Chapter 109: The Spark of Ambition, Part One

{Tuesday}

"Good, good," Maria said, as she and Rin traded blows. The raven-haired girl ducked under a couple of punches her teacher threw out. A series of hooks that Rin narrowly avoided, all the while looking for an opportunity to return the offense being sent her way. She was doing fine, as far as she could tell, but with her next fight coming tomorrow, she wondered if her opponent was going to bring something to the table that Rin wasn't prepared to handle.

"Don't slow down," Maria told Rin, as they continued their exchange. "Try to maintain the same pace."

[Easier said than done,] Rin thought, although she did manage to keep a steady flurry of punches heading Maria's way. [But, I've got this.]

Maintaining her focus, Rin leaned from side to side, moving out of the way of two jabs before Maria went in for a lunging straight punch that Rin quickly recognized as an overcommitment. So, she tried to punish it the way Maria had taught her to.

Ducking under it, she moved in and punched Maria in the abdomen.

And, she promptly felt tears come up at the corners of her eyes, as it felt like she'd just punched a wall.

[OW!]

"Good job!" Maria gave her a thumbs-up as Rin held her hand in front of her. "I'm glad to see that you understood what was happening there."

"I almost wish I hadn't," Rin muttered as she shook her right hand to try to push the pain away.

"Hehe, I didn't spend so many years training my core just so it could look good," Maria replied.

Rin's mind wandered as soon as she heard that, wondering what Maria looked like without all that clothing on. A mistake that quickly made her skin feel hotter.

[Uh...] She blushed. [Maybe don't think about your teacher that way.]

As the pain faded, both fighters took up their respective stances, and the training continued.

It went on for a while, in a fashion that added to a certain feeling these days had. They felt peaceful, in all honesty. Despite the training, the mission she'd done yesterday, and the fight she was going to have tomorrow, lately, Rin felt like not much was going on.

And, honestly, she could get used to that.

After another hour, as the sun was retreating in the distance beyond the open wall at the back of the room, Maria called it a day.

"Well," Maria said, putting her hands behind her back. "I'd say you're certainly in good shape for tomorrow."

"... Really?" Rin asked, taking deep breaths as she tried to regain her stamina.

"Yes. Tomorrow, before you head over there, we'll go over some grappling tips so you can avoid being taken down the same way you were before, but for now, you should go and rest. Getting your rest is just as important as coming over and working out."

"I know, I know," Rin nodded, smiling. "Thanks for the lessons."

"No problem," Maria replied, returning that smile, and the two parted ways.

Rin walked downstairs, to the second floor, where she jogged over to her room, where she looked for some clothes to change into once she took a shower. As she walked in, though, she noticed two things. One, her roommate wasn't here, which was slightly disappointing, and two, there was a letter on her bed, along with that magical messenger bird she and her mother used.

[Oh, shoot, I haven't been sending anything to mom these days,] Rin thought, scolding herself as she walked over to her bed.

She took the letter and her eyes scanned over the page's contents, as she wanted to see what this was about before she went and showered.

"... sorry I haven't been in contact," Rin read, before rolling her eyes. "No, no, it's my fault, mom."

Muttering that, she sat down at the edge of her bed, as she continued to read through it. All in all, it seemed more like her mother was trying to let her know she was still alright, more than anything else. Given how sickly she'd been when last Rin saw her, she was glad to hear that. Still, even as her mother tried to relieve her of her worries, Rin couldn't help but feel selfish.

[Part of the point of all this had been to send some money mom's way,] Rin sighed. [Maybe, now, with the whole Arena thing going on, I can start making enough money to do that.]

Memories swept into her mind then, as though pushed in by a subtle gust of wind. She could remember seeing her mother, pale and thin, sitting in the living room looking more like a statue than a live human. Those days seemed to have passed, as Jay had done a good job of taking care of Lyn in Rin's absence, but the possibility that a brief wave of sickness could make her return to that point any day now managed to make Rin's heart hurt a little.

[Once I make this work, I'll do everything to help that I can,] Rin promised in her thoughts, as she laid the letter down and decided that she'd write a response later.

---

The next day, Rin and Maria were going over those grappling techniques the teacher had spoken of earlier. Behind them, Xhez was standing there, wearing her disguise, watching with great curiosity.

"In this position, the opponent will try to pull down on their own leg. You can't let them get here, because as soon as they do, you'll have to surrender or you'll get choked out. Understand?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Are you sure?" Maria asked.

"Mhm," Rin gulped, nodding.

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"Oh... So, why do you seem so nervous?" Maria asked.

Rin looked away, as she was on top of Maria, with her face nearly buried between Maria's legs, as she explained what a "triangle hold" was.

[Uh, I don't know, maybe because this position makes it feel a lot like we're doing something pretty different from training,] Rin thought, as Maria blinked.

"Anyway," Maria rolled back, standing up, and Rin was thankful for the space. "Triangles, armbars, kneebars, these are the sorts of things your opponent could try to use if they prefer wrestling rather than striking. You have to keep this in mind as you fight, and prevent them from putting you in that kind of position."

"Okay," Rin nodded. "So, am I ready?"

"Yes," Maria did the same. "That's all I wanted to show you."

Rin's teacher wouldn't be attending her fight today, which meant that, since Xhez was only going to cast her Illusion on Rin and retreat back into her bag, as she didn't enjoy being in the Arena, Rin would largely be undertaking today's challenge alone.

So, as she and Xhez walked out of the Meditation Center, she tried to calm down her rapidly beating heart while they made their way out of the Academy.

[I wish they'd just tell me who I'm going to be fighting,] Rin thought. [Maybe they'll do that for future fights and they just don't think rookies even need to know that.]

Regardless, whoever it was, Rin was confident she'd be able to give them a fight today.

After a long walk to the Arena, Rin and Xhez cut in front of a lined-up crowd as they were allowed into the building by the security guard who recognized them both. They moved to the back, where several fighters were training, and Rin walked over to Olina, the lady who scheduled everything.

"Ah, Lyn Rosecaller, was it?" Olina asked with a chuckle.

"Yep. Is my opponent here?" Rin asked, looking around.

"Yes, I believe he's getting ready in one of the other rooms."

"Ah, okay. So, when does my fight start?"

"Ten minutes. You arrived just in time," Olina remarked. "Go ahead and get ready."

"Right."

With that being said, Rin and Xhez walked over to a nearby bathroom where Xhez did her thing, and Rin walked out with her hair colored in blazing orange and her body shaped to be a little thinner.

"Good luck," Xhez told her with a smile and Rin hugged the sprite.

"Thanks for this. I'll make it up to you."

"Truly?" Xhez asked, raising a brow. "How?"

"I... I'll get back to you on that," Rin chuckled.

"I see."

Then, Xhez jumped up and into the bag, Rin was carrying, and as the minutes passed, she walked out with the bag in her hands.

[I'll just put it down by the door to the back,] she thought. [Now, I wonder what my opponent's like...]

There was a small crowd to the front. Fewer people than in Rin's first fight, probably since it was earlier in the day. Honestly, this was comforting.

As the referee gestured for Rin to walk up, she did just that, and as the man on the microphone began to speak, her opponent came out from the other side of the stage.

And, Rin's breath caught in her throat.

"Gooood afternoon ladies, and gentlemen!" The man on the microphone said, but Rin quickly tuned his words out.

[... What?] She thought as she saw her opponent walk calmly to the stage, with a glare fixed on his face.

"Today's bout is a fight between two rookies. Fighting from the right side, a fighter with one battle under her belt and one win, Lyn Rosecaller!"

Rin tried to calm down. She hadn't seen this coming. Her opponent wasn't even looking at her. Instead, he stretched his arms and legs, as though she didn't exist.

"And, fighting from the left side, he has no wins and no losses, the understudy of the Black Hammer, Seth Stonecrusher!"

The bulky adventurer she called her classmate finally turned toward her, and Rin inhaled sharply, as she walked forward.

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