[Book of Eros] Chapter 82 - The art of fighting. (Patreon)

Leonardo, Angela and Valerie parted with Reiko and Kaede after school and went on their way to the Gym. It was a 40 minute walk from school, but at least it would only be like 20 minutes from there to the house. Knowing the address, they followed the map showing on Angela’s phone and walked the single yet curvy and long road up the hill to the Gym.

“…It’s small,” Valerie commented when they arrived.

“Is it?” Leo asked. He didn’t really know, as he’d never been to a gym before. And apparently neither had Angela.

“How big does it need to be, anyway?” she asked.

“I guess with there not being many people on this island, it doesn’t need to be very big?”

The building itself was big concrete cube. Maybe Valerie was used to bigger gyms, but this didn’t seem small to Leo. Lots of windows the let the light in, so they could see from outside the rows of stationary bikes, treadmills and other such equipment. There was a parking lot beside it and a few cars already there. They went inside and were met by the sound of chatter, machines running, clinking metal and more. The place had an appropriate rustic look with a tough wooden floor and bright wooden paneling inside. At least 10 to 14 people were using the facility already.

“Well, I don’t even know you and I can already tell you’re the ones the old lady was talking about.”

The three turned their heads in synch in the direction of the voice. She spoke Japanese, but she was very much not Japanese. First noticeable feature: platinum blonde hair, nearly white. She had it short, barely reaching her neck with a partition at her forehead. She looked young, but with a very mature air to her. She wore grey sweat pants and a black tank-top tied with a knot to her left, making it fit her busty figure tighter and showing more of her pale-ish skin and noticeable muscle definitions. To top it off, her eyes were of a grey-ish blue color. Overall, she was striking, Leo had to admit to himself. And he didn’t know he could be into women with muscles, but he guessed they weren’t the bulging kind that bodybuilders got. She was clearly a woman who worked out hard and had a body that proved it.

“A Hispanic boy and an American girl. Leonardo and Angela, right?” the woman asked with a smirk. “The old lady said there was a chance a European girl would come too. I suppose that makes you Valerie?”

The Spanish girl tilted her head in confusion when addressed and quickly turned to Leo.

“She only speaks Spanish,” Leo clarified.

“Well, suck it up,” the woman said to Valerie in fluent Spanish. “You’ll never learn if you keep hoping your boyfriend translates for you. You learn what you need, so I’m not speaking Spanish with you. Now, where were we?” she said, switching to Japanese in that last sentence and leaving both Leo and Valerie stunned for a moment.

“Mrs. Wi… Err, Wisler-san told you we’d be coming, right?” Angela said in stiff Japanese. “Then you are…”

“Victoria White, owner of the Victoria White Fitness Center,” she said with a hint of pride as she crossed her arms. “Let’s skip the boring stuff. Follow me.”

She turned around and started walking, not bothering to check if they were even following her. Leo had to admit, he could learn a few things from her approach. Ms. White led them to a room at the back, away from the machines. The equipment here was far less technological. Sandbags, reflex bags, speed bags, wooden dummies, a long mirror along a wall… It was all martial arts equipment. Most importantly, there were two boxing rings in the room. Leo was impressed, but Angela and Valerie were visibly giddy. It was the first time he’d seen either of them so excited.

Ms. White walked up to a rack and grabbed a set of red MMA training gloves, a helmet and a mouthpiece and threw them one after another towards Angela, who had little trouble catching them. “Put those on and get in the ring,” she said, putting on a blue set of those herself. Leo could see as Angela tried to contain her own excitement as well as keeping her hopes low.

Now equipped, both women were in the ring. Valerie stood next to him, eyes fixated on the two fighters. Ms. White took a practiced fighting stance with arms raised and knees slightly bent. Leo wasn’t an expert, so he wouldn’t claim to know what style it was, but if he had to take a guess, he’d say muay thai. Angela, on her part, stood there like she wasn’t about to get into a fight. Her arms were at her sides, she was leaning more on one leg and her shoulders were relaxed.

“We’ll go for a single three-minute round. No buts. Fight however you like. I’ll stick to my style and to general UFC rules. Boy,” Ms. White called to him. “There’s a bell on the table there. Ring it. Watch the time and ring it again three minutes have passed.” Leo quickly looked around and found the boxing bell she spoke of. He hit it with the small metal rod next to it and the fight began.

Ms. White rushed in, suddenly triggering all of Angela’s alarms. Her eyes widened, her muscles tensed for a moment and she raised her arms to counter any attack. But Ms. White hadn’t advanced at all.

A perfect faint using shoulder movements to make the opponent believe an attack was coming. Angela was caught in the middle of trying to defend against an attack that didn’t exist, and her opponent took full advantage of that. She stepped in with a swift dash and sent a hook that hit cleanly on Angela’s cheek area. The training gloves and the protective helmet made it sound heavier than it probably was, but it didn’t take away the fact that Angela had been hit.

Ms. White was a former MMA fighter. She was a pro, not a child who got in backyard brawls. As such, one hit wasn’t the end of it. The hook that got Angela was followed by a quick uppercut to the chin and finished with a snappy kick to the side of her stomach. A three-hit combination executed flawlessly before she quickly stepped away from Angela’s range.

His girlfriend shook her head and put a hand on the spot the kick had landed. She winced slightly. Neither him not Valerie could tell if Ms. White was holding back, but Angela probably could. Because her face showed she felt insulted. There was a fire in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. She stepped up to Ms. White, again without any kind of stance.

Seeing them in front of each other, Leo realized it wasn’t correct to call Angela a fighter at all. Ms. White was a fighter, trained, experienced and knowledgeable. Angela, on the other hand, was a brawler. She didn’t fight on technique or experience, but rather pure, raw instinct. And looking at Ms. White, she seemed to have become aware of that, because she was taking the casual approach seriously.

Angela took a full swing. It couldn’t be called a hook after seeing the technique of Ms. White. It was just that: a heavy swing of her arm with a clenched fist. It didn’t land. Ms. White threw her head back and bent her upper body backwards as well. When the punch flew by her, she stepped in at the same time that she threw her left fist forward with blinding speed. It impacted on her face, the helmet protecting her of the full power of the blow.

Angela retreated, clicked her tongue and quickly took off the helmet, throwing it out of the ring.

“Put it back on,” Ms. White said.

“It throws me off,” Angela said before rushing forward again, this time with her back lowered to approach from a different angle. Ms. White was perhaps slightly taller than Angela, but not by much. The reach of their arms was about the same, as well.

The scene repeated itself. Angela swung at her opponent, and she dodged it by bending back before countering with a left jab. This time, however, Angela moved her head and the punch missed her. Angela went for a knee strike, which Ms. White guarded from by lifting her leg and lowering her arms. Leo watched as they quickly exchanged blows, every attack missing by near inches or being guarded from with solid defense. But with every second that passed, Angela’s engine was revving up. She was starting to get faster and more ferocious. Ms. White’s attacks weren’t landing at all, and Angela practically had her running in circles. Leo deeply regretted it, but as that was happening, he saw the time in his phone running out. He rang the bell again, stopping the fight.

But Angela was too into it to have heard it.