A decision.

Leonardo rang the bell again, trying to make it louder for Angela to hear, but she was too high on adrenaline to pay attention to it. She rushed towards Ms. White with a dangerous straight punch, but the older woman seemed unimpressed. What she did, however, was nothing short of impressive.

She stepped back enough for the straight to be inches away from her nose. Then, she grabbed onto Angela’s outstretch arm with both of hers before jumping off the ground and wrapping her legs around Angela’s neck, bringing her down to the mat with her as she fell.

“Calm down, girl!” the veteran grunted.

Angela’s face was starting to get red. Ms. White was **** her. Leonardo was about to jump into the ring when Angela patted the mat, showing she wouldn’t fight anymore. Ms. White released her, and Angela sat back down with a deep gasp, holding her throat.

“W-What was that!?” she asked.

“Never seen a triangle ****? Shouldn’t be surprised, I guess,” Ms. White said, standing up with a heavy sigh.

Leo still got into the ring to check on Angela. “You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah…” she nodded. Her eyes had softened, and her breathing was evening out. In fact, she seemed way too mellow for what could probably count as a loss.

“Man, you Gifted are just on a different level…” Ms. White groaned. “Good thing she calmed down with that. I feared she’d slam me against the mat to get me off her.”

Angela flinched and winced. So she’d thought of doing it…

Wait. Did he hear right?

“Gifted?” he asked. “You know about us, White-san?”

“Just call me Victoria,” she said. “Like you kids, I’m not from here so I don’t give much of a shit about honorifics. And yeah, I know my fair share about the deal with the Tensai Clan. I don’t have to guess what this feisty one’s Gift is. That kind of battle sense in a complete amateur isn’t natural. What about you?” Victoria asked him.

“…Endurance, stamina, pain resistance. Things along those lines,” he answered.

“And you?” she asked, turning to Valerie.

The redhead was taken aback by suddenly being addressed, especially because she had no idea what she was being asked. Leo sighed. “Repeat after me: Perfect reflexes and body control,” he said, the first sentence in Spanish and the second in Japanese.

“Perfect reflexes ad body control,” Valerie answered.

“Well, aren’t you all just a group of little monsters, huh? No wonder you came here.” Victoria shook her head. “Seriously, I had heard stories, but seeing it firsthand really makes you realize how unfair the difference is.”

“You still beat Angela, though,” Leo said, helping his girlfriend to her feet. “She’s never lost before.”

“Don’t compare the professional world to petty children squabbles and back-alley brawls,” she told him before turning to Angela. “Your shoulder tells are too obvious, you approach too direct, your technique lousy and your strategy nonexistent,” she clicked her tongue. “And yet you were adapting through the course of the round. Really, those instincts are no joke.”

Angela looked neither offended by the criticism nor happy with the praise. She slowly took it all in. She’d seen a glimpse of a world she didn’t know, and she was still unsure of what to make of it.

“So, what will you kids do?” she asked. “Old lady Wisler said she’d pay for your subscription to the gym if you wanted in. If you’re looking for martial arts training, I can do that. I only have two other kids in that course, so three more won’t be a problem.”

“…I’ll do it,” Angela answered after a moment of thinking. “Teach me how to fight.”

“Sure, we’ll turn you into a real monster,” Victoria grinned. “You?” she asked him.

“I’m here because she wants to be, so I’ll sign up too.”

“A tagalong? Hey, I’m not gonna complain about more customers,” Victoria shrugged. “And our Spanish redhead?”

“She’s asking if you’ll sign up for martial arts training. Mrs. Wisler is paying.”

“…” Valerie swallowed, but turned to Leo with determined eyes. “How do I say: ‘I want to learn to fight?’”

The three of them finished the paperwork and were officially customers of the Victoria White Training Center’s martial arts program, attending after school on Mondays and Wednesdays. If they needed any proof about its legitimacy, they got it right then and there. They exited the building and started making their way down the hill towards the residential district.

Both girls seemed in deep thought, and while he didn’t know what about, he was more worried about Angela. She’d been looking for an opponent who could beat her, and she’d found her. He thought she’d be happier about it, but she looked… Well, not down, but way too calm.

“Angela? You feeling alright?” he asked her, rubbing her back.

“Hey, Leo. Did you see that?” she asked.

“See what?” he asked, looking for specifics.

“That triangle ****! Holy shit!” she said, very suddenly bustling with energy and grinning widely. “That was SO FUCKING COOL! Victoria is so fucking cool! I didn’t even know you could grab a person like that! I couldn’t fucking breathe! It was brutal! I wanted to get out of it, but realized the bell had rung. Shit, I didn’t apologize for that, did I? Fuck. But… man, are we going to learn things like that!? Hey, do you think you could resist something like that? Can I try it on you?”

“Hooold your horses, missy. You’re not practicing triangle-chokes on me.”

“You’re tough! You can take it!”

“I said no. Christ, woman. I’ll spar with you, but there’s a damn limit.”

“Hey, this’ll sound really weird, but… can we do it when we get home?” Angela asked, cheeks red but grin just as bright.

“Seriously?”

“I just feel like I have too much energy! I need to blow some more steam! Come on, pleaaaase?” She suddenly got an arm behind his shoulders, pressing the side of her huge and soft breasts on him to blatantly tempt him. And like most of what Angela did, it wasn’t subtle, but it worked. Problem was, he had become severely aware of Valerie’s eyes on them. She probably didn’t understand what they were saying, but she might have an idea.

And besides… wasn’t it her turn today?