Akeno’s luscious legs. A loud, sickening crunch rang out as she no doubt pulled his shoulder out of socket and snapped his arm as well. 

The pained Corbin frantically tapped out, trying to show his submission. He tapped on the canvas at first, then raised his hand to tap out on her ample backside in a desperate plea to get her to notice his submission. “Stop, stop! Arrrrgh I give, I give!”

“Apologize!” Akeno repeated, putting all the more torque on that arm.

“Oh God! Oh God, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Please, please stop, I submit, I submit! I’m sorrryyyy!” he moaned, clearly fighting back tears.

“Tell everyone why you did it.” she demanded, still not letting him.

“Wh-what…?!” he asked, bewildered and wracked with agony.

“Explain why you lashed out… I can sense the truth. I can tell by the way a man moves...” she urged. “Say it loud enough for the crowd to hear!”

Tears streamed down his face as he yelled, “Dammit! GodDAMMIT, I DID IT TO COMPENSATE FOR MY LITTLE DICK! Nnnnggh I feel emasculated everytime I look at my short cock so I bully people to feel stronger! Now please let me goooo!”

The audience laughed at him, none more heartily than Rhea, as Akeno finally released him and stood. “Not that it’s anything to be ashamed of, but your cock is indeed even shorter than your temper… you most work out your insecurity in a more peaceful way, Corbin. Remember this feeling the next time you feel compelled to hurt someone else, and know that it only makes you even smaller in the end.”

He whimpered as he tearfully nodded in agreement. “I-I won’t do it again.. I promise… I’m so sorry...”

“If you’re truly sorry, there is only one way to show it.” she informed him, stoically. “Stand up. Put your hands behind your head and spread your legs.”

“Wh-what?!” he croaked, his voice cracking.

She simply glared at him, letting him know she was dead serious. Corbin, the man who showed such impeccable aggression moments ago, was petrified with shame and fear as he did just as she said, forcing his way to his feet and putting himself into an incredibly prone position. Akeno took a step back… and then another, and then another, drawing it out just to truly let him sweat about what came next.

Picking up a running start, she raced towards him, though going far slower than normal. Granted it was significantly faster than most would be capable of, certainly enough to cause a mighty bounce of her huge, soft breasts tightly confined beneath her gi, but still much slower than the lightning speeds I’d seen her do. This was one purpose, making sure he could see her clearly, watching as she raced up to him, to truly make him sweat.

He was shuddering and flinching and gasping, but he didn’t dare try to defend himself as she made use of the momentum and slammed her leg right into his crotch, her shinguards blasting his balls with enough force that he was sent flying a few feet off the ground. Once again I knew this wasn’t even a fraction of what she could actually do, but I’m sure for him it was the hardest he’d ever been hit in his life. He collapsed in a tearful, pained heap.

“I do this only so that you may change and grow as a person.” Akeno gently assured him. “In the future, please try not to let yourself be controlled by something so wholly insignificant.”

“O-Okayyy...” he whined, openly weeping.

Akeno gave a respectful bow to him before making her leave from the cage. Corbin was beaten and humiliated on every level in record time… it was a sight to behold, and it was awesome. But also, a little disturbing… she could actually a man’s cock size just from his body language? I suppose she couldn’t help having such a thoroughly perfected knowledge of the anatomy but it was a bit violating to think about. 

Of course, she’s already seen mine plenty of times, so what did it matter to me, really?

Either way, it was a kickass moment and the people around us were buzzing about what had occured. As we overheard their awe at how strong and skilled Akeno was, Rhea couldn’t help but brag. “That’s OUR mentor that just did that! Yeah! She teaches me and my friend here how to fight! How do you like that?!”

They waved this off, obviously not believing it. But Rhea wasn’t dejected by this, proudly cheering on our sensei, and I did much the same.

Little did we know, someone was listening… 

We were obviously most excited for Akeno but I was also intrigued by the possibility of seeing the apparent champion of the league. The fans around us spoke in wonder of a woman named Sherri who evidently held the league’s top title. Seemingly, many were of the opinion that she was the best they’d ever seen. I was confident Akeno was better then her regardless, but I was still pretty curious.

Sadly, Rhea and I never got the chance to see her. Just as the next match was about to start, a woman in black leather wearing dark sunglasses stepped up to us. “Excuse me… sir, ma’am? I’m going to have to ask that you come with me.”

“What…? What’s going on?” I asked.

“Did we do something wrong…? We’ve just been watching the show...” Rhea explained. This was starting to get the attention of those near us. But the woman didn’t seem to mind that.

“Someone wishes to speak with you… I advise that you listen.” she said, in a low but clearly warning tone. “Allow me to escort you to them...”

This wasn’t sounding optional. After sharing a glance, Rhea and I hesitantly stood up and followed the woman through the stands. She led us around the arena to a door. We stepped through and went down a lengthy hallway… a dread filled me the further we went. 

Finally she led us through a much ritzier looking door… and into a room so elegant and lavish that it looked wholly out of place in that building. I gasped as I saw Akeno turn to look at us… and she naturally looked shocked herself.

“Kohai…? Rhea…?” she uttered, her voice soft.

“Oooohh, ‘Kohai’, eh…?” came a deliciously seductive voice from just behind her. Glancing to the desk at the back of the room, I saw her for the first time.

Her hair was shoulder length and a bright red… she wore a deep red chinese dress that opened up to show a fantastic window to her fantastic cleavage. She was curvaceous beyond words, and even as she sat there, she somehow conveyed immense confidence and power in her posture. 

“Should I take that as a confession then…?” she asked, turning to Akeno.

“What is the meaning of this?! Why are they here?!” Akeno snapped as she glared over at her apparent boss. It was a lot of emotion for her standards…

“Whoa, hold on, we came here of our own volition!” Rhea explained. “Or… well, we came to the arena ourselves anyway. We were gonna surprise you, but...”

“You don’t need to explain anything, sweetie.” the woman assured Rhea with a sweet smile. Then she turned to me, and her expression turned grim. “...You, on the other hand, might need to give us some answers.”

It’s strange. I’d been ganged up on and mugged, I’d been in situations where I had to not get erect around a scantily-clad Akeno or else get a wicked kick to the nuts, I’d been forced to fight for her life despite knowing I could be killed so easily by my opponent… and yet, not once… never in my life had I felt quite as nervous as I did when that woman laid eyes on me.

“Wha… what…?” I asked, bewildered by all of this.

Slowly she stood and walked around the desk. There was an undeniable grace to her every step, and yet a sinister intent to every little move. Akeno backed up to get closer to me, making sure to keep between me and this woman as she approached me. Her protectiveness was appreciated though it only made me all the more concerned for what this woman was planning on doing to me.

“I don’t know what your real name is, and I don’t care.” she quickly declared. “Allow me to explain how things go around here. My name… is Ms. Lin. And I’m the boss. I’m the founder and promoter of this fighting league. And I opened it for one reason and one reason only… to promote women. The strength of women. No… the superiority of women, the superior might of women. Understand me so far, hon...?”

I nodded meekly.

“Good. Now tell me. You have a cock, yes? You lack tits, is that correct? Sans a pussy?” she asked, her vulgar words sounding rather odd in her refined voice.

“Uh… uh, yeah, that’s all true...” I stuttered.

“You wouldn’t happen to identify as female, would you…?” she asked, in an increasingly condescending tone.

“N-No...” I uttered, increasingly uncomfortable.

“Ms. Lin. He’s done nothing wrong.” Akeno explained. “You have nothing to grill him about.”

Ms. Lin ignored her. “Now, maybe I’m mistaken… maybe I’m but an insensitive, uncultured heathen, but might you in fact be… a man?”

Struggling for words, I simply nodded.

“Interesting.” she replied, her words becoming all the more measured. “Very, very interesting. And one last question, you’ve been a delight work with so I’ll let you go after this, I just need to be crystal clear on this. Akeno. This woman here… this Akeno. She trains you… to fight. She teaches you techniques, aids you in exercise regimens… she makes you stronger. Is that… about… right?”

I looked over at Akeno. She gave me a grim nod. “Uh… well, yeah, you could… say that.”

Ms. Lin took in a deep breath. “...Unfortunate. I knew she had her own dojo and I was a big fan of that. She relented to me know that some of her students had Y Chromosomes. How entirely disappointing… to think, this would happen tonight of all nights, when I was gearing up to tell you about your contendership...”

Akeno seemed a bit confused by that. “Pardon me…?” 

“You… Akeno. Are my No. 1 Contender, or rather you were going to be.” Ms. Lin began as she turned and made her way back to her desk. “After Sherri trounced her johnny-cum-painfully of the evening… as she stood there victorious, on top of the world… I would come out there and introduce her to her next challenger. The OTHER baddest woman on the block… Akeno. That’s right… you were about to get a title shot. You and the top girl around… but not anymore.”

She finished her deliberate walk, sitting back down at her desk. Her elbows on the hard wood, she leaned over, as if she was paid a thousand dollars everytime she flashed her cleavage. She seemed to take quite a liking to her own voice as she finished, “...Because you’re fired.”

“Fired…?” Rhea croaked.

“What… y-you’re firing Akeno…? But why?!” I shrieked.

“I’m sorry, did we not go over this? I thought for certain that I had established this as deeply as I could...” she replied. “You’re a man… and she trains you. And that’s not acceptable. For this organization, that is a fireable offense. And so… she’s being let go.”

“I don’t believe that’s necessary...” Akeno explained. Her voice was calm but I could tell she was shaken behind it… this was indeed her money source. Her whole life she was only ever taught how to fight, she’d likely struggle to find a swift replacement of income in time to continue funding her dojo. “You can’t call this a betrayal. You always knew I never shared your ideals, Lin.”

“Yes. And it disgusts me.” Lin was quick to retort. “You believe in equality… I don’t. I believe in dominance. I promote… dominance. And if you don’t promote the dominance of ou… then I can’t promote you. And so, I won’t. Simple as that. You’ve given me a mess to clean up as I try to figure out a replacement main event for the next show, but I’m an excellent promoter so I do believe we’ll be okay.”

“Hold… hold on, you can’t do this!” Rhea declared.

“Yeah, you can’t fire her because of me!” I cried out. “You have no right to do that!”

“Oh…? And what is the consequence of this misdeed?” she asked. “Is the willing participant in a bloodsport fighting league going to sue me for wrongful termination…? Somehow I doubt even she’s that foolish.”

My fear and nerves were turning to anger. I stormed over to the desk and, I truly can’t believe I did this, but I actually slammed my fists on the mahogany. “You HAVE to reconsider! She’s the best fighter you have and she deserves better than this! She deserves to be given a chance!”

The gaze I got from Ms. Lin in that moment sent chills down my spine. Her eyes were the very definition of icy. She leaned in close, and even though she was sitting down, somehow I felt myself shrink to the point of being eye level with her.

“...Is that what you think? You think she deserves a chance?” she asked, coldly.

“I… yeah, I mean-” I stammered.

“You’re right.” she cut me off, with a smile. “I should give her another chance… or rather, you should.”

“Wh-what does that mean…?” I asked, backing away.

“Hmhmhm… how much do you care for your sweet sensei, hrm?” she chuckled villainously. “Would you… step into that arena to fight on her behalf?”

This took me aback too much to respond right away and Akeno cut in. “No! Don’t even put that thought in his head! He’s been training for half a year, he’s not remotely ready to be out there!”

“I didn’t ask you.” Lin quickly replied. “Tell me, ‘Kohaaai’... would you be willing to fight in my arena? In a match with Akeno’s contract on the line…? Hrmhrm, hell if you somehow win, I’ll even uphold the current standings… Akeno will get her title shot after all. What do you say? Sounds good, right?”

This was a lot to process. But once again, Akeno answered for me, looking me in the eye as she shouted, “No! Don’t even consider it. It’s not worth it… I don’t need this job. I can find… something else...”

“Sensei… if that were true… if you could’ve found another job, would you really have been working for someone like Ms. Lin in the first place?” I asked, a pain to my voice.

Her visible eye widened. She didn’t expect me to cut to the core like that, but it was clear from her expression I was dead on the money.

And so I turned to Ms. Lin. “...I accept.”

“Kohai, no!” Akeno shouted. “Please, it’s much too dangerous!”

“What do we have to lose…?” was my answer. “I mean, I can’t go on without your teachings, not when there’s still so much left between us... t-to learn, I mean. And… hey, worst case scenario, I get my ass kicked by some girl. Nothing new there. I mean, if it weren’t for you, I’d have died under some ladies’ backside long ago.”

“Ohh, firing you is sounding better and better by the minute...” Lin muttered.

“Kohai...” Akeno uttered, clearly struggling with this.

I put on a hand on her shoulder. “Please. Let me do this for you. It’s… something I have to do. If I ran now, and let the dojo close without even putting up a fight, I would never be able to face myself.”

Despite the misery lacing her face, she showed me a weak smile. “...I’ve taught you too well, Kohai. You have so much more fight in you than I realized…”

Again I turned to Ms. Lin. “Yeah… I accept your terms. Whenever you want to do it, whoever you want to throw at me, I’ll… I’ll be ready.”

“Be here next week. Come two hours earlier than you arrived this time… actually, I’m sure your mentor can lead you through the procedure just fine.” Lin gleefully explained. “As for your opponent… I think it’s more interesting if we keep that a surprise, don’t you?”

Her feminine little laugh somehow made my skin crawl. Something about her terrified me on a level I didn’t know existed… still, I couldn’t show weakness. “...Fine.”

“Well then. You have seven days to prepare. I suggest you get started.” Lin declared. “Nice doing business with you all. Good day.”

The woman in black watched on silently as Akeno, Rhea and I turned to walk away, Ms. Lin giving us the queen’s wave as we left the room. The next week was spent diligently preparing me in every way possible for the fight ahead. Despite Akeno’s constant pleadings, and despite my own fear, I never once faltered in my resolve. Somewhere along the way she had taught me to never give up…

All too soon, the day had arrived.

To be continued...