Katsumi vs Lilly part1

the neko girl against the aztec princess, the fight starts now!

text written by RichelleW here she looks Katsumi as the main character in this fight

Katsumi's Trial

I sat quietly on the trainer's table, absently running my left thumb along my freshly taped right wrist.  Janna, my second, had done an excellent job with the wrapping.  The layers were tight - but not constricting - and each advanced uniformly along compared to the previous.  It could not have come out better if a machine had done it.

None of that was on my mind at the moment, though.

Instead, I was thinking ahead to the coming battle.  My debut here at the Sanchez Girls Gym.

How did this happen? I thought to myself.

I was looking for a challenge, and the women of Sanchez Girls are among the best boxers around.  They are tough and skilled... not to mention intimidatingly beautiful.  The stories of the brutal battles that have happened here are legendary, and I knew from the beginning that I wanted to be a part of it.

But not like this.  Not yet, anyway.

It seems that becoming a part of the gym requires a little initiation of sorts.  If you want to fight, they'll let you.  But the members vote on who your opponent will be, and you have to honor the result.

I don't know who I pissed off or how, but the fighter they picked was Lilly Sanchez... gym champion and the most feared and well-known fighter they have.  She has fought greats like Brindie Crest suzukishinji and Vera Stone VeraStone  Even my idol, Karen Carlson bx2000b  The KO Kitten.  The fights were all titanic battles.  Long, bruising wars that left both fighters badly beaten.  And Lilly has won many of them.

So tough.  So strong.  So many weapons.

And now she gets to use them on me.

I shook my head.  The time for these thoughts was gone.  I wanted to fight, and this is the fight they gave me.  And I will fight to win.

I reach up to adjust the tiny cat ears that adorn my head.  I wear them to remind me of what makes me the fighter I am.  Intelligence.  Speed.  Reflexes.

La Chica Gata.

That's what I call myself.  I need to win more before it catches on, but I'll get there.

If I survive today, anyway.

On cue, there is a tap on the door.

"Come in."

The door opens and Janna appears.

"We need to get you gloved up," she says.  "It's time."

******

I sit on the stool in my corner and press my gloves together - black, like the rest of my outfit.

Janna is beside me, whispering strategy in my ear.

"Whatever you do, keep moving," she says.  "You have to use your speed to your advantage.  And be ready to take what she gives you.  If you find an opening, you need to exploit it quickly.  She will not give you many chances, but she is not invincible."

I nod passively as I look across the ring at my opponent - sitting calm and confident on her own stool.  She stares back at me as she rolls her shoulders - the long, lean muscles in her neck and arms tensing as she works to get loose.  Her emerald eyes stand out sharply against her customary pink attire, and her casual smile tells me she's suffering from none of the prefight worries that are occupying me.

She LOOKS pretty invincible.

Janna catches me staring, and seems to read my mind.

"You can do this," she says.  "When you see the chance, take it.  Do not be timid with her."

I nod again as she slides between the ropes.  I rise, and Janna removes the stools.

It is time for me to meet my opponent.

CAN I do this? I think, wondering again how this happened to me.

Lilly and I meet at the center of the ring.  She smiles broadly.

"Your first fight here and you get me?" she says.  "Who did you offend, little girl?"

I shrug indecisively, unsure of how to respond to her condescending attitude.

WHAT did she call me?

"Speechless?" she asks.  "I'm not surprised.  What is there to say?  It is not often a rookie gets sacrificed like this."

Sacrificed?

She reaches up and lightly touches her glove to the cat ears.

"Don't worry, gatito.  It will be over quickly."

My expression hardens.  I feel the fog of worry leave me, replaced by the focus of anger.

"Do not be so sure of yourself," I say to her.  "You don't know me."

She smiles again... the way a parent smiles at a child who just doesn't understand.

"Brave," she says.  "Stupid, but brave.  I admire that."

I feel the heat rising in my face.

Who does this bitch think she's talking to?

I bring my gloves up in front of me, suddenly eager for the bell to ring.

******

The bell rings and I make my move while its tone still echoes through the gymnasium.

FWIP!

I zip my left out, feeling the firm impact as it connects with her face.

A shot like that - landed so quickly - usually disorients a fighter, and I immediately move to follow.  In my haste, I walk directly into Lilly's pink clad right fist.

The punch is heavy.  Much more than a defensive strike.  Despite the fact that I'd surprised her, she had the presence to know I would be coming.  And she'd been set and ready for me.

She follows with the left, but I'm too fast for her.  Her glove stops inches from my face - menacing but harmless as I sway out of her reach.  I swarm back in as she tries to reset. Coming in under her guard, I slam a right into her unprotected gut.  Before she can recover, my left hammers into her body, as well.

Keep going!  Keep going! I tell myself.

I come up high and step heavily into a big right hand.  My opponent fires her right as well, and my black glove slams into her eye just as her pink leather crashes into my cheek.

My face stings from the punch, but I know I got the best of that exchange.  I draw back to guard then attack her body again.  She has the same idea, but she is faster.  She pivots and throws a brutal left.  The blow hammers into my side and knocks me off line.  My right barely grazes her taught, firm abs.

She's going to come up! I think to myself - predicting Lilly's next attack will be aimed at my head.

I sway back just in time and push out a defensive left hand, stopping her advance before she can get close enough to hit me.

What happens next is like something out of a training video.

I draw back my left as I pivot into a right.  I feel my body shift... every muscle working smoothly and cooperatively.  I get my feet set and step into the punch, coming in low and compact as I get my weight behind it.  I can sense my opponent making a move of her own, but I know without looking that she's too late.  I'm going to get there first.

I connect solidly - feeling the resistance travel through my arm as my glove drives right through her.  Her head whips right with the force of the blow.  I reset quickly as I prepare to press my advantage.

Only she's not there.

At first, I'm confused.  Did she somehow get behind me?

I start to turn when I notice something on the canvas catches my eye.  I lower my gloves and look down.

There at my feet is Sanchez Girls champion Lilly Sanchez.

Holy shit!

"I knocked down the great Lilly Sanchez," I mumble, not even aware that I'm speaking aloud.

Lilly - more stunned than hurt - slams her glove to the mat and glares at me.

"WHAT did you say?" she snarls.

Despite the fact that she was lying prone on the canvas, her superior attitude was still plain in her expression.  Like I hadn't just knocked her down.  Like she was about to get up and show me how unworthy I was.

Well, fuck her.

"I said that I - the lowly rookie - just knocked the great Lilly Sanchez on her ass," I taunt.  "Now, how did that happen?"

She pushes off the mat with both hands and thrusts herself back to her feet.

"It couldn't be because I'm better than you, could it?" I ask.

"How DARE you speak to me this way!" she roars.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, princess.  I didn't mean to bruise your delicate ego.  It's just that I expected more from the champion.  But maybe you're simply getting a little slow in your old age.  Don't worry.  It happens to everyone."

Lilly rises to her full height, standing tall and proud as she squares herself with me.  She says nothing as she brings her guard up - fire flashing in those bright green eyes as they peek out over her pink gloves.

Suddenly, I had the feeling I'd gone a little bit too far...