Hours have passed since the conclusion of Puro Resu Gacha Machine, and the dojo where so many dreams began is deathly quiet. All of the galaxy’s defenders are understandably asleep or likely preparing for the end of one of the most stressful days in the history of Miracle Galaxy Pro. Except for Yuna Saito, whose long legs carry her from the station to the most stable home she’s ever known in record time. Catching sight of the kanji on the sign promises her respite from the chaotic storm of emotions rumbling within her.
YUNA: <I’m home.>
She issues the greeting despite the absence of anyone who might be there to hear it. Her family lives here, it’d be disrespectful to all of them for her to do otherwise. Some of them might be upstairs sleeping in the dorms, so the Beating Heart of GDF gingerly pushes the door open and slinks inside. All the while there’s but one recurring image running through her mind. A single, solitary smirking face which once again showed itself tonight. Suzuhana.
YUNA: <Come on Yuna, it’s one match. You’re a leader! Time to show your sisters how a leader recovers from disappointment.>
Each step she takes into the dojo fills her with the sensation of being watched. Now that she’s proclaimed herself leader and been accepted by her teammates as such, she’s certain there’s always someone watching. Even when the only sound reaching her ears is that of her own footsteps echoing off the dormant dojo’s walls. The closer she gets to the office - her office - the more she listens closer in the vain hope that someone will come check on her.
Despite those hopes she’s alone. Alone with the same kinds of thoughts which filled her mind before the event. Kasey-san is damn lucky to still have that belt of hers. The rest of MGP has left me behind and thinks I’m nothing more than a cockroach that keeps getting onto the card. I’ve fallen so far. No matter what it takes, this has to end.
Halfway to her destination, she stops dead in her tracks. A sliver of pale silvery light’s shot through the glass windows and shines in the center of the ring. It beckons her forward. Yuna takes heavy steps forward, her attention fully locked in that beacon. Her hands plant themselves on the apron, and her mind recalls the events that unfolded just a little while before. Madeline Satterfield standing in the center of the ring, eye to eye with her. Both of their bodies aching and bruised from the intensity of their body, but neither heart near capitulation.
YUNA: <Thank you for that match, Satterfield-san. Maybe we’ll do it again someday.>
She pushes off from the apron and resumes her journey to the office. All the while her thoughts race with the poisoned words of another woman. Statements about how Yuna Saito is too weak to do what needs to be done. How she’s let GDF fall to new lows. How the only hope for GDF is to change its ways and become the very thing they swore to destroy. Shino. Just as she passes the chest press machine, a bit of that moonlight happens to glint off of something else.
Yuna stops herself a half-step from the office door, her eyes meeting those of Tatsumaki Aoi. Behind the picture frame’s glass the legend’s eyes glare out and demand more of the woman who’s succeeded her. As if the woman were here in the flesh, Yuna straightens up her posture and nods gravely.
YUNA: <Tatsmuaki-san, I’m doing the best I can to protect the real GDF and everything that MGP is supposed to be. It’s just.. It’s hard to focus on those things when we’re stuck having to watch our backs every show. It’s impossible to rise back to the top when there’s someone lurking in the back waiting for you to drop your guard so she can stab you in the heart.>
She exhales with great force as her mind lingers on Shino’s actions.
YUNA: <I respect you. I miss you. But I can’t help but feeling like I’m having to clean up your mess. A mess that took you away from us after the most dangerous day in our lives.>
Shino’s visage invades her thoughts, her self-satisfied smirk as dangerous as the chair she holds in her hands. Instantly Yuna’s muscles tense as suddenly it’s not Tatsumaki but Shino’s portrait in that picture frame.
YUNA: <You callous, narcissistic bitch. GODDAMN YOU, SUZUHANA SHINO!.>
Yuna’s arm flies forward with all her strength until it meets resistance. Moonlight glints off of dozens of tiny glass shards erupting from the center of the wall before her. The sharp sound of the shattering pane pierces the night and there’s silence again. Once again it’s just Tatsumaki glaring holes through Yuna, now with red trickling down from her eyes. It takes a moment for the consequences of her actions to begin registering. Just pinpoints of unpleasant sensation at first. As she pulls her arm back Yuna notices the same red coloring her pale skin. Blood trickles from cuts on her knuckles, but Yuna smiles through the onrush of stinging pain.
YUNA: <I’m going to kill her.>
With that she turns away, a track of blood forming on the floor as she heads for the office.
The world has a way of changing in the blink of an eye when you least expect or need it. It’s a thought that occurs to Yuna as she slowly ascends the stairs from the Tokyo Metro. Despite bundling up with the warmest clothes she could find, the stinging cold air bites into the exposed skin of her neck and face. Just yesterday these same streets were bare and gray as always; now they’re colored by a shock of white as sudden snow has stormed in overnight. An entirely different world out of nowhere.
It’s done nothing to stop the mass of people traversing the neighborhood. The more she bumps shoulders with passers-by the more Yuna strains to see if anyone’s recognized her.
She stops at the corner, eyes darting around in the vain hope of making eye contact with a fan. Nothing. When the crosswalk light turns she tips up the brim of her hat to show her face better; the sea of humanity slogs through the wintry downpour, right past the human tower. One year after her first victory, Yuna may just be right back where she started - her heart aches with every step.
YUNA: <Just a few more steps.>
Down this street she’s walked many times before, a sign jabs out from the wall - a beacon for her amid the masses who must be watching her with intense scrutiny. ‘Aisan Beauty’. It beckons her forward, drives her to quicken her pace and begin employing dance steps to get between the sea of humanity. Yet every step she takes brings no change. Not a single set of eyes follows her. No sign of recognition.
One year ago she walked these streets with excitement, a video camera following her as she showed off the sights. She’d gone to this very salon for a collaboration project. And just weeks later? She was appearing on ads in the metro, her smile on display for all those who needed hope? Now? No one on these streets can be bothered to spare her a glance. A sigh escapes her lips as she squeezes between two shabbily dressed salarymen. Just managing to plant her feet safely in front of the salon, a thought crosses her mind.
What the hell happened?
Of course, all kinds of answers rise to the surface in response. Costanza Caponata. Devil Yuzuki. KANZEN. Shino Suzuhana. The Shrine.
YUNA: <Not good enough. I’m better than this, aren’t I?>
A set of bells jingles lightly as she tugs the door open. The sound invites a polite greeting from within the same as always. She ducks inside, pausing a moment to let the salon’s warmth wash over her. Instinctively she shrugs her coat off and folds it over her arm rather than use the hooks on the wall. It’s empty now but business has a way of picking up.
AI-SAN: <Oh, Saito-san! Welcome back! Please have a seat, I’ll be right with you.>
Yuna manages a simple nod in response, but she lifts her gaze from the floor at the familiar sound of the owner’s voice. It’s met immediately by a flier on the wall with the words “Historic BIG BANG Anniversary” in bright lettering. Many faces fill its surface - another sigh exits her lips as she sees herself tucked away right in the middle of them. Her heart beats faster, her body trembles as she tears her eyes away to something, anything else.
There above the counter is a painting of a feminine figure in kabuki style makeup. Her eyes are fierce, her mouth turned down in a scornful grimace. Yuna raises a finger to trace the sharp outlines of the makeup - a very, very familiar shape. So familiar her mind conjures a dark reflection of her own face in that same makeup, face contorted with hatred.
AI-SAN: <Apologies for the wait, is it just you today?>
Yuna blinks rapidly at the simultaneously expected but sudden query.
YUNA: <Huh? No, I’m expecting a friend.>
The stylist eagerly clasps her hands together.
AI-SAN: <Oh, did you convince Vex-san to join you? Or don’t tell me - you got Azumi Typhoon-san to come in?!>
Yuna slowly pulls her eyes away from the villainous art and chuckles.
YUNA: <No, none of them. They’ve all got other business right now.>
She hesitates before leaning forward over the counter. Her voice is low and soft as she explains.
YUNA: <Suzumi-san should be here any minute. Do you have the stations that I requested ready?>
The stylist leans forward, gently cupping her chin in her hands.
AI-SAN: <The ones in the back corner, furthest from the windows?>
Yuna feels her body tense up just hearing the words spoken; it’s as if the other woman’s just turned on a neon sign indicating her destination.
YUNA: <Yes, that’s right.>
She looks away from Ai, all her senses suddenly hyper fixated on the surrounding area.
YUNA: <And you didn’t tell anyone I was coming?>
Ai taps her chin playfully, her eyes drifting to the corner which had been requested. Yuna’s muscles tense further and she shifts her feet into a battle ready stance.
AI-SAN: <Just one person.>
YUNA: <One?>
Ai stands up straight and shrugs noncommittally even as the taller woman’s eyes narrow in suspicion at the admission.
AI-SAN: <Come on, I couldn’t resist. She’s waiting for you.>
With a sudden sharp movement her shoulders fall and she attempts to pull herself away from the reception desk. Each step is slow, deliberate, heavy. She can feel Ai’s bemused stare following her all the way down the strange emptiness of the salon’s interior. Even with increased distance her heart pounds a bit more as she attempts to shake her nerves. A fan wishing for a meet and greet wouldn’t be a problem; the thought of signing a portrait for someone even briefly brings a smile to her face.
It could also be much worse. Someone in a sharp suit with a cold, calculating grin as the woman their organization set up for pain and misery steps into view. Yet all that extends before her is emptiness, a void of unused stations. Empty, save for the woman sitting ramrod straight on the very last chair before the storage room.
MIZUKI: <Yuna.>
Her mentor suddenly lunges forward, throwing both arms around GDF’s new leader. It’s sudden and Yuna just stands there like a statue, the purpose of this meeting shaken from her thoughts. In this one instant the stiffness flows out of her body. No longer poised to strike, she slips her arms around Mizuki’s waist and returns the embrace. Mizuki, on her tip toes to make up the height difference, has her lips right up to the younger woman’s ear as she speaks again.
MIZUKI: <I’ve been worried about you since Puroresu Gacha Machine. Are you okay?>
Yuna pulls herself back slowly as those last three words resound through the entire salon. Instinct tells her to look away from the wide eyed concern her mentor watches with. Somehow Yuna manages to maintain focus and instead motions to the salon chair Mizuki just rose from. She flops down onto hers with enough force that it rattles the metallic base of the chair.
YUNA: <Honestly I don’t think so. That’s why I asked you to meet me here today, Suzumi-san. A place and time where no one would be here to eavesdrop.>
Mizuki crosses one leg over the other, her posture demure and her gaze warm.
MIZUKI: <Must be pretty important then. We’re definitely alone back here, so whatever is? Lay it on me Yuna.>
Yuna doesn’t respond immediately. She scoots around in the chair a few times, seeking some extra level of comfort as the weight of recent events slams into her like a freight train. Finally setting for a spot right at the edge of the cushion, her eyes narrow and her voice rumbles with an anxious tenor.
YUNA: <I thought that I finally had things figured out when I came back in November. When Suzuhana stabbed us in the back and nearly broke me, I found that focus I needed to get back up and fight her. Without Devil constantly crawling around in my head it felt like things were finally heading in the right direction. Kasey and the others all came to my side when the time came, we were united, I felt stronger than I’d been in a long, long time.>
She outstretches her hand towards another Historic Big Bang Anniversary poster on the wall, fingers trembling.
YUNA: <Then we started the new training on our own so that I could start strengthening myself for the wars to come. There was something about Devil that made me even more dangerous than before, Suzumi-san. Something that I tried to capture just by using her moves that helped me win my biggest matches before. But when it came down to it, it wasn’t enough!>
Yuna jabs a finger at the face of Madeline Satterfield, the passion of their recent combat filling her veins. Her heart pounds at the memory of battering the Dahlia with the stiffest offense she could manage.
YUNA: <No matter what moves I used, I couldn’t finish her. A woman who can’t get the job done on her own isn’t fit to be a leader is she? Ever since I lost the violet belt I’ve failed to achieve anything on my own. Everyone’s looking up to me to lead the way and give them hope. I can’t just keep showing them failure after failure. It’s going to make it seem like Suzuhana was right about me.>
She clutches her head in both hands and goes silent. Though she knows what she wants to say, getting there is all the harder in the presence of the woman who’s believed in her since before the bell ever rang in MGP.
MIZUKI: <Bullshit, Yuna. Suzuhana’s a liar, a traitor and a scumbag. The only honest thing she’s ever done was show how damn afraid of you she is. Because she knows exactly what we all do - you’re strong, you’re dangerous, and you’re the beating heart that will never stop.>
Slowly Yuna leans forward until her elbows rest on her knees.
YUNA: <But that hasn’t been enough, Suzumi-san. Neither was just copying Devil’s offense and hoping that would be enough to change things. There’s something more to it than that, and I think I know what it’s going to to take to change things.>
Yuna lowers her hands and lets out a deep sigh. It’s time. Through her long bangs, it’s a predatory gaze that meets Mizuki’s concerned look.
YUNA: <What made Devil - no, what made me so strong back then wasn’t just surprising moves. It wasn’t just a heart that wouldn’t stop beating. It was something deep down inside me that kept me going no matter what. Something that made me determined to brutalize opponents if that’s what it took to protect the Ring of Dreams. A place that has Devil’s rage in it. And I need to find that place again.>
It’s cause enough for Mizuki slide to the edge of her seat, just barely preventing her from leaping off it.
MIZUKI: <We talked about this before, Devil’s too dangerous. She’ll destroy you if you let her in again!>
Her words are labored, her shoulders dropping from an invisible weight. Yet Mizuki meets Yuna’s fierce eyes with a piercing steely one of her own. Its sudden forceful impact melts away some of the anger that’s begun to boil within the Galaxy Heroine. One of her eyes drifts up to look up at the poster again - something moves quickly out of the corner of her eyes. It’s gone in a blur, but a shiver runs down Yuna’s spine. Probably nothing. She shakes her head and struggles to put a smile on her face.
YUNA: <Who said anything about letting her in? No matter what, I'm never letting her have that kind of control over me. But I need you to trust me. And more importantly than that, i need you to help me.>
Her mentor leans forward, close enough that their foreheads are mere centimeters apart. Knowing the question that’s surely coming, Yuna slides one hand into her pocket and closes her still sore fingers around her phone.
MIZUKI: <Help you? What d->
In this very moment, Yuna’s grip tightens around her phone. WIth a dramatic flourish she pulls it out of her coat pocket and hands it to Mizuki. Prominently displayed on the screen is a video titled ‘NEO TOKYO PRO - ITUSKI KANEKO VS SUZUKI’. In the thumbnail is a young woman with brown hair, her face adorned with dark tinted makeup.
YUNA: <You went to a place like mine once. You know what it takes to find it and weaponize it. I need your help.>
Mizuki shoots up like a rocket, hands closed into fists the moment she’s confronted with it.
MIZUKI: <That was a long time ago, Yuna.>
As her eyes sink to the floor, Yuna’s heart sinks just a bit. Yuna outstretches her free hand, desperately grasping at the older woman - there, in the mirror again. A dark form’s appeared. There’s the unmistakable feeling of being watched, and that chill returns. Yuna’s head snaps around to catch the intruding force in the act; all she sees is her own face staring back at her. For a split second, she’s wearing the Devil makeup - her parted lips turn up into a savage grin.
YUNA: <There’s too much at stake not to try, Mizuki-san. I finally have Suzuhana cornered! If she stays in this galaxy she’s always going to ruin anything we try to build. She spits on the possibilities of our Ring of Dreams and nearly tore GDF apart.>
The makeup fades, but the grin remains. Yuna pushes herself up off the seat forcefully enough that she almost loses her balance upon standing. Instinctively she reaches out and grabs Mizuki by the shoulder, pulling herself close to her mentor in the process. When Mizuki turns around, their eyes meet and time slows down to a crawl. By accident Yuna’s gotten close enough she swears she can feel her mentor’s heartbeat. Like hers it pounds away frantically. With their difference in height, Yuna can still see the poster on the wall - her eyes fall back into a feral squint as she sees the face of Shino.
YUNA: <Suzuhana tried to destroy everything and everyone I love, and I can’t let her walk away from this match. If she does, she’ll just come back to hurt us again and again.>
Her mind races with the faces of everyone who’s placed their faith in her - Vex, Azumi, the Hixxes, Rumi, Jasmine, Marcy, Hiromi, Mizuki.
YUNA: <This has to end. And I have to end her.>
She nods emphatically, ripping her focus away from the poster and turns it to the present, to Mizuki. Mizuki’s chest rises and falls heavily as she comes to her decision.
MIZUKI: <Fine, I’ll help you. It’s going to be intense, Yuna. We’re going to have to dig deeper than you can even imagine. Deeper than the Galaxy Princess Cup. It might leave us both a wreck even if you beat Suzuhana. But if harnessing those emotions gives you the strength to protect everything we’ve built, I’ll do it. Just promise me something.>
Yuna idly reaches forward with her free hand, gently taking Mizuki’s in hers.
YUNA: <Anything.>
Mizuki flinches a little at the unexpected contact, but makes no move to move her hand away.
MIZUKI: <Make sure Suzuhana suffers for what she’s done. But come back to continue being the leader GDF deserves. They need you. I need you.>
That savage grin starts to spread over Yuna’s lips again.
YUNA: <Deal. Let’s get our hair changed.. and then change things up so Suzuhana has no idea what’s hit her before it’s too late.>
YUNA: <There we are.>
GDF’s Beating Heart gently dabs the brush to the corner of her eye, adding the final splash of color to her canvas. With the swooping marks completed it’s as if she’s become another person. An intimately familiar one. It’s as if the lurking demon has resurfaced. She smiles brightly at her artistic skills, shattering that illusion before anything more can be conjured up. The danger pulsates in her, her mind tingling just a tiny bit as she sets the brush down on the wooden counter.
Yuna wonders idly if that smile’s the only thing that separates her from Devil right now. Certainly her reflection appears for all the world to be the monster she’s sworn to never give in to. Her hands tug idly at the black top which she last wore at the beginning of October. Since that night at the Shrine, it’s been folded up and locked away in her apartment. It’s odd how well it fits. For a moment she hardens that smile into a grimace; the moment she does, dark thoughts cross her mind.
Shatter Suzuhana’s body. Tear her into pieces and send them to Shuko and the Black Company as a warning. Leave her so bloody and broken that her pretty face is unrecognizable.
Yuna bites down on her lip hard, drawing a slight trickle of blood. She contorts her facial muscles, pushing her lips up into a soft smile; the thoughts remain and grow louder. Her smile falls into a glowering frown suddenly and she’s sure that her reflection moved on its own. In a blur she brings her right hand up and pinches her cheek - her reflection follow suit and the mark on her glove catches her attention: the GDF logo. Suddenly those thoughts vanish into thin air, assuring her of her solitude.
YUNA: <Shit. Get a grip, Yuna. This fight’s too important.>
She pats herself on the cheek, the lights glinting off her unit logo. With a confident nod she turns and marches out of the makeshift dressing room. Each of her forceful footsteps resound off the walls of the former warehouse, heralding the Galactic Heroine’s arrival. As she closes the distance to the ring, she feels two sets of eyes glued to her, following her every movement. It’s a feeling that brings warmth and comfort. Here, no one’s forgotten about Yuna Saito.
HOSHI: <Saito-san, that’s.. A very dramatic look.>
The Beyond the Stars Girl has a different look today as well. That striped shirt doesn’t quite fit her right, but she’s doing her best to maintain an authoritative posture. Yuna chuckles at her remark and the somewhat absurd look her friend’s adopted. For the moment her steps are light and bouncy, which makes her hop to the ring apron all the easier. She flashes a confident smile to today’s referee, but her gaze remains intensely predatory.
YUNA: <There’s a lot at stake, Hoshi-san. The whole future of GDF and MGP is on the line at Korakuen. If I fail, everything we love about this place is going to burn away as Suzuhana twists the galaxy into something dark, cold and unrecognizable. Drastic times call for drastic measures.>
Her friend nods hesitantly, her gaze anxiously following Yuna as the taller woman enters the ring and steps into her corner. Yuna, however, has her gaze focused on the woman in all black gear standing across the ring from her. Mizuki awaits with tensed muscles, her own dramatic makeup rendering her almost unrecognizable. Once their eyes meet the veteran relaxes just a little bit.
MIZUKI: <It’s time.>
Both women nod slowly in agreement, neither budging from their corners.
MIZUKI: <Yuna, tell me, you’re willing to do whatever it takes to protect the galaxy?>
Yuna glances down at her glove and nods.
YUNA: <Absolutely.>
MIZUKI: <And you’re sure that you want me to go back to the place where Suzuki rests?>
Yuna’s eyes look her mentor up and down, taking in just how big a change the old gear’s made.
YUNA: <Definitely. I know from experience that Suzuhana can’t be trusted to fight her own battles. If she was willing to get involved in my match with Satterfield-san, Shibuki will insert herself into this one as well. We need to do something they can’t possibly prepare for. We need to show them aggression from the start to show them we’re not going to let them take our beloved galaxy away. We need Suzuki.>
Mizuki takes one deep breath, then another as the gravity of Yuna’s words sink in. Only after a long silence does she nod emphatically in response.
MIZUKI: <Then let’s prepare. Bow your head, think about everyone who’s ever hurt you. Think about all the things they’ve done, all the loved ones they put at risk. Let that feeling build and build until you’re about to explode. Then push it down, refine it, and fill your tank with it. When we’re ready, Sato-san will start the match.>
Yuna slowly turns around and grips the top rope with an iron grip so tight her still healing knuckles protest in pain. She grits her teeth and bows her head forward until it rests on the corner pad like a pillow. Her eyes flutter shut and she’s in the darkness, alone with her thoughts. One by one the sounds of the outside world fall away until that darkness is filled with chilling silence. There’s the sensation of being in an elevator that’s lost power, falling down its shaft with increasing velocity as she digs through her memories for the fuel she seeks.
One by one, past events begin to play out in her mind. At first she’s sitting at a table in a dank, smoke filled room as her father digs his hands into her hair.
GOROU SAITO: <“You think you can make that kind of decision without me? I gave you the opportunity to become a star, and you’ve just been a damn joke!>
Yuna grabs him by the wrist and yanks herself free, some of her hair ripping out as she escapes. She falls to the ground with a loud crash; it’s not cement but a ring! Propping herself up with both arms, she sees a pair of black boots. Her eyes trace all the way up the woman’s leg, her torso and then her violently scowling face. Shiori Shuko holds a cigarette in her hand as she leans down to Yuna.
SHIORI SHUKO: <Who do you think you are?.. you don’t just get to pick up a win and walk away, bitch.>
In response Yuna shrieks in fury, kipping up so suddenly Shuko staggers back. Yuna sneers down at Shuko, who defiantly flips off the Beating Heart of GDF. With a laugh, Yuna shrugs in a ‘what can you do?’ kind of way and turns around. There’s a clatter as Shuko charges her - and runs into an uraken that knocks her lights out! Shuko crashes to the ground, her cigarette bouncing out of the ring to smolder on the floor.
Yuna turns around, the sneer fully carved into her expression as she prepares to face the next memory. She immediately eats an Unpretty Elbow from Shino Suzuhana that drops her to the amt again. Before she can react she’s kicked hard in the face by the traitor, just like at Pillars of Creation.
SHINO SUZUHANA: < I saw what you are capable of at Battles Without Honor or Humanity... I saw your other side and so did everyone else... and it was then that I truly realized... you could have ended this war with Shuko MURDER-gun anytime that you wanted and you chose not to. I knew you were weak... Selfish and weak... everything has to be about you and your... struggle within.. THIS IS MY GALAXY - And you .. Can’t live in it!>
Yuna hangs there on the bottom rope, body limp and head pounding for a long moment. Her eyes glaze over, the world before her becoming blurry. Everything drifts away… until three faces come into stark focus. Vex smiling cheerfully at her best friend. Mizuki watching her expectantly, concern palpable in her expression. Tatsumaki locking eyes on her in a way that demands she get up and finish the fight.
Suddenly Yuna gasps for air as if surfacing from a deep water dive. Her fingers close tightly around the bottom rope, her head pounds so hard and fast that the ring shakes. She shifts her weight onto unsteady knees and reaches up to grab the middle rope. Up onto one knee, she takes a deep breath and grips the top rope. Another furious shriek escapes her lips as she rises to her feet and spins around to face her nemesis. Yuna’s hair flips wildly over her shoulder, revealing an intense, fierce face bearing the same makeup as Devil.
YUNA: <Shut the fuck up. This is OUR galaxy, and you’re no longer welcome to live in it.>
She grins savagely as she glares daggers through Shino.
YUNA: <You wanted Yuzuki? You get your wish. Get ready to be banished from the Ring of Dreams by Saito Yuzuki!>
With her sharp words, the realm of dreams shatters into a million pieces; once more her world plunges into darkness. It’s a slew of little things that returns her to the waking world. The slightly rigid corner pad her forehead’s sunken into. Her heart beating slow and steady rather than at a racing panic. Below her the ground itself shakes as if a local express train was roaring past. Yuna raises her head gradually, taking all of these things in until they flow into a full picture of the ring she’s standing in. Her eyes flutter open and her mind is of one purpose - domination of the opposition.
She rolls her shoulders to work out a tiny stiffness as she turns to face the woman preparing to do battle with her. Her mentor hops in place, visage filled with nothing but cold determination. Having studied Mizuki’s work, Yuna knows this is a look her mentor’s not borne in years. It’s enough to bring out a feral hunter’s glare from Yuna as she begins to pace in her corner.
HOSHI: <Suzu.. Sorry, Suzuki-san are you ready?>
Mizuki nods slowly and forcefully without taking her eyes off of Yuna. Their referee nearly does a double take at the transformation the veteran’s undergone. Somehow she maintains her composure enough to stay on task, turning to Yuna.
HOSHI: <Saito… Yuzuki-san. Are you ready?>
Yuna nods emphatically, lips curled down into an aggressive sneer.
YUNA: <Let’s do this.>
Hoshi bites her lip, eyes darting from one woman to the other and back again. Finally she brings her arm down sharply to signal the start of the battle.
HOSHI: <Ten minute time limit - FIGHT!>
Yuna wastes no time, sprinting across the ring and planting a big boot so forceful that Mizuki’s head snaps back. Her mentor falls back into the corner and Yuna again hears the hateful words of Shino in her mind. She has to shut them up; Yuna machine guns forearms to Mizuki’s chest, threatening to cave it in. Mizuki roars back to life suddenly with sledgehammer forearms of her own that back Yuna up to the center of the ring. A nasty uppercut staggers Yuna, and Mizuki runs the ropes to build momentum for some move. On the rebound they lock eyes and Yuna lets out a low growl as Shino’s words flood her thoughts again.
YUNA: <There’s only one fate traitors deserve, Suzuhana->
She spins with a cyclone force and hammers Mizuki in the face with an uraken! Mizuki crashes to the mat and Yuna plants her foot on the older woman’s neck. As her mentor furiously squirms underfoot Yuna leans down, a cold smile spreading over her lips.
YUNA: <Annihilation.>
With a forceful shout she leaps up and crashes down on Mizuki’s neck - DEVIL’S RAIN! Yuna rolls her over like a sack of trash and goes for the pin. One, two, thre- no! Mizuki kicks her way clear out of the pin and roars with indignation. Yuna thrusts both hands into Mizuki’s hair and rips her off the mat with only one thought in her mind now: kill. She unloads chops and punches on Mizuki, who returns fire with closed fist punches of her own.
Mizuki takes the advantage with a forceful knee to the gut that knocks the air out of Yuna’s lungs. She follows up with a brainbuster, a running somato the moment Yuna sits up, and then pulls Yuna up to hit a spiking piledriver. It’s only enough for two, but Mizuki wastes no time getting Yuna up and ramming her face into the corner pad. Just as Yuna staggers out of the corner Mizuki unleashes an UNPRETTY ELBOW! Her head snaps back, the force of the blow spinning her around and into the corner.
MIZUKI: <Is that all you’ve got?! Is that what you’re bringing with everything you’ve worked your whole life to build and everything you love on the line?!>
Mizuki wraps her arms around Yuna’s waist, employing all her power to pull the taller woman out of the corner. All of the joy, despair, loneliness, rage and doubt of the past year surges through Yuna’s mind as she hits the mat. She rolls through despite the sharp pain in her back, screaming in rage. Punch after punch rains down on Mizuki until those knuckle wounds open back up. She follows up with three backdrop drivers in quick succession, each draining more of Mizuki’s energy. Finally she pulls Mizuki up into position for the Yuzu-Driver, face contorted to one of pure hate. It’s an unexpected voice that shakes her from the point of no return.
TATSUMAKI: <Saito-san, lead Galaxy Defense Force with honor. Protect them and the Ring of Dreams.>
Yuna shakes her head, the ferocious expression replaced by simple focus. She changes gears, sets Mizuki down and swings her legs up - wheelbarrow pin! Hoshi’s hand slaps the mat three times and Yuna rolls away, breathing hard from the exertion of their match. Several long moments later, Yuna grunts through the pain shooting through her body and sits up. Her eyes meet Mizuki’s, and both women nod.
MIZUKI: <Did you.. Find.. what you were looking for?>
Yuna glances down at her blood stained fingers and grins.
YUNA: <Yeah.. I did. I WILL murder her. I will save the world I love the Saito Way. Whatever it takes.>
