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As expected, Oodzuka Mai arrived at the empty school gymnasium exactly on time and in exactly the wrong outfit.
Satsuki wore a second-hand shirt and hakama her mom had sourced from somewhere or other. The bamboo training sword in her hands belonged to the school. The shirt was blue, the pants were black. She washed them often in vinegar so they never smelled of sweat, no need for fancy detergents or anything.
Mai’s outfit smelled clean because it might as well have been freshly bought from an importer of olympic quality fencing gear. The jacket was white, the tights were white, the gloves were white. Her sword, it had a french name, was silver.
“You said to bring a sword.” Mai said, with a grin some might call shit-eating. “It seems we have had a miscommunication.”
Mai approached unselfconsciously, holding her sword by the blade in her right hand, pointed down and away, sheathed in a sense. It had a big metal bell for a guard, ostentatious, it would cover her too soft rich girl hand entirely, protecting her grip on her weapon when she fought.
“I’ve known you were a fool for years, Oodzuka Mai. You don’t need to keep proving me right.”
Mai shrugged, she loves to shrug. She loves to pretend nothing bothers her. Her shoulders are so light, she tells the world. Nothing gets her down.
“What did you want to talk about?” She asked, performatively unselfconscious.
Satsuki launched her first attack swinging her sword directly at Mai’s head. Mai’s eyes snapped open wide and in an instant she had launched herself backwards, just out of range. The tip of Satsuki’s blade hung perfectly still in the air, inches from her nose.
“I heard about Sena.”
Mai took a second to reassess and in that moment took her western sword in left hand and with its tip guided Satsuki’s blade out of her face.
“What about Ajisai?”
Satsuki stepped in closer, bamboo sliding on steel as they moved to a bladelock. Mai didn’t back down.
“Don’t play dumb. I heard Sena confessed.”
Satsuki’s blade hit Mai’s guard and threatened to slide off. These swords were not meant to go together. This had been their problem for years.
“Oh that,” Mai said, stepping backwards to gain some space. “That’s nothing to worry about. Renako is free to do as she wants, I’m confident that-”
Satsuki came in with a sideways swing at full force, narrowly missing Mai’s body and she leapt back, lifting her arm clear above Satsuki’s swing to keep their blades from connecting.
“I’m not asking about Amaori.”
Mai took a breath, composure rapidly flowing back into place after her second brush with death in a minute. She relaxed back into a crouching stance and for the first time readied her blade, waiting only a heartbeat before uncoiling her muscles and springing forward, blade outstretched, point first.
There was no blocking an attack so sharp, Satsuki had to sidestep, nearly losing her footing in an effort to get to safety.
“Your concern is touching,” Oodzuka Mai said with her barbed tongue. “But I can handle my own relationship.”
Satsuki didn’t wait to get her balance back, she tried for another head-strike immediately.
“The last time I saw you ‘handling’ your relationship you showed up on my doorstep begging me to defile you. This is a pre-emptive measure.”
Mai was ready this time, pulling off some complicated twisting manouevre to catch Satsuki’s blow on her hand-guard and deflect it aside, transitioning smoothly into an attack tearing towards Satsuki’s hands.
“I’m sorry but that offer has expired. Renako is the only one I’ll allow to defile me from here on out.”
“Then why are you letting her play around with Sena instead?”
For just a second, Satsuki was faster on her feet than Mai, saw the attack coming and punched her in the stomach the second she had extended too far.
Mai staggered back, catching her breath, reassessing her options now that fighting dirty was on the table.
“You’re lucky I don’t have a swimsuit shoot coming up. Mama would be mad.”
Satsuki saw red.
She charged, her third time striking at Oodzuka Mai’s empty head and too late caught that cocky smirk gracing her face to realise she’d fallen for a trap.
Mai’s sword hit the floor, Mai stepped in close and grabbed Satsuki’s gi, Mai took Satsuki’s momentum and with a textbook judo throw put her on her back on the floor.
All the breath left her body and the empty gymnasium echoed with the thud she made hitting the ground. She saw stars.
Mai, ever the sore loser, mounted her chest to keep her on the ground and pinned her arms for good measure. Satsuki’s sword was a few metres away, forgotten.
“It would be nice if we could be honest.” Mai said, sincerity an unusual look on her smug face.
“You first.”
Mai hummed a quick laugh. Looked up in askance before looking back down, directly at Satsuki.
“Yeah, I’m a little unhappy about it.”
Satsuki relaxed, tension leaving her body and the fight going out of her limbs. Mai let go and sat up a little further.
“Ajisai has always been dangerous, and after that vacation she’s grown more beautiful than ever. I’ll have a real fight on my hands if I don’t want her to steal Renako away from me.”
“If it’s you, a direct fight might be a good thing.”
Mai laughed. It was a clear sound, like some kind of woodwind instrument, and it echoed through the gym. She looked just a little bit lonely.
“I suppose that’s true. It’s a good thing you already gave me some practice there I suppose.”
“I’ll steal her again if you let your guard down. Her kisses tasted good.”
Mai smirked and lifted a hand to her lips. “They do.”
There was probably a lot left to say, but they had gotten the important things out of the way, and Satsuki was starting to feel sore. Without asking as much, she gestured for Mai to get the hell off her. They hadn’t rough-housed like this since they were kids, running around, tumbling down hills arm in arm. Mai, standing above her, reached a hand down to help her up, and she took it.
“Your hands are still too soft,” Satsuki complained. Mai winced as her hand was squeezed unnecessarily hard. “Amaori might like it if you were a bit rougher.”
“Like you?” Mai teased, fingers tracing Satsuki’s palm, dried out from washing dishes by hand instead of relying on some expensive contraption. “I always liked the way your palms felt.”
Satsuki snatched her hand back, turning away to hide the heat in her cheeks. “You’re always saying unnecessary things.”
Mai’s arms snaked around her waist from behind, her sword on the right of Satsuki’s hip, a mirror of her own on the left. It was a hug, sure, whatever, but it also felt nice, so Satsuki didn’t object right away.
“Thank you for asking me out here. I’m glad I have you.”
Her words burned, so Satsuki did her best to ignore them, but as was all too often the case with Mai, her best wasn’t enough.
“If Amaori does leave you, don’t come crying to me.”
She turned to deliver Mai a withering glare, which was why the kiss that was intended for her cheek landed on her lips instead, soft like her hands. Caught in Mai’s arms and traitor to herself, Satsuki could only stand there and let her eyes close. Mai, for her own incomprehensible reasons, let the kiss continue longer than anyone should have allowed it to.
When they parted, Mai responded. “I probably will.”