Grooming

“Ready, Sakuya?” I shook my shoulders, loosening them up just a bit. I was going to need it.

“Please, shouldn’t I be the one asking that question?” Where I was squaring up my stance, she was simply letting herself sway in place, shifting herself fluidly while giving me no indication how she was going to tackle this. I didn’t let the relaxation of her posture fool me, though. Her fuzzy, rounded, white ears were perked up atop her head. We hadn’t even begun, and she was already on her guard. The pale braid of her long hair mimicked the serpentine motions of her thin tail, a little pair of pendulums behind her as one calm breath followed another.

“Then in three…” I exhaled, steadying myself. I knew she was far more agile than me, so I needed to fixate on her movement to defend myself appropriately. A breeze caught my t-shirt, whipping the hem in the same direction as the unkempt grass and the boughs above us.

“Two…” Her count was little beyond a collected sigh. It was a habit of hers to get quiet when she really got into the zone. A second gust tugged at the bolero over her sports bra, the grass brushing ineffectually against her baggy jeans and giving some cover to her bare feet.

“One.” We’d done this often enough that the final count was in complete synchronization. Even some of our movements mirrored each other in that instant, the slight lowering of our heads, collecting as much inner calm as we were able before a sharp glance locking our gazes set us in motion.

Sometimes, Sakuya would just charge in, going for a quick takedown. She could get away with it just about every time, but had taken to a slower approach to make things more interesting. A bit more unsettling was that she didn’t seem to hold any identifiable stance as she approached, a little swagger to her wide hips accentuating her patient strides forward, but nothing else to suggest what she was up to. I could see the cocky little grin that just screamed, “Come and get me!” but knew better than to fall for that ploy. I needed to wear her down, first. Exhaust her endurance, and then let my advantage by size get to work. She opened with a feint to my left, my reaction to plant my left foot further back and let her swing miss me leaving my right side open for an uncomfortably solid kick. I should’ve seen it coming. Her tail had flicked in the opposite direction to compensate her sense of balance, but I’d counted on a double-bluff. The advantage of her putting that much weight into my right side was that I almost reflexively clamped my arm down, catching her to severely hamper her mobility.

With the grace of a practiced gymnast, her left leg soared over my head, settling in the crook of my neck, hooking inward. She didn’t waste a moment of momentum to use that pull to land the punch I’d initially anticipated, practically sitting on my shoulder as she reached back to hit some of my lower ribs. It was brutally effective in loosening my grip on her leg, allowing her the freedom to shift her weight behind me, spring-boarding off my back. Her comparatively light weight meant I didn’t get thrown too far stumbling forward. Thankful for the quick recovery, I very quickly spun about to face her. I had less than a second to see her running up, probably already envisioning half a dozen ways she could hit me. So I did the one unlikely thing for someone with a foot in height over a charging opponent. I dropped to a low stance with an effort to sweep her legs.

A tiny hop from her stride sank one foot on the back of my outstretched leg, forcing it to the ground before the next lunge had her leg behind my head, with the other scissoring down on my throat. Her inertia carried us both to the floor, the toned cushion of her thighs far from the worst place to be resting my head for such an impact. It would’ve been nicer if they hadn’t also been immediately crushing down on my windpipe, but beggars can’t be choosers, as the saying goes. I had maybe fifteen seconds of consciousness in me in my current position, and unfortunately, I knew by experience that Sakuya’s leg strength was functionally legendary. I hooked a hand into the collar of her jacket in an effort to pull myself free from her grip. Instead, all I succeeded in doing was getting her to slip her arms free, one hand coyly covering her mouth as though I’d just made some very suggestive comments. She might’ve said something, but I couldn’t really tell with the blood pounding in my ears. I could feel her body heating up, the faint smell of singed denim cloying the air. I had maybe a second or tw-

I woke with a sharp gasp, coughing slightly from the sudden influx of oxygen. My head was still resting embarrassingly close to the juncture of Sakuya’s legs, though she’d obviously already won, since her other now simply rested atop my slightly burning chest.

“I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t use your fire, and I would stay away from any garden hoses.” Maybe I could salvage a little dignity by calling her out on that breach of our honor rules. She withdrew her legs, allowing my head to flop back onto the slightly charred grass.

“To be fair, I didn’t use it to win.” She protested, rolling me to my side. Without any invitation on my part, she curled up in my arms, nuzzling her fluffy ears against my chin. “You’re getting better. You can’t honestly expect me not to get a little worked up when you keep improving like this.”

“I’m not improving that much. You can still kick my ass within two minutes.” I grumbled, rolling to place my back against the ground, carrying Sakuya’s smaller frame with me. She could be adorable when she wasn’t being violently feisty.

“Well, if it helps, by the time you can last two minutes with me, I think there’s no chance that my mom and dad would disapprove of you.” She shifted a little bit sideways, placing a kiss on my chin as we laid back to enjoy the sunset.