Sora Itsuki's POV

The air is thick with tension.

It's currently 7:30am.

Two hours after we have started our session and I haven't said much.

Or done much, for that matter.

I've strictly done everything that she has asked me to.

She's currently making me stretch before the next set of workouts.

She stands behind me as I sit and she pushes me forwards until my chest is almost touching the ground.

It hurts but I don't complain.

"Sora would you like to talk about what happened last night?" Lux asks me.

My heart immediately drops to my ass, at the mention of Lux using my first name and the mention of the topic.

I look at her and she looks right back at me, dead serious.

"I- well. I wasn't trying to be a creep or nothing like that, I just-"

"TJ is a good friend of mine. He's looking for a dominant. So he asked me." She says as if it's the most simple thing in the world.

Dominant?

As in...

BDSM dominant?

I don't know a damn thing about how it works.

But I've heard the occasional comment on tv or on social media.

My jaw nearly hangs.

She shrugs.

"We weren't a good match, so I told him to move on." She shrugs.

Just like that?

"Does that put you mind at ease?" She asks.

I shrug.

"I don't know what to make of it" I respond truthfully.

"Does me being part of said community lower your respect for me?" She asks.

I shake my head no.

"Nah I don't respect you less. I'm just shocked is all." I admit.

She nods.

"Do you think you can continue working with me now that you know? Your focus is important" she tells me.

Now that we are on the subject of honesty...

"I never wanted to do this" I say bluntly.

She shrugs, confirming what I thought.

She knows.

"The fuck's that got t'do with me?" She asks.

I look her dead in the face.

"Doesn't that offend you?" I ask her.

She shakes her head.

"As I said, I don't care about how you feel about me, or what I do. I'm here to train you and get paid" she says.

"With all due respect Lux, you know nothing about my sport. You're a ballet teacher. I am an MMA fighter. You don't know anything about me, or my sport" I say with nothing but honesty in my mind.

"Okay so fight me" she says.

What?!

"Fight me and if you win, I'll let you leave." She says nonchalantly.

"Are you serious?" I ask.

She nods.

"As a heart attack" she responds.

A slow grin forms on my face.

"You're telling me. That if I beat you in a fight... you'll let me leave?" I ask.

She nods, giving me a warm smile.

My heart skips a little.

This is the first time she has genuinely smiled at me.

And her smile is beautiful.

"I won't take it easy on you, cause you're a woman" I say.

"I would be insulted and a little appalled if you did" she responds.

"When do we fight?" I ask.

"Right now" she responds.

I nod and get into stance.

She chuckles at me.

"Slow down big boy. Wrap your hands and wear some gear first. Neither of us needs to get seriously hurt" she says nodding at my knee.

I blush at my forgetfulness, due to my eagerness to get out of here.

So she wraps my hands and arms so gently and I help her wrap hers.

Then I take my stance.

She also takes stance, but it doesn't match mine.

She slouches and drops her arms, making them loose and her body almost slack.

Her face is not protected.

Is that safe?

I lunge forwards to strike her.

She straightens up at the last minute and turns, so that I hit her back.

But she doesn't flinch.

She turns back and swings back at me.

I dodge it narrowly.

Shit.

She's very quick.

But I do this professionally.

I duck out of the way and I immediately kick at her side.

She blocks my leg and aims a kick back at me, aiming right for my diaphragm.

It connects and I instantly feel winded.

I don't hit the floor though.

I receive kicks like that often so it doesn't hurt too much or throw me off.

But it does make me buckle.

I grab her by the waist and throw her into the ground, straddling her.

She raises her hips, throwing me off and she gets on top of me.

I try to get up, but she uses her legs to pin me down and pin me down well.

I can't move.

I try to do as she did and raise my hips to throw her off, but she shifts her weight to my abdomen.

I wriggle about, trying to shake off.

She doesn't budge.

And she doesn't play dirty either.

She doesn't pull my hair or go for my groin like some men would.

She fights like a professional.

Who taught her that?

I grab her thighs and try to prise them off my waist.

In doing so, her grip loosens a little and I roll, so that I'm still in between her legs, but I'm on top of her.

Then she does the fucking unthinkable.

She grabs me.

By my fuckin' throat.

I freeze, not sure whether to feel panic or something else...

She takes advantage of that and she lifts my entire body up, using her legs, curving backwards and throwing me into the mat with a heavy thud!

She gets on top of me, then grabs my face, holding my jaw and she holds up a balled up fist.

I flinch and I turn my head, ready to take the heaviest knock out punch of my life.

But it doesn't come.

Lux gets up.

"You're bleeding. Let me clean you up" she says, offering her hand.

I'm bleeding?

I take her hand and she pulls me up.

I feel a warmth on my neck, trickling down to my shoulder.

I touch my ear and I look.

Blood.

I follow her into the back room and she makes me sit down.

She takes a hair tie off of my wrist and she gently ties my hair up, moving it away from my forehead and my ears.

She cleans the cut and then patches me up very carefully.

"I'll call Kane this evening and tell him to find another way to teach you"

Uncharacteristically, my heart drops.

"But, y-you won" I say, even tripping over my words.

She shrugs.

"I don't want a student that doesn't even want to be here." She says simply.

"Then why did you fight me?" I ask.

"I wanted to beat ya ass one last time" she laughs.

I chuckle softly and she takes my hands, cutting off the wrapping and taking my protective gear.

"You're free to go Itsuki. Good luck" she says.

I get up and nod, leaving.

So that's it?

We're done with this?

Despite myself, I feel a little sad.

I was starting to enjoy being around her.

I shake it off.

You wanted this Sora.

Deal with it now.

So I leave the studio and I get in my car, driving home to rest.

What a day.

I get myself some food and I take a long shower, before settling in to sleep.

But my mind isn't here.

I keep thinking about a pair of gentle hands, a gentle smile and a musical laugh.

I sigh and roll onto my stomach.

By the time I wake up, I'll be over it.

——————————————
What did you all think?

Tell me in the comments and don't forget to vote!

~ NJNJ14.