3007/Can Love Bloom, Even In The Dojo

Can Love Bloom, Even In The Dojo
Date of Scene:	12 September 2015
Location:	Tomoeda-865
Synopsis:	Sakura and Tomoyo meet to have a sparring session. More than flesh wounds are opened up.
Cast of Characters:	165, 172, Tomoyo Daidouji

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Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo has only recently realized that one of the benefits of having a big house is the spare rooms you can convert. An upstairs guest room has recently been cleared out, with soft mats placed on the floor to make those tumbles a little softer. The closet now only contains a few copies of her aikidogi. Diagrams and flowcharts of aikido techniques hang from the walls, easy references during training.

    It's been a bit slow at the Boutique recently, and with Saturday's half-day at school over, a visit long in the making has finally been arranged. Tomoyo has asked Sakura over for a sparring session, to see how far the less-experienced girl has come along. She's already dressed and prepared, her hair tied up in a bun and wearing a white gi with dark purple hakama.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura has taken a bit longer to arrive than Tomoyo, as she's had to convince her cheerleading coach to let her duck out of practice! Being effectively a superhero, luckily, means she can just give the actual reason - training with Tomoyo - and get out of it with only a slight amount of 'catch up work' to do next week.

    So Sakura finally arrives, and quickly finds her way to the little dojo Tomoyo has set up. The girl is already wearing her martial arts uniform - a one-piece blue outfit that exposes her entire arms and the bottom half of her legs, with a red sash around the waist. It's somewhat different to the uniforms worn by Japanese martial artists, although obviously comes from the same basic roots. Sakura is, of course, unshod, and is wearing her hair is the same style she always does - it's not long enough to get in the way.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo was a little concerned, to be honest. She's worried that Sakura will either go too easy, or too hard. It's hard to tell which one would be worse. She certainly can't learn anything if her friend is being soft. But she's years ahead in combat experience, and just being athletic in general. Tomoyo is walking away from this with bruises, either to her ego or her body.

    But, all those worries are like dust in the wind when Sakura comes in. It's always good to see her, even if she's about to visit bodily harm on her. "Sakura-chan! Thank you for coming~" she says, bowing to her. It might be cobbled together, but it is a dojo. Respect is demanded!

    "I'm ready when you are," she says softly. She shifts her right foot, placing it before her while her hands come up in front of her, left hand before her with palm facing Sakura out while her right hand is kept at her side, palm up.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura is about to respond to Tomoyo with her usual enthusiasm, when she remembers why Tomoyo actually asked her to come. So instead, she boys to Tomoyo.

    Eyes locked, rather than looking down at the floor. The sort of bow a combatant gives to a worthy opponent, rather than the sort of bow a friend gives to another...

    Sakura then walks around away from the door, before getting into her own combat stance - right foot behind her left, and her left arm up in front of her, held almost like a sword. Both hands are open, but with her fingers facing Tomoyo rather than her palms. Her right arm is held quite close to her body, and her legs are quite far apart, legs bent, giving her a quite thin but long stance.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Well, there's that question answered. A serious bow, followed by an immediate assumption of her stance. Sakura is not here to fool around, and Tomoyo is thankful for it, a small smile crossing her face. "I'll go first then."

    She moves, rushing towards Sakura, keeping her upper body as still as possible. At first, it's a direct charge, but when she gets close, she suddenly swerves a little, trying to slip past Sakura's outstretched arm to step in even closer.

    As she does, she starts to thrust her right palm, aiming for Sakura's solar plexus. The extension of her arm isn't terribly fast, but she turns her hips with it, and that accelerates the thrust much faster.

    Faster, but still not Elite-level speed.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura really has no chance against most Elite martial artists - those whose abilities are beyond the norm for a human. Sakura is, however, pretty fast, especially when Tomoyo's arm has to travel a few feet through the air while Sakura's guard only requires she pivot her arm around about eighty degrees.

    Her right arm pivots, elbow swinging out to allow her right forearm to slide into place just above her stomach, probably in time to receive a nasty slap to her exposed skin. Her left arm, meanwhile, curls around to strike Tomoyo in the back with the side of her wrist - and also hold Tomoyo against her in a grab.

    It's almost like a hug! Almost.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo doesn't seem at all upset as her basic palm thrust is easily blocked. Aikido isn't a style of direct strikes really, and it doesn't even sting that much when it strikes the other girl's arm. And besides, this is Sakura we're talking about, of course she was going to block it!

    She gasps at the strike on her back, breathing in deep through her nose to push the pain from her mind. Sakura is trying to grab her, good. Aikido is all about grabs, she can do something here.

    Twisting her left wrist, she goes to grab Sakura's right wrist at an awkward angle, her elbow pointing at the roof. At the same time, she swings her entire left arm, turning her hips with the swing to try and catch Sakura in the side of the head with the crook of the elbow.

    As she does, she starts turning her right wrist with the strike. The combined motions, assuming they both connect, would be enough to flip Sakura sideways through the air, Tomoyo maintaining her grip the whole way.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    As Sakura begins to flip sideways, her right leg comes up between Tomoyo's legs, aiming to hook her foot around Tomoyo's left leg and pull it out from under her - attempting to knock Tomoyo off her balance so she just ends up tumbling down to the floor along with Sakura. Meanwhile, Sakura twists her hips, trying to drag Tomoyo around so Sakura ends up landing atop her instead of under her!

    And then she tries to dart back and roll onto her feet, banking on the surprise causing Tomoyo to lessen her grip. If not, well... she and Tomoyo will wind up locked in a quite awkward grapple on the ground.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Her heart races as Sakura begins to spin through the air. Her modified 'entering throw' actually worked! And then Sakura's leg hooks around her own, and that feeling falls as fast as she does. At the very least, she falls safely, landing on her back in the tangle.

    A tangle that she fails to deal with. In her training sessions, they reset after someone falls, so fighting on the ground is new to her. Sakura easily manages to twist so that she's on top. She blinks a couple of times, trying to get her bearings. This is not good!

    As fast as she can, she pulls her right leg up, trying to get the lower leg in between her and Sakura before extending it to try and shove the Cardcaptor off!

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Both fighters had the same end goal in mind - get Sakura off of Tomoyo! So Sakura ends up staggering back a bit faster than she intended, trying not to laugh before she gets into a much more neutral stance - arms still in the same basic position, but legs wider so she can walk and circle around Tomoyo, seemingly waiting for her to stand up. Sakura is... to be honest, not much of a ground fighter either.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo is quick to her feet, looking a little sheepish as she reasserts her stance. Another breath through her nose to centre herself, her violet eyes following Sakura's circling.

    She moves in again, ducking to the side to go off of Sakura's centre , both hands lashing out to grab at her outstretched arm. Left hand grips the elbow while the right goes for the wrist. If she connects, she uses both to pull at the arm, turning her upper body with the motion to try and flip Sakura onto her back!

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Instead of trying to resist the throw, Sakura turns her body INTO it, turning her body around further than Tomoyo intended and catching herself with her right hand. Supported by her right arm and right leg, she sweeps her left leg up and back - jeez she's flexible - to hammer her heel against the side of Tomoyo's ribs, before bouncing that leg back and trying to step forward and twist her right foot around back to a standing position. Albeit a standing position with her legs about a body-length apart.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    The throw is confirmed, and Tomoyo relaxed a little. In her sessions, once a throw starts, the defender is too focussed on landing safely to retaliate.

    That's where she messed up.

    The ridiculous level of flexibility catches her totally off-guard, and she takes the first serious hit of the fight. The wind is knocked right out of her, and she released her hold to stagger back and catch her breath, eyes watering a little.

    Blinking away the tears, she looks at Sakura's ridiculously wide stance, and can't help but laugh a little horsely. "That was amazing Sakura-chan~" she says, breaking the silence of the match. Hands shaking a little, she reassumes her stance and turns her left hand, the back of the palm now facing Sakura.

    And then, she makes a beckoning gesture with her fingers. She wants Sakura to go on the offensive now!

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura sweeps her leg leg back to stand up properly - she was trying not to show it, but that lunging stance was NOT stable. Sakura is panting somewhat from all the exertion, but she takes Tomoyo's invitation to attack by darting forward. Her left arm raises up, then comes down in a sort of hammer blow - using her entire forearm as the striking surface, aiming for Tomoyo's neck. Meanwhile, at the same instant, she brings up her left leg in a raising shin kick aimed for Tomoyo's side, just below her ribs.

    This... is not a stable attack at all. Which is why she uses the momentum of her kick to bring her other leg off the floor and turn it into a leaping attack.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Fast! Certainly faster than her teacher. Is Sakura boosting herself with magic, or is she just that far ahead, Tomoyo wonders in the small part of her mind not tracking the blow coming at her neck.

    Again, arms raise to catch it at the wrist and elbow. She started to step aside and back from it, planning on flipping Sakura again. But there lies another gap in her training: she's only had to follow one attack at the time until now.

    Thus, the rising kick catches her full-on, knocking the wind out of her entirely. It actually lifts the soles of her feet from the floor as she falls backwards, landing on her back in the midst of a soft coughing fit.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura lands on one leg - and wobbles a bit, arms flailing to her sides before she catches her balance and sets her other leg down. And then... she dashes in close into a baseball slide, and goes to slam her elbow down into Tomoyo's ribs - and finishes with a light tap.

    "Broken ribs," she says, cheerfully.

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
Ren Tanaka walks past the doorway.

    "Well, it could be worse. Sakura could have had a knife or something."

    Pause.

    Pause.

    Pause.

    Ren walks on, slapping himself in the forehead.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    After landing such a stunning blow, watching Sakura wobble on her feet would be laughable, if Tomoyo had a breath to spare to do it. She gasps as her opponent slides in, eyes squeezing close in anticipation of another painful blow... and then, only a gentle tap.

    "Ahaha... to match the other ones, I suppose? Don't you know that asymmetry is in this year, Sakura-chan~?" she says, having recovered enough to joke at least! With a wince, she gets back to her feet, and offers a hand to help the Cardcaptor back to hers.

    "That would be... three points to you? And that's only if we're counting strikes. I clearly have a long way to go!" She laughs again, but this one sounds a little forced. Especially in the wake of Ren's drive-by comment. How does he keep getting in anyway? None of the guards or maids ever see him do it.

    What a weirdo.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura rubs the back of her head. "Eheh. Well, I haven't hit you hard enough to break -bones-... maybe bruise them... I'm trying not to go -too- easy on you, but I don't want to put you in the hospital!"

    She relaxes and just sits there like a regular person. "...Besides, I only know how to break ribs with elbow strikes. I can't get enough momentum behind my kicks."

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    It's still a little chilling, to be honest. Hearing Sakura talk so casually about bruising and breaking bones. Will Tomoyo be talking like that someday? If so... now's as good a time as any to get started.

    "I could break elbows if I got someone in the right place... not knees though. They bend differently. They won't teach me how to deal with kicks and legs yet anyway," she says, trying the words in her mouth and making a face like she's not sure if she likes how they sound.

    "A-Anyway! I can keep going if you can." She backs up, and takes her stance again!

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura tilts her head a bit. "...That doesn't suit you," she says after a while. -What- doesn't suit her? What an odd thing to say.

    Sakura leans back, rolling onto her back before springing her legs into the air and flipping over onto her feet. "Sure, if you're up to it. Oh, wait, one sec!" She holds up her hand, summoning that violently pink door to her Magic Space Castle and opening it up. And off she goes into the depths!

    Returning half a minute later with a wooden stick, around the length of her forearm. It's smooth, but rough enough that it can be held onto pretty easily. Sakura is -grinning- now oh gosh

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo tilts her head at Sakura's words. It's easy to assume what she means by that, but she's not sure how to take it. But with Sakura, one can always assume she means it in the best way possible, so Tomoyo smiles and nods.

    She giggles at the little acrobatic display. You can't take the cheerleader out of her! When she ducks out through the door, Tomoyo immediately slumps, hands on her knees as she gulps down several deep breaths.

    Quickly, she stands up straight when Sakura comes back... and gulps. "Aikido has several techniques for disarming staffs you know, Sakura-chan..." she murmurs, trying to sound like she's warning the other girl.

    Then why does she look so nervous?

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura grins. "That's good! Kalari has a lot of stick-fighting techniques~" She adopts the same stance as before, holding the weapon close to her in her right hand. "So. I have a weapon. You -don't- have a weapon. How do you deal with that?"

    She then quickly steps forward, bringing her right arm out in a wide sweeping motion, aiming for Tomoyo's center mass.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo eyes the staff, taking another long breath through the nose. After the initial shock wears off, it's like the wooden knives she's practiced with. And considering what she will be facing, she's good at dealing with those.

    "This!" she calls as she... suddenly drops into a kneeling position, lowering her head to duck under the swing. As it passes overhead, her hands shoot up, going for the wrist and elbow again. But this time, the hand that grasps at the wrist inverts.

    She starts standing up, twisting at the wrist if she can to try and flip Sakura once more. If she can, she follows up by pulling on her arm so her elbow is above the hand clutching the stick and pushes down on it. If she can, Sakura may find that maintaining a fist becomes quite difficult!

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Whoops! Sakura is suddenly on her back, stick bouncing away, without any precise memory of how that happened. She blinks once, looking up at the ceiling. "...O...okay, that was pretty good," she concedes. Maybe she didn't commit to the attack well enough... Sakura is honestly a little leery about hitting Tomoyo with sticks.

    Yeah. That must be it. No way did Sakura just completely mess up.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo beams with pride. "I've been drilled on this technique a lot~" she explains, releasing her grip on Sakura's elbow to nab the stick and gently pokes the other girl on the side of the neck with the tip.

    "Throat stabbed," she says, trying to pull off the same cheer as Sakura did with 'Broken rib.' But the words catch in her throat a little bit. It really doesn't suit her.

    Then, she starts to help the girl to her feet again, offering her the stick back. "I'd love to see what you can really do with it though~"

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura stands, looking mildly embarassed. "...I dunno. You might not be the best partner to practice stick fighting with!" Pause. She holds her hands up defensively. "N-not that I don't think you're -good- enough, just..."

    She leans down to pick up the stick. "...It's also as heavy as my wand but about two inches shorter so it keeps throwing me off." Sure, Sakura.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo notices Sakura's clear embarrassment, a look of concern spreading across her face. "... sorry. Can't feel good being taken down by an amateur," she mutters, rubbing her left wrist awkwardly.

    What little fire she had for this little session has worn off now. "Let's take a break," she says, rubbing at her side with a wince, like she's the one who needs it more. It's true, of course, but also to make Sakura feel better. She slides open the closet, which actually contains a little fridge!

    Opening it up, she takes two bottles of water and offers one to the Cardcaptor. She also nabs a chilled ice pack and slips it under her gi to press against her side. "Oh, much better..."

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura smiles as she's given water, quickly uncapping the bottle and taking a swig. "Mph." She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. "...Sometimes I think I might be a bit too prideful. Honestly it's probably a -good- thing that I still mess up sometimes, if only to keep my ego in check. It's not as if 'martial arts' is even the thing the Union employs me for!"

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo sips at her own water, and smiles at Sakura, shaking her head. "Obviously they hired you as a mascot for being so cute! Oh, and the whole 'greatest mage in the world' thing too, I guess~" She leans against the wall and slowly slumps into a sitting position, knees tucked up under her chin.

    She nibbles at her lower lip, looking lost in thought for a long, pregnant moment. Finally, she says, "Hey, Sakura-chan? Do you remember... way back when you were capturing the cards for the first time, I promised to explain something to you when you got older?"

    A nervous sigh slips from her lips before she adds, "Well, I think now's the time."

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    "Mostly it was because I was lost and alone in a huge Multiverse with no one else to support me. I only had three cards at the time! I was hardly a Mage, let alone the greatest~" Sakura says in a cheerful tone that totally goes against the whole 'crushing loneliness' thing.

    She then pauses to let Tomoyo speak. Her only response? "...Hweh?"

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    "Just to make it clear before I say it... I no longer feel the same way." Goodness, how ominous! Deep down, Tomoyo feels that she knows Sakura well enough that she won't reject her... but it's not an easy thing, opening up about something that has been sitting inside you for years.

    "Back then, I said that I loved you - and I still do! - but it wasn't the same kind that you were thinking of when you said it back to me..." Her hands are shaking a little, making the water in the bottle ripple slightly.

    There's silence for a long five seconds, then Tomoyo takes a steadying breath, her words tumbling out of her mouth like a verbal waterfall. "It was the same kind of love you now feel for Li-kun, or you felt for Tsukishiro-san!..."

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura just stares at Tomoyo for a few moments, mouth open, eyes wide. "...What? But... That... I don't... Hweh?"

    THen she brings her hands up to her face. "...Hweh?! H-how could I... just... how could I be so stupid?!" Realisation seems to dawn. "It was so obvious! And... then I just treated you like..." ... Surprisingly fast on the uptake here, Sakura.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo smiles shakily as Sakura stammers, trying to process the bombshell. And then, in typical Sakura fashion, she immediately decides she was somehow at fault.

    "It's... unusual, so don't blame yourself for not thinking of it." Putting her bottle down, she stands back up and goes to place her hands on Sakura's shoulders. "You treated me as a dear friend, and that was all I could ever expect. It was more than enough. I once said that I was happy as long as the person I loved was happy. And while my feelings might not be that intense anymore... well that still holds true. Your happiness is my happiness. So please, don't be upset over this."

    Her smile seems a lot more natural now, and much steadier. She carries herself like a huge weight has been taken off of her. "I'm blessed to know you, Sakura-chan~ That's how I've always felt."

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    There's a long pause. Then Sakura looks down... and gives a wry smile. "If this were some sort of... tragic girls-love manga, this would be the part where I admit that I'm in love with you, and you go get a girlfriend and I pine for you and then when I get over you you fall back in love with me and stuff." What sort of comics is Sakura reading? She then starts giggling, and flops down onto her back, looking up at the ceiling.

    "...You know, I'm about as surprised at that being the most surprising thing that's happened to me in the past four years as I am surprised at... uh. You get where I'm going with this. My other best friend is a tanuki, but THIS is weirder! Something's wrong with me," she giggles.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo giggles, shaking her head. "No. A relationship is give and take. Someone have to have room in their heart and lives for the other person. And I just... don't, not right now. Between school, work and training? It wouldn't be fair on the other person." She talks with that mature air. Clearly, this is something she's thought a whole lot about.

    Smiling, she flops down next to Sakura, and turns to look at her. "Oh come now, surely something weirder has happened. Is it so strange that people would be attracted to you?"

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura pauses for a few moments, then sits up. "I'm way too young to be thinking about the fact that I'm famous and probably have dozens of people with crushes on me." Pause. "Let's... go... eat cakes. And talk about something else." Eheh.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo giggles, sitting up and freeing her hair from the bun. She does like letting it hang out, after all. "Sounds good to me~" Glancing over, she reaches out to take Sakura's hand in her own, gently squeezing it.

    "Thank you..." she whispers, before getting back to her feet! "Now, I couldn't just ask you to go back to your castle to get changed... so how about you wear a new costume I made for you~?"

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    "...H-hweh?" Sakura stammers. And so it goes~ Just another day in the life of Tomoyo's favourite manequin.