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Hisui breathed deeply. She could feel her whole body shaking as she waited in the dimly lit hallway that led to her next destination. Her eyes were shut as tightly as they could be, fighting down the nerves that quaked like an avalanche back in Michigan.
The trip to Vietnam had been well worth it. The food. The sights. The fun. All of it alone was worth the thousands she’d spent on it.
Even if it wasn’t all hers.
She had to borrow a little bit to get into the country so she could take part in this small tournament. She couldn’t believe she’d gotten this far in only her third tournament since she’d embarked on her journey. The first two didn’t go too well, placing too low to cover her expenses in the previous one, and not even finishing in the money in her first.
Now, though, in Hanoi? She had a chance to win the whole thing. Her first three fights hadn’t been too bad, each of her opponents seeming to be less experienced in fighting others than she was. Her hardest opponent was the last one, a karate student from Japan who’d gotten some lucky hits on his opponents, from what she was told.
She tried not to watch the bracket too much, otherwise she’d get in her own head.
She had Kayla to thank for this moment.
“Guys, gals, and non-binary pals!” Hisui could hear the voice of the announcer bouncing off the walls from the center of the ring, “It’s time for the finals of our event! We’re going to crown a champion soon! So without further ado, let’s introduce our competitors!
“First up, a Taekwondo practitioner from Tennyson County, Michigan, of the United States of America! Hisui! ‘Jaaaade’ Powerrrsss!”
The crowd began to cheer, and she could swear she could hear her friends cheering louder than the others.
Or maybe she wanted to believe that.
Either way, before she knew it, she was making her way out into the center of the arena. She let out a low, slow breath, doing her best to ignore the people cheering her on. Last thing she needed was added pressure to what had already turned out to be her best performance so far. Once she was in position, she took a second to adjust her gloves and kickpads, smiling slightly at the sight of the custom blue taekwondo uniform with white lightning bolts all over it.
Kayla did a good job with these. She couldn’t thank her enough if she’d tried.
“Next up! Originally hailing from Mars…!”
That froze Hisui in her tracks.
“Mars…?”
“Now residing in Ho Chi Minh City, here in our home of Vietnam! Representing Vovinam…Juuunooo Teo Miiiiiinh!”
Hisui watched the small tunnel that led in from the other side of the arena. There, she saw a woman about the same age as her walking out into the arena. She raised an eyebrow at the sight of her, slightly confused by the sight of a mop of short, dark-purple hair with bright pink highlights, what looked like a blue Karate gi with a yellow patch on the left side of her jacket that prominently displayed , a yellow patch with her name on the right side, and a yellow belt with two red stripes tied around her waist. She moved more smoothly than anyone else she’d seen, her feet barely seeming to touch the ground with each step.
What really struck her as strange, though, was the clear helmet with odd technical-looking wing attachments on the sides that the young woman wore. It covered her entire head, though she could see small vents that would allow for air.
Juno stopped in front of Hisui, smiling with what appeared to be confidence. The look in her eyes, she could see, contained determination, but there was something else to her gaze. Something that took Hisui a second to recognize.
Respect.
The spectators cheered around them as they witnessed the two fighters staring one another down. None of them could hear the words they exchanged.
“Wait, you’re just a yellow belt?”
Juno giggled in her helmet. “Oh, no. Do not worry. In my style, Vovinam, a yellow belt is the equivalent to a black belt in most other martial arts. I am just as qualified to take part in this tournament as you.”
Hisui grimaced.
“Oh, uh, sorry. I just thought most belt systems were the same…”
Juno simply giggled and smiled. “Do not worry. I understand the confusion. I am not offended, but I am hoping for a good fight.”
“Heh,” Hisui said, grinning at that, “Hell yeah! Wait, are you gonna fight with that on?”
Juno could only giggle again before the man acting as the referee stepped forward, catching both women’s attention.
“Fighters! Face me!” the two followed his instructions as he shouted them, “Bow! Face each other! Bow!”
Hisui smiled at bit at the way Juno bowed to her: left hand over her heart, bent at the waist. Not too much different from Hisui’s, though the Japanese-American woman kept her hands at her sides.
“Ready!”
Hisui eased herself into her fighting stance: turned away with one foot forward, her hands balled up into fists, the forward one at waist level, the other at her chest, and bouncing on the balls of her feet. Juno, at almost the same time, took the helmet off, moving to the side of the wooden fighting area to set it down. She then returned and took her own stance. Her body positioning nearly matched Hisui’s, though both of her hands were up high, at chin level.
“Fight!”
Hisui was the first to act, hopping forward and bringing a knee up high, threatening a quick kick. Juno immediately went on the defensive, sliding back and bringing her hands down to the same height as Hisui’s knee. Seeing her opponent’s reaction, Hisui went for the feint again, and again Juno backed off and gave up space.
After the second lunge, though, Juno saw a chance to strike. Hisui began to bring her leg down, giving Juno an opening to jump on. She rushed forward, leaping up a bit to try and pump a fist into Hisui’s cheek.
The Japanese-American woman saw the strike coming, though, and brought her hands up to deflect the attack. She responded with a punch of her own, popping Juno in the cheek with her knuckles.
Juno let out a quick grunt of pain, the punch sending her staggering to the side. She let out a quick huff of air as she leashed out with a leg, delivering a hard kick to Hisui’s midsection. The kick caught the dark-haired fighter off guard, causing her to stagger back as the air was forced from her lungs.
The crowd around the two cheered almost immediately upon seeing the clash, excitement building in the spectators as the action got off to a quick start. They encouraged the Vietnamese fighter as she regained her balance, then moved to chase her opponent. She leaped into the air, leg extended in a flying kick.
Hisui, for her part, recovered as quickly as the local hero had, sidestepping the flying kick so that she could snap out a front kick that caught the purple-haired fighter in the jaw.
A wave of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ could be heard from the onlookers as Juno took the kick, the strike causing her to crash heavily into the ground. Hisui, seeing her opponent hit the ground, backed off, allowing the referee to step in and check on the downed fighter. The Vietnamese woman, for her part, had recovered fairly quickly from the landing, having pushed herself up onto an elbow so she could use her free hand to help stave off the shaking of her world from the kick. One quick shake of the head, and a quick nod to the referee upon him asking if she could continue, was all she needed to get back to her feet. The crowd cheered as she returned to a vertical base, glad to see the fight would continue. The referee, after one last check, signaled for the fighters to resume the bout.
Juno sighed, watching her opponent closely. Hisui, for her part, pushed forward to get the action going again. She hopped forward when she was close enough, snapping both legs out, one after the other, in a pair of front kicks. Juno, seeing the attacks coming in, leaned away, sliding back and bringing an arm down to block the kick aimed at her midsection while she forced the one aimed at her head to miss.
Before Hisui could have the chance to pull her leg back, the Vietnamese fighter struck, slinging one leg behind Hisui’s calf, and the other over her thigh to lock the leg in place. Before the Japanese-American woman could react, Juno snapped her forward arm up, slamming Hisui in the cheek with a knife-hand strike. The strike caused Hisui to wince, disrupting her balance long enough for Juno to push Hisui’s leg up and force the woman to fall flat on her back. Hisui wheezed as her back burst in pain, unable to defend herself from the stomp that came down on her midsection.
The crowd cheered as the sequence played out before them, watching as the referee ran in to separate the two fighters. Just as he had for Juno, he checked Hisui to make sure she was okay to continue. The American-born fighter groaned for a moment, trying to catch her breath after it had been forced out of her from the attacks, but pushed herself to her feet. She couldn’t help but wince in pain and clutch at her gut, though, prompting the referee to make sure she was okay to go on.
Hisui nodded at the questioning, slowly taking her stance once more. Juno, with a grin, did the same, and the referee signalled for them to continue, much to the audience’s pleasure. Juno, wanting to try and keep the pressure on, hopped forward, leading her offense with a roundhouse kick toward Hisui’s head.
Hisui, however, clocked the kick as being too slow to be a problem for her. Her golden irises began to glow as a grin of her own formed. Arcs of electricity ran along her arms as she brought them up, executing a double-arm block on the kick flying at her. Juno could only let her eyes grow in surprise as her opponent raised her guard, the electric Ki locking her in place.
“Gotcha.”
Hisui felt her pride swell at her perfectly executed counter maneuver: the Lightning Trap. Juno tried to pull her leg free, only to find it held firmly in place. With a shout, Hisui released the Trap, throwing Juno off balance enough for her to whip her own roundhouse into the hometown hero’s ribs. That was only the start of the assault, though, as Hisui unleashed a series of kicks that landed unobstructed in various places along Juno’s body.
Arms. Legs. Chest. Head. Nowhere was safe from the barrage, as the Vovinam expert found. Hisui’s kicks rained down on her opponent with a speed that even the least knowledgeable onlooker could only be amazed at, finally ending by lifting her foot high into the air, more of her Ki flowing into it. Juno could do nothing to defend herself against the combo, leaving her dazed and aching as Hisui brought her heel down on her head, completing her Lightning Step.
The crowd’s fervor grew to its highest peak as they watched Hisui complete the knockout blow, sending the local fighter down to the ground in a heap. The fact that Juno represented them was lost, the spectators only appreciating the manner in which the match came to an end. The referee quickly pushed Hisui back, running to check on her opponent. It only took a second of seeing her not move, only breathe, before he waved the fight off.
Hisui felt herself relax as the referee signalled the knockout, smiling as he then walked over to lift her hand over her head. She looked around the stands, spotting her friends Kayla and Brett cheering more enthusiastically than anyone next to them, though that was a high bar to clear. Before long, though, Juno had recovered, pushing herself to a sitting position so she could shake out the stars in her eyes.
Hisui, for her part, waved to her friends, then the crowd, before Juno got up. The purple-haired woman walked up to Hisui and, at a volume only the two of them could hear, congratulated her opponent on the victory.
Hopefully, the first tournament win of many more to come. She’d need them if she was going to make any progress on her father’s hospital bills.