[Whatever faults Johnny had—faults that Sayo was growing uncomfortably aware of—one of his few virtues was that he admitted that restraint was sometimes necessary. In a tournament match, you didn't need to tear out your opponent's throat with your fangs, you just needed to win. So even though Sayo is going all out, there are lines that she's not willing to cross, and she refuses to let her natural viciousness leak in.
Terry Silver, apparently, taught his students no such qualms.
Sayo feels something pull, and she instantly loses her footing, letting Jessica score an easy point. Her entire leg burns, like someone carved a deep, ugly slash inside her calf. There's no way she can fight like this. She should call it off.
...but if Jessica didn't get the catharsis of finishing the match, then would things ever truly be resolved? Or would that tension, that creeping doubt of, "maybe she would've won, maybe I didn't earn it" haunt her? If this was going to be a clean cut, Sayo had no choice.
So she gets up, pretending everything is fine when it's time for the next bout. And for what it's worth, she puts up a valiant fight, even though she barely uses her legs—which she relied on extensively, given that they're slightly more powerful than her arms thanks to all that practice sprinting—and occasionally stumbles over the pain.
It's still over in less than thirty seconds.
Repressing screaming pain telling her to at least limp, Sayo walks up, bows, and... offers Jessica a genuine, if pained smile.] Thank you, Jessica-san.
[And then she's off, fully under the impression that this is it.]
no subject
Terry Silver, apparently, taught his students no such qualms.
Sayo feels something pull, and she instantly loses her footing, letting Jessica score an easy point. Her entire leg burns, like someone carved a deep, ugly slash inside her calf. There's no way she can fight like this. She should call it off.
...but if Jessica didn't get the catharsis of finishing the match, then would things ever truly be resolved? Or would that tension, that creeping doubt of, "maybe she would've won, maybe I didn't earn it" haunt her? If this was going to be a clean cut, Sayo had no choice.
So she gets up, pretending everything is fine when it's time for the next bout. And for what it's worth, she puts up a valiant fight, even though she barely uses her legs—which she relied on extensively, given that they're slightly more powerful than her arms thanks to all that practice sprinting—and occasionally stumbles over the pain.
It's still over in less than thirty seconds.
Repressing screaming pain telling her to at least limp, Sayo walks up, bows, and... offers Jessica a genuine, if pained smile.] Thank you, Jessica-san.
[And then she's off, fully under the impression that this is it.]